Jacob and The Epics of India

 I am definitely known to have a hard time starting my assignments and I often put things off until the last minute. Luckily, I tend to work well under pressure, so this has rarely been an issue for me. However, given an increased workload in college, I have had to work on getting work done on a more consistent basis. The first article that I read was  The Important Habit of Just Starting . I found this article very helpful and I agree with much of what was said. Starting an assignment is often the hardest part. So if you can just start working, it'll be easier to make progress and eventually get the assignment done. The second article that I read was  4 Questions to Help You Overcome Procrastination . I think that this article was simple, yet helpful. The 4 questions were all very relevant and I thought that the question, "How can I make this easier?", pertains to me. I often find myself thinking that an assignment will be difficult, so I put it off. If I can just do bet...

 I have finished reading the course tools page and adding the spellcheck extension to my browser. I feel at least as tech-savvy as anyone else my age, but blogging is definitely new to me. I look forward to learning more tools and tips as the semester goes on! Computer Technology  Pixy.org

 The more that I learn about the format of this class, the more I am intrigued by it. This class is definitely unlike any other class I have taken in college or in high school. I really appreciate the flexibility that this course structure allows and I think that it is a structure that I can thrive in. The idea of having a semester-long project is something I have experienced before. However, the last time I did something like this it was a research project, not a creative writing project. I am very excited to see where this goes! Vishnu  Wikipedia Commons

 While I had not heard of Carol Dweck before writing this post, I had come across similar ideas elsewhere. I happen to agree greatly with implementing this style into grading and teaching. While I must admit, I am not always the most optimistic person, I can definitely appreciate this idea and how it relates to individualized learning. I have been opposed to the common core style of schooling for a long time, and I would vastly prefer a more individualized approach. However, I don't think we should go out handing out "participation trophies". Everyone is good at something, but we shouldn't pretend that everyone is good at everything. I see both sides of the argument. While many people do respond better to positive reinforcement, it's important that we as a society aptly prepare students for the real world. I think that preaching growth is a good idea but tread carefully as to not applaud all behaviors. The idea of challenging oneself is something I believe in stro...

 My name is Jacob and I am a Sophomore majoring in Economics. I'm from the Texas Hill country (a place called Bulverde, just north of San Antonio) however I was born in El Paso. Despite growing up near both the University of Texas and Texas A&M, I am actually a lifelong OU fan. My parents and grandparents were all fans of either of the other two schools, but I held my ground. My grandma would always tell me "you'll probably change your mind several times as you got older", but I knew that I wanted to be a Sooner. Originally, I had planned on majoring in Biology and eventually (hopefully) going to medical school. But my interests rapidly changed over my freshman year at OU. Growing up, I had always been very close to my Dad and I looked up to him in many ways. He was a very hard worker and an entrepreneur. His most successful business was, and is, a custom home company named J Taylor Custom Homes, named after me (also check us out at JTaylorCustomHomes.com ). As I ...

  Super Ramayana Brothers     This was the first storybook title to catch my eye as I love video games. I thought that the idea to combine this story with Super Mario Bros was incredible and actually fits really well. The author did a great job at making this easy to digest and fun to read at the same time. The layout was clean and simple, and I thought that the author's notes were interesting to read. Combining epics with video games was something I had not considered prior to coming across this storybook. This has definitely given me some ideas on what I could potentially do for my own project.  Epic Cooking     At first, when I saw this title in the list I wasn't sure what to expect. However, I quickly understood and loved the idea! (who doesn't love food?) The introduction was great as it perfectly laid out the format for the project and introduced each story to us. The idea to have the characters from the stories writing to the author was awesome and i...

  My favorite place that I have been to in the world is Tamarindo, Costa Rica. Tamarindo is a small town located in the Guanacaste Province of Costa Rica. My family and I have been to Tamarindo 3 times over the past 5 years because we absolutely love it. Tamarindo is known for being a great place for surfing, as well as having a very easy going and friendly atmosphere. The waves are incredible, and the people are very friendly. Tamarindowiki helicopter aerial photo  Wikipedia Commons

 Hello, my name is Jacob. This is my first post testing out the Blogging platform.