Monday, July 19, 2010

Week 10-

Soooo guys, this is our last blog! :(
With that being said, we must not lose focus. Let's push even harder for this last blog, for it is as its pretty important step in your life. This week we will talk about, Professional Opportunities and Job Skills.

First off, what exactly are Professional Opportunities? It is a opening for hire in a certified job. How do you find the perfect job to suit you? Through research of course. If you don’t already know your career, try researching your interests with your education and see what type of careers comes up. Professional work can put ads in papers or even online, signs in doors, and even have commercials looking for specific personnel to hire.

Next, what are Job skills? They are attributes that are needed for specific jobs. One acquires these skills through experience and these make you valuable and beneficial to employers. These particular abilities allow companies to know what you are good at, to make sure you are well suited for their specific job opportunity. It's expected for a specific career to have a specific expertise. For example, a taxi driver needs to know how to drive a car and a chef needs to know how to cook and bake. With all this being said, what type of skills do you offer? Let's leave this last blog with a "Big Bang" by posting your excellent answers to the questions below.

1. Describe how you have used interdisciplinary in your professional life?

2. Describe what are your strongest and weakest job skills?

3. How can you improve your week skills?

4. Reflecting on your academic journey how has your career goals altered?

5. Share two professional clubs or organizations that you a part of that are useful to your career. If you are not a part of two clubs or organizations, research for two that pertain to you. List them as well as the requirements to join.

6. How has an internship or externship developed your professional career? If you have not experienced this then how do you think it would?

***As always, do not forget to sign your name on your posting to ensure you of your much deserved credit. In addition, be sure to post on time so that we can include you in a final blog response, plus it's good to post on time to make certain no late penalties will be given.

Group 16.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Philosophy, Goals, & Opportunities

This week’s topic is personal philosophy, career goals, & academic opportunities.

I want to start the discussion with a few examples to get you thinking.

Please look at the following clips from the movie Dead Poets Society. If you have not had a chance to see this movie, I highly recommend renting it. Listen to what Robin Williams is saying and just personally reflect on how his messages relate to your lives.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQtmGcdSDAI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLFQYbjYsso&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXYVVRwk1fY&feature=related

Also take a look at the below quotes:

One's philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes... and the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.
Eleanor Roosevelt

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” Alice asked. “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat. “I don't much care where—“ said Alice. “Then it doesn't matter which way you go,” said the Cat. “--so long as I get SOMEWHERE,” Alice added as an explanation. “Oh, you're sure to do that,” said the Cat, “if you only walk long enough.”
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.
Dr. Seuss

Men make history and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.
Harry S. Truman

You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it's an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.
Rahm Emanuel

Now that you have a little inspiration, please answer the following questions:

• Discuss your personal philosophy concerning your professional life

• How is or isn't this philosophy interdisciplinary?

• How have your career goals altered?

Please remember to sign your full name and to post you responses as a comment to this post.

Kevin Edmondson

Sunday, July 4, 2010

WEEK 8- E-PORTFOLIO

This week we will talk about E-Portfolio. First off, what exactly is E-Portfolio? E-Portfolio is an electronic collection of all your work over time. Just think of it as a representation of yourself over the web. Your E-Portfolio shows your progress, development and your achievements. It is used widely across the university, to help document, organize, assess and give credit. For example: the IDS E-Portfolio says,
"The Interdisciplinary Studies Program uses the Porfolio@UCF system for two reasons:
One is to help you build a professional electronic portfolio to use for job interviews or/and graduate school.
The second is to measure your learning in the Interdisciplinary Studies Program over time.
Throughout this semester and beyond, you will be accumulating work that will be used to create your e-Portfolio." -IDS E-Portfolio

Three types of E-Portfolios:
Developmental - (Working)- An E-Portfolio is a record of things that the owner has done over a period of time, and may be directly tied to learner outcomes.

Reflective - (Learning)- An E-Portfolio includes personal reflection on the content and what it means for the owner's development

Representational - (Showcase)- An E-Portfolio shows the owner's achievements in relation to particular work or developmental goals and is, therefore, selective. When it is used for job application it is sometimes called Career portfolio.

With all this being said, answer the questions below:
1. How will your e-Portfolio demonstrate your interdisciplinarity?
2. What is the audience / purpose you're thinking of using?
3. What things are using as artifacts and why?
4. Share how you're planning to use reflection in developing your e-Portfolio content pages
5. Share your understanding of reflection. How is it different from description?

***Please be sure to put your name on your post and also remember to post on time, to ensure you of your credit. Also, if you have any questions? Be sure to ask, we are here to help. :)

Group 16

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Interviewing

Interviews are all about first impressions. You must prepare and be at your best. Some interviewers are looking at a lot of people for a single position. Making your first impression memorable and professional will allow you to stand out among the rest. Being personable is key to a great first impression. Practice before your interview with a friend or relative. If that's not possible use a mirror. You may be surprised at the impression you get of yourself! Mike Boya wrote an article on first impression where he states, “According to statistics, first impressions are made in the first 20 seconds, and a bad first impression takes 20 additional contacts to rectify that bad first impression.”


When going on an interview always smile and keep in mind you never get a second chance to make a first impression.


Please complete the following exercises. These will help you with your interviewing skills.


 Review further information about informational interviews by clicking here (you may have to copy and paste these links into your web browser) (http://www.bls.gov/opub/ooq/2002/summer/art03.pdf). Also, review some information from UCF"s Career Services by clicking here (http://www.career.ucf.edu/UserFiles/File/Plan%20for%20the%20Interview/player.html).



 Log on to Perfect Interview (http://www.perfectinterview.com/ucf/). For "Your Level of Experience," choose the level that fits you the best.



 Complete one "short" interview where the selections are chosen for you. Complete one "short" interview where you make the selections. Choose at least three areas you'd like to work on the most. Note the options of the "Alternate Response" and the "Coach" that can be used.



 You may choose to either use video capture or no video capture. If you choose no video capture you will be required to type your responses. Save both interviews.



 Draft a reflection of at least a paragraph about your practice interview, commenting on the questions asked and your responses to the questions. You might comment on what questions were problematic. What were the strengths of your responses? What could you improve in your responses? How did your responses compare to the "Alternate Response"? What did you learn from the "Coach?"



 What are some key points for participating in a phone interview and panel interview?



 When should you discuss salary and how would you go about it?



 At the end of the reflection give one question about interviewing or a piece of advice that you've gained in your interviewing experiences.



 Click on "Review Saved Interviews." Click on the "Share" button. E-mail yourself your interview and include the links in your posting.

Nicole Perez

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Topic #4 Cover Letters and Resumes

Hola Mentees I've got great news! We are almost half way done with the semester! With that said, we will be covering topic #4 cover letters and resumes. I'm sure you all have heard about a cover letter and resume. Despite how time consuming and in depth resumes and cover letters can be, they are a necessity when trying to enter the work force.




A resume is a written document that lists your work experience, skills, and educational background. It is used as a marketing tool for all you future job seekers! A cover letter is a document sent with your resume to provide additional information on your skills and experience. A cover letter typically provides detailed information on why you are qualified for the job you are applying for. Effective cover letters explain the reasons for your interest in the specific organization and identify your most relevant skills or experiences. A resume and cover letter are extremely important because they are what gets you "face time" or an interview. You can be a wonderful speaker, have a great personality, or great work ethic but if you look awful on paper, chances are you will not get a call back or an interview. I know this for a fact because i once had an awful resume/cover letter. I knew i had to make changes and create an exciting resume that stood out. When i was in Cornerstone this topic really helped me to improve my cover letter and resume. The website http://www.thejobexplorer.com/coverletter/ can help you through the process and give you great tips! Also, i found a brief but detailed video on tips on creating a resume/cover letter that sells http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihl1NZAmAD4&feature=fvw




Posting Assignment- Please answer the following questions for the next posting.




-What are ways your resume can highlight your interdisciplinarity?


-What are some questions about cover letters you have?


-Share your best cover letter.


-What are questions about resumes that you have and/or share some advice.


-Share any resources you've found about cover letters and/or resumes.




PLEASE be sure to sign your name to your posting so you can be given credit and post on time/ Late penalties will be given and are never fun. :) Happy Blogging :)




Bonnie Beaumont


Group 16

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Blog 3- Critical Thinking.

Topic 3: Critical Thinking

This week's blog is all about critical thinking. Critical thinking involves determining the meaning and significance of what is observed or expressed. As we all know, critical thinking can be used in our everyday lives. It allows us to think 'outside the box' to try to discover answers to our many everyday activities. We even use critical thinking skills for something as simple as buying a box of cereal. We evaluate and decide among the multicolored boxes, by asking ourselves which one taste better, which one do I want more, even the price of the cereal comes into play. Choosing the one box among the numerous shelves of boxes is called deductive reasoning, which is associated with critical thinking. Other examples include: choosing what road to take to work, buying a car, when to go to sleep, or even deciding where to take your next vacation. Many factors come into play when making our final decisions, but we primarily base it upon their effectiveness in our overall being. Critical thinking allows you to seek information, analyze alternatives, evaluate the alternatives in relation to your requirements which ultimately allows us to reach some conclusion. With that being said, I am going to link you to a fun exercise. It is truly fun in fact, I did it last night and I found it informative and fascinating. Also, I'll add a couple questions in need of your responses in this week's blog. Be sure to post your response by adding a "comment" to this week's blog which the link can be found down below.

Click the link below which will take you to an interactive exercise called Virtual Philosopher developed by Dr. Wade Maki from the Philosophy department at the University of North Caroline at Greensboro.

Virtual Philosopher Link (must have updated FLASH to play correctly): http://web.uncg.edu/dcl/courses/vicecrime/vp/vp.html

Questions for this week's blog:
1. How does your critical thinking relate to being interdisciplinary?

2a. Comment on your critical thinking reasoning that led to your decisions for all three scenarios: the friend's problem, the lifeboat problem, the liver problem.

b. Explain where your critical thinking gave way to your values, ethics, and beliefs? Comment on the differences you perceive between "ethical" and "critical" reasoning and what kinds of problems it caused in doing or reflecting on this exercise and even in your academic experiences.

c. Comment on how the Virtual Philosopher scored your response. From the comments you received about your responses, what insight have you gained about your own critical thinking and reasoning?

3. How does the outline of your critical thinking disposition match with the application of it in doing the Virtual Philosopher?

Also, there is a discussion question in the Virtual Philosopher link to discuss your decisions and why you thought it practical to pick your answers. Let's further discuss this, why did you pick your answers? Make sure to include all the scenarios, such as The Friends Dilemma, The Life Boat and the Liver Case in your short answer response.

**As always, do not forget to sign your name on your posting to ensure you of your much deserved credit. In addition, be sure to post on time so that we can include you in a final blog response, plus it's good to post on time to make certain no late penalties will be given.

Heather L.
Group 16.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Integration

This week we will be looking at the concept of integration.

Integration to me is a uniting of interests or ideas in a common initiative. Integration opens the doors of perspective. Integration is more than just simply combining things or notions together to see what happens, it’s the inspiration and motivation to merge questions, thoughts, and concepts to challenge preconceived ideas that change ones concepts and philosophy. An example is the degree we are all studying, Interdisciplinary Studies. We are brining together our own unique interests and talents to create a course study that challenges and ignites our curiosity.

Integration as a professional is one of the keys to success. You have to be the wearer of many hats to be successful. Understanding what is going on around you and being able to create a concept of comprehension to successfully move forward is a proficiency that is sometimes challenging to grasp. Integration is also about being able to see the big picture, to have the wherewithal to ask questions, and to challenge those around them.
Being able to bring people together, combining thoughts, breaking down walls, driving results, and effectively communicating ideas is what makes a leader.

Before you get started with the discussion, click on the below link. It will bring up a funny and different way to think about of integration:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyUNRWJg0P8&feature=related

Now that you have gotten a different and humorous perspective about integration, answer the following questions:

What is integration to you?

How is integration critical as a professional?

In combing your three areas of study, how will it assist you in the future?

Please remember to sign your full name and to post you responses as a comment to this post.

Kevin Edmondson

Friday, June 4, 2010

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Introductions

Welcome everyone to our blog forum! As mentors, we hope to provide each of you with a fun learning experience that will help guide you through this degree program and life. First, lets get to know each other a little better. We will be working together for the next 8 weeks sharing our knowledge and common interest in Interdisciplinary Studies. In your reply to this post you should give a brief introduction of yourself. We want to know who you are? What are you areas/minor? What year are you in?

After you have given an introduction go to
http://www.sixwise.com/Survey/FreeCareerTestWhatsYourCareerPersonality/FreeCareerTestWhatsYourCareerPersonality.aspx
and take a short career test. Keep in mind this is just to give you an idea of how your personality may relate to different careers. Give a brief description of the results and how they do or do not relate to you.

Interdisciplinary Studies offers a unique degree. This degree program allows us to take our diversified interests and find a common ground. How do you explain Interdisciplinary Studies to others? Explain at least two advantages and two disadvantages of an interdisciplinary education.

Please be sure to keep up with the blogs. As the next conversation comes out we will be moving on to new subjects. Keeping up will also allow mentors to efficiently respond to your posts. Remember at the end of each blog to sign your name to ensure you recieve credit. We appreciate your co-operation and look forward to the next couple of weeks.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Welcome to IDS group 16 Blogalicious

Welcome IDS Cornorstone cohorts!

As your Capstone Mentors, we are all very excited about this very rewarding and introspective mentoring experience. The four of us have been in your shoes and know the Cornerstone class commitment that you are going to be going though. It is a lot of work, but worth it in the end.

There are going to be eight postings that each of you will need to complete. Please click on the topic name you want to respond to within the blog, this will open the comment box for that particular posted topic. Please put your response in this box, including your full name at the end to receive credit for the each post. It's easier to compose your response in a word processor, then cut and paste into the comment box. Posting as a comment will assure all responses are accounted for while presenting a more streamlined and less confusing process for all of us.

You do not need to respond to this post, this is for your information only.

If you have any questions please let us know!

Let's have a great semester together!

"Success is not measured by what a man accomplishes, but by the opposition he has encountered and the courage with which he has maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds." Charles Lindbergh