Wikipedia Trail: Ravi Shankar to Timbre

I started this wikipedia trail by going to the class announcements page where I found a video of a man named Ravi Shankar playing classical India music. On his wikipedia page I read that he was a very famous musician across India and Europe and even served in the upper chamber of the Parliament of India. From there I found George Harrison, who had worked with Shankar in the 1960s. Harrison was the lead guitarist for the Beatles and was ranked as number 11 of Rolling Stone magazines "top 100 guitarists of all time." From there I found the slide guitar which is a techniques for playing guitar that involves a tube placed on on the the fingers of the guitarist which is slid up and down the neck of the instrument. This was popular in blues style music and started in the 1920s. Finally, I made it to Timbre. This is the word used in music for the quality of sound. Timbre is what makes the difference in sound between a guitar and a piano playing the same note at the same volume.

Slide Guitar (Source)

Learning Challenge: The Pomodoro Technique

For this Learning Challenge I chose to read about the Pomodoro technique. This is a studying/work technique that uses a timer to help you space out work and breaks. I chose this because I tend to race against the clock when I do school work and I think this technique could help me make better, more efficient use of time. The purpose of this strategy is to teach you to work with time, instead of against it. By taking short, scheduled breaks, it is easier to eliminate burnouts and manage distractions. I have tried this technique before and had good results. By taking a short break every 30 minutes to an hour I was able to get much more done in that time period than I can when I just work for hours on end. The Pomodoro Technique can be used by anyone with just about any task and I recommend trying it out.

Pomodoro Timer (Source)

Growth Mindset

For this post I decided to look at the Growth Mindset cats again. I think this is the most fun way to do this assignment. The first image that I was given was one that I really liked. It's caption says "The bigger the challenge, the more you stretch." I chose to use this picture because it really describes an idea that I try to remember whenever I am feeling very challenged by anything. The idea is that every challenge I face will result in me growing in some way if I stick with it. The hardest things you face will end up stretching you and making you grow as a person as long as you don't give up. 

Source

The second image I chose is one that kind of relates to the first idea I mentioned. The caption says "Real learning takes work." I liked this one because it connects to the first one in that it reinforces the idea that the hardest challenges take the most work but result in the best learning. 

Link

Tech Tip: Canvas Dashboard

For this tech tip I decided to do another Canvas feature because I think Canvas is something that students should take full advantage of because it is the hub for everything we do for our classes. The Canvas dashboard is the main page that you see when you log onto the site. The first thing I do with my dashboard at the beginning of each semester is change the nicknames of all of my courses to something that is easier to know which class is which. For instance, for this class I changed the name from "MLLL-4993-995" to "Epics of India." This change makes it much easier to navigate the page for me. I also really enjoy the "To Do" section on the dashboard. This is a list in the corner that has all of your upcoming assignments listed for easy access. The dashboard is very useful if you customize it to best fit yourself and I highly recommend taking the time to do that at the beginning of the semester.

Tech Tip (Source)

Extra Credit Reading: Francis and Thomas Jataka Tales

I decided to continue my reading of Jataka Tales for this extra credit reading. I read from a selection of stories by Francis and Thomas that I hadn't had a chance to read yet. From these stories, the one I found most interesting was one called "The Choice of a Husband." This is the story of a amn with four daughters and he is trying to decide which man to give his daughters to as wives. He asks a wise teacher for advice on which man to chose. The teacher tells him that although all of the men have good qualities such as beauty and years, the best man to chose is the one with virtue. He explains that virtue is the true measure of a man and a man should be despised is he fails at virtue.

Bibliography: Francis and Thomas Jataka Tales (Source)

Rings (Source)

Reading Notes: Shedlock Eastern Stories and Legends, Part D

For this reading I read more Jataka Tales from Shedlock Eastern Stories and Legends. From the part D selection, I really enjoyed the story "The Dreamer in the Wood." This is the story of a reincarnation of Buddha living alone in the forest. He lived in peace with all of his surroundings, making sure not to harm any creature for his own well being. He ate fruit when it grew on trees, leaves when there was no fruit, and bark when there were no leaves. One day Sakka, the King of Gods, came to test the man. Sakka asked the man what he wanted for himself. The man asked to be free of hatred, malice, and greed. Sakka was surprised that the man didn't ask for anything related to food and gave him another request. The man asked that no creature ever be harmed for him, body or mind. These requests were granted because they were all selfless acts.

Bibliography: Shedlock Eastern Stories and Legends (Link)

Forest (Source)

Reading Notes: Shedlock Eastern Stories and Legends, Part C

For this weeks readings I chose to read more Jataka Tales. I read a selection from Shedlock Eastern Stories and Legends for extra credit last week and decided I would read some more for week 14. From these stories I particularly liked one titled "How the Antelope Was Caught." This is the story of a gardener who works for a king. Every day an antelope wanders into the garden and eventually is gains confidence and is no longer scared of the gardener. The king asks the gardener about the garden and he tells the king about the antelope and says he could get the antelope into the palace. The king tells him to do it. The gardener starts by putting honey on the grass that the antelope eats. The antelope loves the taste and eventually has no fear of the gardener at all. The gardener then makes a trail of honey soaked grass that leads into the palace. The antelope follows it because he lusts for the taste and wanders right into the palace. The king speaks about how the antelope would never have come near the palace, but his lust for taste took over and he did. This story has a moral against lust and I enjoyed it very much.

Bibliography: Shedlock Eastern Stories and Legends (Link)

Antelope (Source)