First Draft ePortfolio

Hello,

Here is the link to my ePortfolio, not quite finish yet.

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Pupose of Honors Institute

When I think about Honors Institute I think about a program that will help students go beyond their thinking to be more open-minded to the world and have priceless experiences as a leadership.

The Honors program should hook us to conferences and events around the bay area that could be related to our majors.

I know people might think that being in the Honors Program gives you a good chance to get into UCLA but on what criteria UCLA thinks that we are that good of a student? Because after all the program at Foothill, as far as Honors stuff, only offers classes that are mainly literature classes and tells us about occasional events. What about the science majors? Because I agree that English and History honors classes are tough and really push you to another level of thinking which is great but how do universities know if we get the same experience for the science classes? I really wish we had more honors classes in the science field. Maybe I should just ask some of my instructors to think about it. It will be an amazing experience too.

Even if now the program gives you more chances to get into competitive universities I just don't feel like I am part of something BIG yet. I don't feel like I have academically got different from a student who is not in the Honors program. And if there is no plus to your education why would you be favored over students who are not part of the program for transfers to universities?

Introducing your ePortfolio

Welcome to my ePortfolio dedicated to Organic Chemistry. Do not run away yet because these web pages might help you to see o. chem like you've never seen before. Did you ever think that this subject was hard or that the amount of material to learn is just too much? Well, you are right to think that. O.Chem is definitely a tough subject and the amount of material to learn is significant. HOWEVER it is possible to do well in o.chem. There are three important things you need to succeed: you need TIME to review the material and make sure you understand what you are reading, you also need to MEMORIZE bits and bits at the time, finally you need a lot of TRAINING, lots and lots of exercises!

When I first started general chemistry, I didn't think much of it, I thought it was boring and random...Then I took organic chemistry and found that it was so much more interesting than the general chemistry. I think if you are a puzzle solver type, you'll definitely love organic chemistry. It is a hard class but it is also a really rewarding class when you can do it well!

So if you currently taking these courses and wish to have a condensed review+tips+exercises you are welcome to navigate here. Also if you are those students like me who can never have enough exercises to do, welcome! I will have some synthesis problems available for each chapters.

It's O. chem time!

Online Honors Institute Infomercial

SUNY Potsdam Honors Program: I thought the video was way too long. There were two of them and I actually could not even watch half of the first one. Also the sound recording was not really good therefore it was hard to hear the students talking.

JMU Honors Program: Even though I liked the humor approach I don't think it is the best way to reflect on how honorable it is to belong to the Honors Program. This kind of approach definitely attracts a lot of listeners because it is really pleasant to watch. Also it makes it look very accessible so that students will not think it is a hard core program.

Columbia College Honors Program: I liked this one the best. The presentation was good, really professional looking type video. Not too long also which is great otherwise you get bored. That is the kind of video that is going to make me think that it is worth joining the program because it looks really serious and will bring you a lot in your academic journey.

Slippery Rock College: This one was also good. Students talking about their experience in a short interview is always a plus to hear. The video was pleasant to listen to.

UAB: This is one was really interesting because they focus on the leadership part of the program. I think that it is a really good kind of approach because in the work world that is exactly what employers will look for: leadership skills. I would have totally enrolled in their honors program if I was studying over there.

SJSU: What I liked about this one is the short video. The music is also interesting however this looked more to me like a commercial rather than a honors tour.

I think what will be great for Foothill Honors Program video is to have a blend of the documentary approach with that of the leadership + student interview. The video will have to last no longer than 5min after that it's really a pain to continue listening. It has to summarize the best part of what our program is, emphasizing how great honors classes we have and what did they bring to us students. I really think Foothill has to expand the presence of the Honors Program on the campus. To be honest it is only after 3 quarters at Foothill that I heard there was an honors program. And even then on the Foothill Website, not much is said about what is exactly this program except that it is good for transferring...

Pre-planning the ePortfolio.

I am still trying to decide whether I should do an extra-curricular related blog or an academic one.
For the extracurricular one, I will do one about dancing. I think it will be the kind of blog that just traces back all the performances I did, pictures, video if possible, the list of musics I danced on etc.
I will put posts in chronological order so I will be able to see my own artistic evolution, the obstacles I went through, my feelings and thoughts.
The outside evaluators would be either my current dance professors or my formers one if I can reach them and make them write in English.
I think starting this week end I will try to figure out how should I organize my front page, the table of contents. Then I'll figure out exactly what goes into each posts, I will select my pictures and find videos and music (especially how to add them).
The challenge will be to go back in my memories to revisit the feelings and thoughts I had during all my previous performances (and I started at age 8).
This ePortfolio will allow me to look back on what I did and criticize myself. This is actually really important for an artist because you can ALWAYS do better, no matter how good you think you were or how hard you worked, you can always go beyond. If you stop doing that you will not progress and that's the end...

Otherwise I was thinking also to do an organic chemistry 12C revision website. At the end of this quarter, my classmates and I have to take the national exam of organic chemistry which covers a year of material. In other words, oh my goodness!
I was thinking it will be nice to have a website that summarizes the main points of each chapters, a list of all reactions + mechanisms involved.
The website will be divided into different theme or organic functional groups. I will also add some synthesis problems to practice + solutions that I will make up.
I think this will be helpful to any chemistry student but also for me when I will need to revisit my organic chemistry in two years to take the MCAT exam. This website will definitely help.
I can put drawings of molecules on the website. I was also thinking including videos where I would show myself going through a synthesis problem and how to solve it retrospectively (step by step).
My chemistry professor will be the one reviewing it as well as some of my classmates.
The challenge with this one will be the time involvement. Summarizing each chapter will demand a tremendous amount of time. But as I need to review the textbook anyways so I guess it's doable.
If I decide to do this one, I will start this week end summarizing the latest chapters (the ones I'm working on right now). And go back to the old ones as my study progresses backwards.

"Re-Assessing the Honors Institute"

I joined the Honors Institute in summer 2007 and actually this English seminar is one of the first honors classes I'm taking so I have little idea of how the Institute work.

I would say though that we should have more honors classes in the SCIENCE SUBJECTS!

Otherwise I think we do not have enough information on cultural and academic events around here. I think it will be great to know since attending them would be a good part of enlightening our intellect. It would be a way for us to stay open minded.

Also I know it is more difficult but we do not have a large choice of honors classes each quarter. Or the classes would have a really funny schedule time so that it will not be compatible with our other classes.

The level of academic achievement required is good though, I feel like I'm learning a lot in my other Engl 1C for honors. I alsmot feel like Im not gonna be able to make it through actually but the challenge is interesting.

Response to Steve Jobs Speech

Wow, Steve Jobs is for sure an amazing person. I really enjoyed reading the speech, it is inspiring.

I believe that it is really fundamental to study what we want to. As Jobs says, our time here is limited so we definitely need to enjoy every second of our life!

When Jobs said that he felt bad "wasting" his parents' money for studies he did not really enjoy, I totally understand him. My parents also support me financially at nearly 90%. I always make sure to take the classes required for my major (that I enjoy by the way) and be careful not to drop it when it is no longer refundable. Yes because I'm paying non-resident fees so it is quite expensive, almost the same as international fees...

Sometimes I do feel really bad for my parents having to pay everything for me so I can focus on my studies so I put even more effort to make sure everything is worth the price. And I thank my parents a lot, they're awesome.

As Steve Jobs' example I think that you become really successful when you do whatever you are passionate about. And even if life is hard, as long as you stick with your ideas then everything should be fine. The obvious example is when you study something you really enjoy, you tend to get good grades really easily and reverse when it is something you do not like.

What I think is incredible with Jobs' journey is that he had moments of epiphany where he realized that some things were better for him that way (even if its a flashback moment). Those moments are the most helpful in your life and you definitely get to appreciate whatever happened to you and be grateful to life in general.