My At-Home School Routine
My at home school routine as an 0nline student has changed drastically with the times. I wake up at around 8:30 am-9:00 am, and am usually starting to do schoolwork on my laptop at 9:30 am. My workload for the day, or in other words, what my goal for the day is, varies. Usually, I finish at around 3 pm. I then proceed to spend the rest of my day exercising, practicing my saxophone, drawing, etc. I complete most of my schoolwork on Microsoft Teams, but some of my Science work is done on Microsoft OneNote; on my trusty laptop. Assignments are handed out and turned back in teams, and my Science notes are done in OneNote. Considering that there are five people (my family) working in one house at once, I’d say that my at-home working environment is pretty good. It’s relaxing and comfortable, and there aren’t really ever any big noisy distractions that happen constantly. My sister and Dad (who have actual jobs) work upstairs in their separate rooms, while my brother and I work at the kitchen/living room table downstairs. It’s familiar, and I can get up and take breaks whenever I feel like I need one. Speaking of having more choices, I am also in complete charge of my work schedule. I can prioritize certain assignments, and lay out everything I need to do so that I can get things done in an orderly fashion. This works my Thinking daily because It is completely up to me how much time I spend on assignments and on what days in order to get the best quality work handed in and on time. I am constantly critical thinking to set goals for the day by reflecting on the assignments and projects I need to get done. I go by what I think I need to do first, rather than a strict block schedule. This gives me more freedom, but also a lot more responsibility.
Assignments & Projects
The most successful assignment I’ve done online is the “Introduction to Inkscape” project we did for Woodwork. This was really fun, but also challenging to do. We were given many may tutorials to watch, and we had to submit something we made on Inkscape to demonstrate our understanding of the basics. Inkscape, like photoshop, is a free and open-source vector graphics editor. It can be used to create or edit vector graphics such as illustrations, diagrams, line arts, etc. I’m very proud of what created because of how much time and effort I put into it, as well as the satisfying mark I got for it.
Here’s my “Introduction to Inkscape” project: Zhou_April_sample
The most difficult project I’ve done online is the “Meiosis Video” for Science. What makes this project the most difficult to this day is the editing portion of it. After filming it, even transferring the videos from my phone to my laptop was a struggle. Afterward, I had to record a voiceover and match the voiceover explaining the process of meiosis with the videos. I also added music, which was more work for me but entirely worth it in the end. Adjusting the speed, cutting, and rearranging took a long time and it was definitely a learning experience. Making everything fit was a major obstacle, but I got past it eventually. I am also very proud of this project, and the positive reaction from my teacher when I turned it in.
This is my Meiosis Video:
My Digital Footprint
My online activity as an online student has impacted my digital footprint in a positive way. Because of how much I communicate with fellow students and my teachers through emails, teams, etc., all of my questions about assignments and learning online are seen by classmates. I try and support others as much as possible by answering questions and putting my questions out for everyone to see (on teams). When teachers or other students provide help and answers, everyone can see and get something out of it. An example of this is below in the attached pictures. All of the content I create and post for school, however private they may be to my class, are still a part of my digital footprint, and I’d like to think that that adds to my positive digital footprint as well. The research I do to complete assignments is included in that too.
In this picture above, I asked Mr. Kachor about a question I was really stuck on, and he answered. This didn’t only help me learn, it assisted others too:
