Final Goals for the School Year

     My semester grade for Digital Design was a ninety and I am proud of it. I worked very hard to get my average this high and I am pleased to see the results. This is not one of my best classes but I would like to change that by the end of the year. My goal is always 100% but I know that I'm progressing each marking period because my grades only increased. In order to reach my full potential I have to look at the grading policy and see which areas I'm slacking off and strategize different methods to lift my grade. For example homework if I missed an assignment, or attendance/lateness. Anything I can do to bring up my grade I am willing to do. My new goal is to give more effort and cease complaining when things don't go my way. If I can do this I will be more focused on my assignments and I can produce better results. Making the sacrifice now will benefit my future.

QCC Trip Reflection

       On March 20, 2013 the Cisco and Web Design Students went on a trip to visit Queens Borough Community College. On this trip we were able to see many things and meet new people. There are a lot of interesting things about this college although its only a 2 year college. We got a tour of the campus and we saw different aspects of the college. At the end of the tour we were able to get our picture taken for our college ID.
       One of the interesting things about QCC is the technology. They have a vast variety of computers. There is a Robotics lab. QCC has about 16 Labs in the entire college. The class sizes range from about 25-40 students. Another thing that caught my attention was the number of vending machines they have in their school ITHS has about 2 or 3 while QCC has about double or triple that amount. We met two professors in the college Professor Stuart M. Asser and Professor Vincent Stigliano. They welcomed us and gave us a tour of some of the classes to show us what the students were working on.
      Being in QCC for a day taught me several things. One thing this experience taught me was that as  juniors we don't have that much time to make a decision about college. We have to start planning now because time is running out and by the time senior year comes it will be too late. I also learned that doing well is high school is imperative in order to get into the best college. This is why I try so hard to get the best average I can get. So far I'm planning on going to a music college but if I don't do well in high school with my academics that can set me back and ruin my chances of getting admitted. I want to be the best that I can be so I always try to give 110% because what I do now will alter my future in one way or another.
      This my first time being on a college and I never expected to learn so much in one day I was very elated to have this experience. Visiting QCC persuades me to go and explore other colleges i haven't been too. Its the smart thing to do because wherever I go will affect who I am ten years from now. I want to make sure I make the best of these opportunities I'm given so I can be successful and make my parents proud.

Why is it important to have a CTE Expo?

        The CTE Expo was interesting I got to speak to a lot of different people. Several questions were asked about Digital Design. Most of the people who came to view my work were very pleased with what they saw. A common question that was asked was, "How long did it take you to create this?". The assignments that we do are normally completed in one to two weeks. When I told them that they could not believe it. I was pleased to hear that people liked my work. This event met my expectations because a lot of questions were asked and a lot of the people I spoke too seemed very interested in Digital Design. Everyone I spoke with was curious to know how I created my sites and the steps it took to complete them. A few questions were asked concerning the applications we use and how it applies to what we are working on. For example Photoshop, Dreamweaver, and Fireworks.
        Overall I was content with everything that went on in this years Expo. I wouldn't do anything differently except fix the 1-2 labs that aren't functioning well. However in general everything went by smoothly. I didn't have to many issues with my site and it was easy for me to explain my work. Navigation through the pages was no problem and I was able to show things quickly. For the next CTE Expo I would like to see more demonstrations of how things operate.  For example giving a tour of how some of the application so that people can can have a better idea of what they would be working with if they decide to join the Web Design academy.

Spring Semester 2013 - Smart Goal

Goal: Get at least a 90 or above in Digital Design

Specific: I want to get a grade in the range of 90-100
Measurable: My report card will tell me if I get the grade I want.
Attainable: I know that I can study more and work harder.
Realistic: It will be difficult for me to understand some of the material at first but if I give a decent amount of effort and apply myself I know I can do it.
Timely:I can achieve this goal by the end of the semester if i push myself in each marking period.

Musical Chairs Peer Review

Mohammed/Fatima/Monika: The goal of each site was to make portfolios that display our best work.

Mohammed: He had consistency throughout the whole site. Emphasis was put specifically on his drawing of Goku. However he could've had more balance in his designs. Not all of his links worked.

Fatima: I liked the way she combined all her colors in the projects and labs. Fatima was very creative in all her designs. The pictures were good as well. I liked the rollover images she created.

Monika: Monikas sites were good because of the characters she chose and he backgrounds.  They fit perfectly with the background.

Project #2

     In my project I had many goals set for myself. One of them was to make sure that this project was better than all the others. Another goal of mine was to be more creative and try different things in photoshop. For example i used more colors than i would normally use in other designs and I tried using different filters when I used Fireworks. One of those filters was noise. I used this a lot in my project. I also used a gradient for each page of my site. After I finished everything I was very pleased with my work but one change i would make are the buttons. Instead of plain boxes I wanted them to be something else related to the character i chose but I felt that I wouldn't finish in time so Ill try next time. Hopefully I can get Photoshop and the other applications on my computer at home so I can work from there and practice too.

Aftermath of Sandy

    Hurricane Sandy was a powerful storm and it affected many people in several ways. Before the storm my family was preparing by buying a lot of food and water. Also we bought candles because we assumed that at some point during the storm we would lose power. When the storm finally started to reach our area I felt curious as to what would happen so I looked out the window. The wind was fierce and there was water everywhere. Later on as I was watching t.v I could feel my room shaking because its the highest part of my house. A lot of things were going on that night but I remained calm during the whole disaster. The storm did knock out the electricity but I just ignored everything outside and just listened to music. I made sure that my phone was charged so I could at least listen to music during the storm. We had no power from Monday to Friday evening so my sister and I went to our cousins house and stayed there until our power came back on. Many trees in my neighborhood fell so if your were driving in that area it was like a maze. You had too make sure you made the right turn because the trees blocked a lot of the roads.
    People in the Far Rockaway area suffered as well. I was there this weekend to check up on my cousins and see if they were ok. Unfortunately their basement was flooded and they lost many material things. This made me feel upset but Im glad that they're safe and they were able to have power because of a generator. If I were in their position I would need a lot of assistance to just clean up the mess due to the hurricane. I would also require food, water, and clothing.
    The Hurricane caused many problems for people in New York, Philadelphia, and several other places. Based on the picture above you can infer that the most damage was probably dealt in the areas closest to the red (Highest). The threat of the storm was much worse for those places. However solutions to most of these problems can be donations and volunteering in your area.