Personal branding

Hi everyone :)
Today in class Mr.Rehan introduced us to he concept of personal  branding . this is something that we all are familiar to but its never presented to us as "personal branding".
Basically self branding is the way that you present your self at work, university ,school or even when you are talking with your friends. even though you may not have noticed it but each person has a unique way of doing things . The way we talk , our personality and the way we dress are some of the things that define who you we are as individuals . Therefore these attributes define your personal brand. Like sir said we all already have  branding all we have to do is to work on how to improve it.

Personal branding is basically the way you market yourself to the world. Your personal brand is what other people think of you. In some ways it’s outside your control, but you obviously have some influence over it. The way you think of your self will also have an effect on how others see you . if you know who you are and you are confident to show the world who you truly are that will make people see you as a confident and independent person, giving you an excellent branding.

Team roles

Hi everyone J

Mr.Rehan gave a link to a test that helps you to find out what your role is in a team. Working in teams is very important when we start working  we will have no choice but to  work together with our colleagues. Therefore its important to understand what role you play  in a team  .

According to this test i play the role of a DRIVER in a team.

Driver -The driver is generally very ambitious and energetic. He or she may appear as impatient and impulsive. The driver is a strong motivator and will challenge others at crucial times. Although the actions of the driver may sometimes seem somewhat emotional, they do play a crucial role in pushing the team forward to succeed.

Well to some extent this is true . when ever I am  placed in a group to do a project or achieve some goal I always make sure that it gets done on time . I kind of hate it when I see that someone in the team is not doing the best he / she  should be doing . if that does happen I do tend to push them to get the job done. Some might say that it’s a bit pushy  but the thing is in a team everyone has to play their part properly. So it kills me when I am serious about the project and give it all I got and someone else just doesn’t  do the same .

But I guess that’s why a driver is needed in the first place right. Someone is needed to keep a eye on everyone and see that their part is done properly.

Its important that everyone plays their role in the team . for example lets take 4 people with 4 different team roles. A analyst,driver,team player and innovator.The analyst will be able to check if the decisions made by the team is the best option available, the driver  can give a extra push when he/she realize that the team is falling behind the schedule that will help  the team to be successful . As an creative individual the innovator may play a crucial role in the way a team approaches tasks and solves problems and help to make the end result original .The team player will be able to keep the harmony in the team and be able to help and care for everyone in the team .

If everyone in the team can only play the same role there would be on diverse of ability in the team .everyone would only be good at doing one thing . for example-if everyone was a analyst the team would be able to come up with the best solution but they might not be able to put it to action without a innovator. If everyone was a driver without any innovators or team player the team might just drive each other crazyJ

Therefore its important that a team consist of people who can play different roles. And remember there is no "I" in the word" TEAM " so working together is very important

This is a link to the test see what role you are better at :) Team roles test

happy reading :)

Importance of note taking

Hi readers:)

How often have you fallen asleep in class???? It happened to me once when I was in 10^th grade during a science lesson J .  Have you ever wondered why lectures or seminars seem every boring.

Well it’s not because the topic is dead boring .its actually because we don’t pay attention to what is being said by the teacher or lecturer. That’s why note taking is very important. It keeps you involved during the lecture and it also keeps you active therefore less chance of you falling a sleep . note taking also provide you study material for exams ,then you don’t have to panic when a exam is close by J
Note taking is not only limited to the class room. This is use full when referencing a book, during group study or in seminar. (I know that most of you would go for a seminar if they are giving free food but try to stay focused J )
For this to work you have to become a good listener . my advice sit close to the lecturer especially when you know that a particular topic being discussed in class is boring for you.( then you wont fall asleep ). Caution – do not sit at the back of the class because the teacher is most likely to target you for questions and if you notice most lecturer or teachers don't just stay at the front of the class they walk up and down the class to notice who is paying attention in class. And although you think you cant be seen , people who always stay in the back are well noticed!!! My advice is if you don’t like the front then  switch were you sit at everyday ( then you should be able to confuse the teacher and stay out of the danger zone) . remember to never go to class with a heavy head ,always get a good nights rest it will help you to concentrate in class . One of my friends has this motto “eat first and then work”. I agree with her, you will never be able to get things done with a empty stomach, so eat before you go to class in the morning.

A little tip- when you are taking notes always pay attention to these words like however,because , for example, in other words ,in conclusions, remember this , this is important or the steps to this are . in short just pay attention to words that indicate impotence to certain things or that gives a sum up to you have been learning. In my next blog I’ll tell you about the SQ4R note taking method. Till then,

Happy reading and have a nice day J

One moment

Hey everyone:)

so did anyone get spooked by the tsunami warning??? I’m pretty sure that anyone who leaves near the sea would have got worried especially if it effected you in the last time it happened in 2004. Of course we were not home so we didn’t worry but our neighbourhood was told to evacuate. I can imagine the state the people around here would have been in.( I live in mount Lavinia and the tsunami did effect the this area a little last time ). Thank God that it didn’t happen again .Sri Lanka would have suffered a lot if it did. For all those who don’t believe in a god you might want to think twice about it. People say that bad things happen because there is no god but if that is so, then how do good things happen????  I think bad things happen because we humans make mistakes. We change the world and act recklessly without thinking about the end results. But God still loves us and that’s why miracles happen every day.  It’s a miracle that we were saved from another tsunami. It’s a miracle when a child born and it’s a miracle that you are alive today.

My faith in Jesus is what keeps me going everyday. He is my reason to live . What’s your reason????

one moment is all that takes to change your life forever . so don't let any moment pass by with any regrets. live life to the fullest ,laugh with joy and love unconditionally. 

This blog is dedicated to all those how lost their loved ones to the tsunami in 2004 . 

“Do teachers ruin the creativity of the students”

Hi all you bloggers out there :)

well I'm blogging after a very long time !!!!! so I'm going to try to catch up on what happen in the last 2 weeks.Well a lot of things happen but I think the best day was the the day that we had the debate in class.

The topic was “Do teachers ruin the creativity of the students” . the proposing team did bring out a few good points but the opposing team managed to overpower them and win the debate . but on a personal point of view I think that both teams were not prepared and failed the bring out  heated arguments .     When Mr.Rehan gave us the topic and told the whole class to pick aside I really could decide if I was for the topic or against it . but after looking back on my life I decided that I was against the topic .

The proposing team said that teachers don’t explain to us why things are the way they are. For example “2+2=4” . has anyone ever told you how this came to be ???? my guess is no . True sometimes are education system works according to a traditional way and see a very rare change. But that doesn’t mean that a students creativity will be ruined because of it . its up to the student to think out if the box and find a way out of the traditional way and make a change . people like  Albert Einstein and Bill gates were able to accomplish this . they took the facts that was given to them and they saw something that others were blind to .

In my personal experience  teachers have played a very important role in my life. They have not only helped in my education but they have also helped me to become a better person . sometimes your attitude towards certain subjects could be effected because of a certain teacher . it happened to me too. In 9^th grade i hated maths . that was because I could understand the method that the teacher was using to teach us .but I didn’t give up on it .i tried to understand us much as I could . and in 10^th grade I started to love maths and that was because the teacher was really awesome . but if I think about it I would have hated maths in 10^th grade  as well if I gave up on it in 9th grade.

It's  all about your how you see the situation. Don’t be closed minded towards anything . think of all the possibilities . and who knows one day you might be able see what the rest of the world is blind to . your creativity can never be ruined or be taken away from you. It s your to keep forever . you just have to find a way to bring it out .
That’s why I believe that teachers can not ruin a students creativity !!!!        

Bloom's taxonomy

hi everyone
when it comes to learning we all could use a little help . I think its important for everyone to understand their learning abilities in order to improve .  Bloom's taxonomy explains about the domains of learning activities . this is a brief introduction to it

A committee of colleges, led by Benjamin Bloom (1956), identified three domains of educational activities:

o    Cognitive: mental skills (Knowledge)
o    Affective: growth in feelings or emotional areas (Attitude)
o    Psycho motor: manual or physical skills (Skills)

Domains can be thought of as categories. These are often referred to as KSA (Knowledge, Skills, and Attitude). This taxonomy of learning behaviors can be thought of as “the goals of the learning process.” That is, after a learning episode, the learner should have acquired new skills, knowledge, and/or attitudes.

The cognitive domain  involves knowledge and the development of intellectual skills. This includes the recall or recognition of specific facts, procedural patterns, and concepts that serve in the development of intellectual abilities and skills.

The affective domain includes the manner in which we deal with things emotionally, such as feelings, values, appreciation, enthusiasms, motivations, and attitudes.

The psycho motor domain  includes physical movement, coordination, and use of the motor-skill areas. Development of these skills requires practice and is measured in terms of speed, precision, distance, procedures, or techniques in execution.

Nothing is useless

Hi everyone
when you are throwing something away have you ever thought if you could take something useless and make something out of it ???
well you can ,all it takes is a little imagination and creativity . We had to make something creative out of something totally useless . People in the class was able to make photo frames, pen holders, wall hanger and many more creative things out of things that are usually described as useless.
I made pen holder which is something everyone can use and its very easy to make.
All you need is
1.2 tissue papers' rolls (the part that's left over)
2.a small empty box
3.wrapping paper
4.super glue
5.a piece of a hard board

first cover the rolls and the box with the wrapping paper ant stick them together using  super glue. then paste a hard board to the bottom so that the pens wont fall out. since a box is also attached to this it could hold other thins like glue bottles,staplers etc.

When life gives you lemons make lemonade

The activity that we had to do last Thursday was that we had to write down a certain achievement that we had made in our lives , how we made it happen and which skills did we use .
Most people think that to make an achievement is to do something that will change the world .But i think that to achieve something is to be able to do something that you thought that you couldn't do , its to do something that you thought that was out of your reach . it could be passing an exam , it could to winning a race at a sports meet or it could as simple as making your friends smile or your parents happy :)
everyone in the class shared one of there achievements . Two girls actually told us that they excelled at karate one with a brown belt and the other with a black belt . I  guess now we know who we should be careful around :) there were people who had achieved passing exams, winning various awards and also overcoming issues like anger .

My achievement was being good at what i love to do :) form the time that i can remember i have always loved to sing . i took apart in competitions and went towards winning but never actually won . in grade 9 i tried out for the senior choir in my school and i was not chosen.I'm not sure why it happen but without giving up i continued to learn how to improve my singing and improve my voice . and finally i got into the choir. after that i got the chance to go for choir competitions and we won all odd it :)  and up to this day even after i have left school  i have never given up on singing and i know that i never will .  singing is what i love to do and it can make me smile no in good/ bad times in my life .

Batter UP !!!!!

Continuing from my previous blog theses are the the 4th  and 5th components of study skills

04.Confidence and premonition
Its important for you to be confident about your self . confident but not over confident. Remember in life there is no end to how much you can learn so always be open minded to what happening around you and appreciate the advice you get from others it might actually help you.
There's always a particular pattern that occurs every where . When you are trying to get to the top opportunities will come your way and at that moment you have to be able to jump at the chance you get without being afraid to take the risk because if you hesitate then someone else will take that chance.
Last week i was looking at 2 HSBC billboards they have this written on it "wake up your college friend just had your dream wedding " / "wake up your college just bought your dream car"
although this add was to promote a offer at the bank there is something that i thought that we can learn form it and that is - dreams are important because that what makes us who we are but if you send your time only on dreaming but never taking a risk to make your dreams come true then t.here is no point in dreaming cause someone else will take the chance that you were dreaming about !!! So when your chance comes just swing and score .

05.Familiarity:Practise and habit
To be able to be the best its important to practise put your methods and strategies into a habit. that way you wouldn't always have to remind your self what to do but it will automatically come to you .
there is a saying that "practise makes perfect" although i don't totally agree that anyone can be perfect but practise can take you one step closer to it .

Stay informed, Stay aware

If you are studying for a degree or looking for employment, to be successes full in both these areas you have to develop personal qualities. There are 5 main factors we should consider in order to develop these qualities
01.Self awareness and self evaluation

It's very important to be aware for your strength and weakness. by identifying these you can evaluate yourselves and figure out what you should do in order to improve yourself . in class sir handed out self evaluation form , i should mention that this was the same sheet we used to make airplanes on the previous day :) .this form helped us to see the areas we are stronger at and also the areas that we are weak. for me of course i realised that my people skills and personal qualities were better than the activity section . i also realised that there were somethings or skills that i never gave much attention to until now.well that was the purpose of the form to see things about yourself and realise what has to be improved.
02.Awareness of what is required

This basically means that we have to be aware of what if needed to excel at what we are doing. if it is regarding studying then its good to be aware of the syllabus of the subject, what level of studying is needed to pass the exam and to be aware of the competition that you are facing. if its at work then you have to know what skills the company expects you to have in order to be employed. so know where you are and only then you can figure out what you need to get to where you what to be.




03.Methods,organization and strategies.
Whether it at studying or working its important to figure out what methods,the way of organizing your work the the strategies suite you the most to achieve your goals. i know some people who need a well organized table and room for them to work in but i also know some people who can work well in a messy table. the same methods don't apply to everyone. following someones example may help you but you will be able to do a lot better if you figure out your on way after all there is nothing better that original.
well since there is a lot to write I'll put the 4th and 5th components  in the next blog :)

To be creative

We didn't get to make airplanes today :(  The discussion today was about how we should develop our skills , how we should develop personal qualities and about being creative .
Mr.Rehan asked us if we think that we are creative . Sadly  half the class didn't think that they were creative. so we were divided into two sides and the people who were sure that they were creative asked the others why they thought that they were not creative. one person said its because he thought that others can do things better that him. One of the students who was sure that he was creative said that he thought so because he was able to achieve his goals and do things that others thought that he couldn't do. Creativity is needed to achieve your goals .  being creative doesn't mean that u create something different or that you are that smartest in class but it simply means that there is something that you can excel in . It could be drawing , writing ,singing ,dancing etc....

everyone is creative but your creativeness can only be seen if you use it and bring it out in the best way that you can .

Sir gave us an example on being very creative (.I'm not sure if i should be writing this) :) . If you get dumped, on your ex's b'day take a air riffle shoot a crow and hang it in front of her/his house.
p.s- he said that he actually did this once :)

I guess the point was creativity doesn't have a cretin limit you can make i what ever you what . you just have to think a little .
Like sir said there are a lot of people who think that they can think but only a few who actually can think . so we should train ourselves to actually think .
 

Skills and Prefection

The class today was a lot of fun . we all got the chance to make airplanes from our worksheets .
The task we got was to make an airplane that will fly well enough to be able to hit the white board. No one was actually able to accomplish this but a few people managed to get it very close to the white board. Since majority of the class failed at this attempt Mr.Rehan demonstrated and showed us how we could make a batter airplane than the ones that we already made .
Although this was a very fun and  simple exercise there was a meaning behind it . Sir made us do this in order to teach us about Transferable skills . 
Skill is an ability and capacity acquired through deliberate, systematic, and sustained effort to smoothly and adaptively carryout complex activities or job functions involving ideas, things , and/or people ().( Business dictionary 2012 )

Examples-:

•  technical skills
•  interpersonal skills
•  Communication skills
•   Oral skills
•    Leadership skills
•    Transferable skills

In general Transferable skills can be defined as the following

communication: the ability to present an communicate in written and oral form and to use language appropriately in complex argument

problem-solving: the ability to identify and analyse practical issues arising in a situation and to offer a practical solution, making effective use of time and resources available

teamwork: the ability to establish working relations with others, to interact
effectively, and to promote productive cooperation

autonomy and personal skills: the ability to act independently, to deal with the unexpected, to reflect on one’s own actions and to accept and provide constructive feedback

information technology: the ability to use IT tools and develop that use by integrating it into their own work

numeracy: the ability to make use of numerical and statistical information as part of an argument or in a report

intellectual skills: the ability to analyse, think critically

(UK center for legal education 2012)

I think by the by the airplane exercise sir managed to teach us want transferable skills is not only in a very easy way but also in a way that we'll probably remember better and also in a way that we'll enjoy learning and what we learn.

The topic that we had to discuss today was "Can imperfection create perfection? "
 sir told us about two was in which we can over come imperfection

• To identify your weakness and improve it
• to focus on your strengths and build it up to a good standard

     There was many ideas and views shared about this topic in class . some of them was

1. perfection varies according to a person's point of view . what might seem as perfect to one person may seem as imperfect to another.
2. perfection cant not be totally achieved by anyone because improvement can only happen when there is imperfection . if something is considered as perfect then it will remain the same forever without ever changing or improving.
3. sometimes imperfection is needed to point out a flaw in something that is considered as perfect. because when you think that sum thing is perfect you never stop to see is there is something wrong.

Personally I agree with all these comments . I think that there is no one that  is perfect .Think about it if you go to someone who you might consider to be perfect and ask that person if if he/she considers himself/herself to be perfect they will definitely tell that there is something imperfect about  them .Although we cant actually become perfect I believe that we can be a great person .And i think that a great person  is someone who can see past his/ her imperfections and work hard to being themselves  and to do what you can to the best of your abilities .





                

First day of LFS class

Yesterday was the first day of the LFS class . we got a brief introduction to the module from the lecturer and we were told about the various assignments that we would get .
Creating a blog was one of the assignments that we had to do . One of the students asked how we could create a blog. And therefore the lecturer demonstrated to the class how a blog can be  created using the blogger in google. This was done by using a students gmail account .
 This  demonstration was very useful  and creating a blog was very easy because of it .