Video Assignment

Stannard Gymnasium, Lyndon State College, Lyndonville, VT- Today I learned some tips and tricks from my friend David, as well as some of the members of the men’s basketball, The Hornets. I learned proper stance, hand placement, all the sweet moves.

It was a lot of fun working with David, Jojo and Josh because they put up with me so well. I’m terrible at most sports, and basketball is no exception. The guys were very patient, and their pointers made sense. That’s one thing that I like about sports; the logistics of it. If you keep your elbow in an L and use your non-dominant hand to guide the ball, you get more power, more lift, and more control to your throw. It’s like watching a tennis ball hit a wall, and using math/logic to figure out where it’ll land; with the right trajectory and amount of force combined with a keen eye, you can properly make a basket.

There’s certain rituals each person has; Jojo bounces the ball twice, David spins it and brings it around his back, I do a little jig and then kick my heels up. Whatever works; as long as you can properly assess how far you need to throw, and how hard you’ll have to throw.  Really the game all boils down to trajectory, force, and complete self-confidence. Like David said, you have to step up to the line knowing you’ll make it, because it doesn’t matter if you miss, you can always shoot again.

Plus, just having some sort of physical activity in your day to day life is extremely healthy and could even help prevent certain illnesses in the future. Having hobbies at this age is healthy for our personal health, as well as the heath of our relationships; you’ll never meet anybody new if you never do anything new. Even though I felt uncomfortable because I wasn’t at their skill level, the lessons they taught me were simply, yet very easy to remember.

Finally, the last thing that I learned, or re-learned rather, is that perfection is earned, not just rewarded. I wasn’t automatically good because I wanted to me, and the guy were’t automatically super good either; we have to work towards our dreams and goals, and put our time and effort into things we’re passionate about. I had fun, and I made new friends, while trying something new.


*AS OF RIGHT NOW I CANNOT EMBED THE VIDEO BUT HERES A LINK*

IReport Assignment

1. Sign up for an account
2. Look around on the website and write a blog post telling us what you think about the site -- what you like, what you dislike, whether it is a good idea.

Signing up was difficult and the process itself seemed boring and cliché. However, I think iReport could be an amazing tool if utilized correctly.

As a college student, I often feel like I'm in a cocoon, surrounded by brick walls and lectures, where the affairs of the outside world don't concern me. The process of hunting out news and other information is hard; we may not know what to look for, or where even to start looking. If you don't know that there is a crisis in Russia, then you probably aren't going to want to look up Crimea's location or it's resources.

I think iReport has hope because it's almost like the Facebook of news, directed at teens in order to make news and journalism "hip". I think it's a swell idea, especially because people have been saying "Print is dying". Online journalism, and/or blogging, is one way to keep the printed word alive.

Although I find myself filled with hope about iReport, I must admit I was very confused by the whole page. It was too much little text, not enough explanation, or clear ways to save stories to your page. I would love more clarity, even a demo or a walk through, so I could better get my bearings.

I think, once mastered, iReport will soon become the next most popular social media site for teens to locate good, quality news and information.

Also, my personal favorite article :)
Enjoy!