Finding Gold
As a student in Sylvia Edwards' English 102 class, I was handed an assignment to wander all over campus finding everything on the list. The list was comprised of several locations on campus we had to visit, as well as several items we each had to obtain. The students were also given a choice between several on-line treasure hunts. However, both the on-foot and the on-line "treasure hunts" had to be done, not one or the other. Both of the treasure hunts "helped improve my knowledge," said Barrett, a student in the class.
The purpose of running all over campus, instead of "doing" English, was to learn exactly what our campus has to offer to us students. Also, we discovered how these services will help improve our grades, study habits, course of study, and our career plans, if we actually use these resources to our own advantages. "I didn't know the counseling office had a career center," Heather remarked. We were required to do such things as obtain library cards, register for tutoring, meet with the academic advisors, learn how to use the Academic Skills Lab, and obtain a schedule of workshops offered by the Reading Center.
As for the on-line treasure hunt, I personally learned how to use a search engine effectively by narrowing my search with an improved search string. I also came across several fantastic places to search for more information. Most of us actually got a chance to practice everything we had been talking about in class. My team had to search for a picture of a polar bear, the diet of the lesser flamingo, a definition of a pinniped, and the average weight of an African elephant (Mini).
Doing both searches, instead of just one or the other, gave me an idea of how to gather information. The on-foot search offered me valuable tools, such as tutoring, academic advice, a library card, and knowledge of how to find what I want to know. The on-line search put my knowledge into practical application. We gained experience from the on-line search, whereas the on-foot search gave us tools to gain experience. Heather put it simply, "The treasure hunt will help to benefit my research in the future."
These were invaluable to my personal education by giving me important tools to help me with my research and knowing how to find the information I need. They gave me tools to better my style of writing. At first, I was entirely worried that no goal was established for the treasure hunt, but it is now obvious that it was to get us out there finding all these things we needed to know, such as how to use the computers in the library. Heather Rush was worried about the on-foot treasure hunt because she "really thought it was going to be boring," until she actually did it that is. I now understand what Sylvia was trying to teach us by having us do the treasure hunts. By following her instruction, we are better prepared to research anything.
These tools do not just apply to my school or English papers. I can use them for my "pleasure" writing, as well. My ambitions to eventually write a historical Christian romance novel suddenly took new life, as we discovered new ways to research and a huge amount of information gathered from this research. I really appreciate the fact that Sylvia made us do this, because this knowledge not only benefits us in this class, but these tools can benefit our entire lives, especially those of us who actually aspire to be writers.
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