Reasonings

Towards the beginning of the semester, we talked about inductive and deductive reasoning. I know that we talked about that it for quite sometime, but I could use a little more discussion on this topic. I was able to differentiate inductive reasoning from the deductive reasoning. but never fully understood every aspect of it. I think that we should be able to learn how to discuss and explain it without referring to the text, but I still do not feel confident doing that regarding this subject matter. Maybe if a little more time was spent on it and a few more exercises aside from writing a post on it would have been a little more efficient in helping students like me who are a little confused about the topic to understand it a little better. Aside from this, every other topic of discussion was easy to grasp and apply to our daily lives.

Class Reflections

Personally, I enjoyed taking an online class. One of the things I probably enjoyed the most is being able to voice my opinion through writing and having our fellow students read and criticize what we have to say. I especially enjoyed this because the topics we discussed are suitable for today's issues. Another factor that I liked is that we got the opportunity to take our tests online. It was convenient and nice to take it whenever it is best for us and in the comfort of our own home. What I did not like about the class are the group projects. Not everyone in the class participates as much as one person would. It was more difficult to keep in contact with someone from a group and get the work done efficiently. I prefer to work by myself or in pairs. I think that is one way that the class can be improved. We can have smaller groups so it would be easier for students to get together and work on it. Aside from that, I thoroughly enjoyed the class.

Learned Lessons

Over the course of the semester, we as a class went over many topics. One of the things that I learned is to be a better critical thinker. This course allowed us to digest the different techniques to go about discussing critical topics, especially those that we are faced with nowadays. What stuck out to me the most that I learned is the impact of the social media to all of us. I always have had some understanding of it, but the course reminded me of how it truly affects us and how we should handle them being the critical thinkers that we are. Since the social media is one of the strongest influences we have, we need to be aware of how to handle them the right way. Another topic is studying the validity of an argument. I think that arguing, or defending your stance, is always a part of our everyday lives. Sometimes it may be a casual argument among you and your friends, but other times it could be a little more serious, such as arguing your point with your boss or co-workers to try to prove that you are suitable for your job. I think that we learned a lot of valuable information in this course and we should all put it to use to be the best version of critical thinkers that we can be.

Mission Critical and Causal Argument

In this course, we have gone over several topics to discuss. We learned many tips and tricks to be the best version of critical thinkers that we could be. The modules on Mission Critical and Causal Argument were very useful. The Mission Critical summarizes everything that we covered on arguments - from the basics, to analyzing arguments and to fallacies. Some of the topics discussed are the different parts of an argument, inductive and deductive and misdirected and emotional appeals. In addition, I think that the Causal Arguments website contains important information about arguments and how we to best use them in our daily lives. The website talks about the rules dealing with causation and also the strengths of a causal argument. Both of these websites make it convenient to go back and review the material that we learned throughout the semester. They are both necessary learning tools that we need to take advantage of.

Incorrect Conclusions

 As a college student, I am pretty positive that many of us have encountered the example I am about to give sometime during our college career. The way our classes our set up, it makes it easy for students to study in groups. It may work for some, and for the rest it may not be the best strategy. For me, it is the latter. I find myself giving study groups before a midterm a chance, but I always end up doing worse in a test than if I were to prepare for it myself. In my point of view, going over the class material with fellow students before a midterm is beneficial because we ask each other questions and each of us tell the group some information that we might be missing. When it comes to the test, I do not do as well as I thought I would. I have tried studying myself and I do better. This is most likely due to the fact that I am distracted by the side chatter when I can use that time focusing more on the text. Using my scientific skills, I was able to observe not only my own but also the rest of my study groups' actions and assess the effect it has on other people. I observed that our study techniques were effective, however it was not at all accurate. With that I was able to apply my observations and experience to the next situation. Situations like these happen all the time. For as long as we learn from our mistakes, these wrong situations can have a good outcome.

Horoscopes

According to www.shine.yahoo.com, my quick horoscope for today says: "Your place among your friends is secure today, and you know just where you stand."

Personally, I do not believe in horoscopes. I think that each horoscope may have some truth behind it only because we try and find a situation that has happened in our daily lives that we can relate it to. In my opinion, my horoscope above is accurate. Today, I was feeling a little stressed because of the hectic week I am having and going to face in the next couple of days, but I just sat down with a few of my friends at our house and spending time with them definitely alleviated a little of my stress. Though I think this is true, I think that if any of my friends with a different astrological sign was going through the same stressful week as I am and came up to me for advice, this horoscope would still apply to them. In fact, my friend from back home (with a different astrological sign) sent me a message saying that she needed me to be there for her since she is going through something complicated, and I was. We all may have different beliefs when it comes to horoscopes so it is important that we respect each other's viewpoint on this.

Social Networking

It is very apparent that the internet has affected our daily life by diversifying the different ways we deal with the media. One of the most common uses of the Interent is the social networking websites that are made available to almost everyone in the world. Starting with Friendster, MySpace, Google Plus and the famous Facebook, society has consistently talked about and took part in these social networking websites. Our text gives facts and numbers about the participation our society has with these websites, which only proves the impact this has on us. One example is that Facebook has more than 400 million members worldwide and counting. Social networking on the Internet definitely has its good and bad points. It is critical to understand how to use them correctly. As critical thinkers, it is our responsibility to study the various networking websites and how to use them for their advantages and not fall for their traps.