Students were overwhelmed with work during the days before their SAT exams. Many were getting distracted by apps like Instagram and Facebook. So, I decided to make an Instagram page where I will post SAT Questions daily so that students can stay engaged with learning even when they are using social media apps. My goal was to help all students achieve a good SAT score.
LO1: (Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth)
I identified my strengths and weaknesses in the initial days of the CAS experience. My weakness was that I was not good at handling Social Media pages, which is a demanded skill in the 21st century. My strength was the Math Section of the SAT. After Identifying my strengths and weaknesses, It was easier for me to improve as I already knew what things I had to work on. I worked on my weakness during the length of this CAS experience but I was not able to improve a lot. Overcoming this weakness would have helped me make this page more active and engaging.
LO2: (Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken developing new skills)
Managing my time was a difficult task during the CAS experience as I had to Study for SAT alongside posting on the Instagram account. I have not done something similar before making it more challenging for me. I overcame this challenge by utilizing google calendar to make time blocks for studying; this helped me manage my time more efficiently. This challenge opened my eyes to a new way of time management using time blocks. It improved my time management skills and ensured that I am not wasting my time. I discovered that I am good at making Instagram posts while completing this CAS experience. This skill could be useful to me in the future if I pursue a career in social media marketing. I feel it is important to learn new skills as they help you grow as a person and make you an attractive candidate for employers.
LO3: (Initiate and plan a CAS experience)
I organized myself using different time management techniques and posting questions on the Instagram page when I am commuting or doing other non-active work. I am usually a disorganized person which made it difficult for me to follow the time management schedule I made. This experience improved my planning and initiating skills to a great extent as I had to plan in advance before posting any material on the page. This made me a more organized person and a better planner. This will make it easier for me to plan things in the future as I will already have enough experience in planning.
LO4: (Commitment and perseverance)
Perseverance and commitment were necessary for this activity as I had to post questions every day on the page. Posting questions every day was not a very exciting task and it was time-consuming. I felt like giving up on the experience many times but in the end, I completed it. It is not very easy for me to stay committed to things as I like exploring new things. Through this experience, I learned that showing commitment to things is important as it teaches you how to push through your obstacles to reach your goals.
LO5: (Demonstrate skills and benefits of working collaboratively)
During this CAS experience, I worked with another person. Working with others is generally easy for me as it divides the responsibilities and it helps everyone work in their area of expertise. During this activity, it was easier for me to work collaboratively as I was able to divide the roles such that they matched everyone’s skills and schedules. It is important to be able to work collaboratively with others as it helps in producing high-quality work and saving time. Teamwork was important in my activity as we both had to stay committed to the experience in order to run a successful Instagram page.
I developed the learner profile “Balanced” as I had to manage my time between sports, studying for SAT and posting on the Instagram account. I also developed the learner profile “Caring” as I acted to make a positive difference in the lives of others by helping them with their SAT Preparation. This activity greatly benefitted others as the followers of my Instagram page were able to efficiently prepare for SAT. The highlight of this experience for me was learning the designing skills required to make Instagram posts for the page. I achieved success with this CAS experience as I was able to run a successful Instagram page and make a difference in other peoples lives. The success also bought a sense of accomplishment along with it. This experience helped me develop many new skills such as Designing, time management and social media operation. If I did this activity again, I would try to make the page more engaging by developing my skills even further. The learning from this activity will help me in life as Skills such as collaboration, time management, social media operation as useful.
