Week 8: Reading Diary Assessment

One of the things that I noticed about the Diary instructions was that there was no length requirement for the post.  This is actually really helpful, as it allows me to put down the information that I believe is beneficial and that I need to remember, without making me wonder if I will be putting enough information to fulfill the length requirement.  When I make my Diary posts, I change the strategies that I use occasionally.  Sometimes it is easier to summarize the different stories that are discussed in the readings.  Other times I like to focus on the different characters, using bullet points to keep track of important traits.  Both strategies help me when I go back to my Diary posts in order to come up with an idea for the storytelling each week.  One recommendation that I would have for students is that they should keep in mind what they might want to use for their story adaptation while they are reading.  If they put notes about it in their diary post it is much easier to remember the details, especially if I do not have the book on hand when I am doing my writing assignments. 
My reading diary posts vary in length.  They depend on the complexity of the stories, as well as how far into the semester that I am.  At the beginning of the semester I did not know anything about the stories in the Indian epics.  As time has passed and I have become more comfortable with some of the stories, I have found that I do not need to include all of the details that I once did.  Overall, I would say that they are generally the right length for me.  I tend to make them as I am reading, taking notes every time there is an end to a section or portion of the story.  I think that it would be useful for me to use more bullet points and less paraphrasing.  I do not include images in my diary posts, though it could be useful in some cases to help remember some of the less memorable stories. In general, I tend to remember the things that I am learning for this class much more than I do for my other classes.  In my other classes I am more caught up with stressing over exams or papers.  The more structured and laid back set up for this class give me the opportunity to relax and remember things because I am learning something that I enjoy, rather than something that will make me worry incessantly due to lack of instruction. 
Strategies that are useful for short term memory include reading something multiple times and discussing it.  Discussion can also be useful for long term memory, particularly if it is used in a debate. For long term memory, I also find making notes and flash cards to be beneficial.  Reading the text out loud helps me to focus on what the book is saying, rather than just skimming through it to finish more quickly.