The topic that my group chooses for our New York Times project was Technology. The theme of our blog was a new beginning. Since there are also new technological advances in the world today, it can also count as a new start for the world. As freshmen entering college, we are situated in a brand new environment and finding ways to become accustomed to life in college. Events such as club fair can help new students feel welcomed and part of the environment at Baruch. Meeting new friends and being part of a club can add to a better experience at Baruch College. The technology articles that I picked are new advancements that can help ease college life. For example, a cell phone case that can charge your phone easily. Instead of looking and borrowing a charge from Baruch College, the cell phone case can easily power up your phone.  My role in the group project was the group facilitator. As the group facilitator, it was somewhat stressful because all my group members depended on my instructions and leadership. I was responsible for anything my group achieves and fails to achieve. It was my responsibility to guide my members through the project and help them when they’re having trouble. Since everyone in my group was either working or busy with their personal life it was difficult to contact them. I tried my best to explain the project over the internet but not everyone is available to listen, or it was confusing. The New York Times project helped influenced my understanding on news literacy by giving me a deeper insight on the field. I can understand how an article is organized, why it was published, and who the audience of the article might be. Overall, the New York Times project has been helpful towards my first semester at Baruch.

– Amy Wang

Our group selected the theme music for the New York Times project. We decided on this theme as it has such a big impact on our everyday lives. Most of us listen to music for hours every day when we walk to school, work out and do homework. I wrote one article on how music can be associated with academic achievement according to recent studies. The other article I wrote relates to the theme as it talks about why we listen to sad music. I chose these two articles as I find both of them very interesting and relatable to the theme. I love to listen to all types of music, and I know how much it can change my mood. Music does make a difference!

Our group decided to use music as our theme for the NY times Project. We decided to adhere to this theme because we knew that so many people listen and can relate to music. In addition to all that, we knew that music has many benefits and drawbacks to it which we all thought would be cool to explore. My article fits this them because it talks about how music can affect teens in general and their behaviors. I love to listen to music and what I realized was that my mood correlated with the type of music I listen too. Without music I don’t know what I would do in the shower and on my way to school. Music allows me to express myself. Music does make a difference!

The theme that our group selected was music. We decided to pick this theme because music is very smooth, fun and intellectual at the same time. The articles fit the theme because they spoke about how music can make us more productive in a workplace and how music moves our mood. Music in general has a major impact on who we are and how we feel. I helped come out with the idea of the theme and contributed by typing one of the articles. I wrote about how music makes us more productive in workplace. Music does make a difference!