Category: Week 04

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As development communicators-in-training, there are essential tools and devices that will be very helpful in our everyday life working on papers and field works. Listed below are some of the essentials when you are in this field.

LAPTOP. This is an important tool since most of the requirements will be submitted and uploaded online. There are also applications and softwares that must be installed in one’s laptop which are helpful in creating content.

MOBILE PHONE. It is a must-have since almost everything that you will need can be found in your phone. You may use it as your camera and audio recorder during an interview. You may also use it to keep notes. There are also essential applications that may be installed here like location maps, photo editors, and mobile dictionaries. This is also important in contacting people.

PEN AND PAPER. It is important to always bring a pen and paper with you. This is necessary when writing details and information that you have gathered and observed. Bringing a pen is also essential so that you are ready when you are going to sign a document.

POWER BANK. Having a power bank is essential especially if you are covering an event that lasts for hours. You will not want to have a phone or a camera with an empty battery.

STORAGE DEVICE. Flash drives and external hard drives are important in storing and organizing your files including documents, photos, audios and videos which may still be helpful in future activities and field works.

OTHER ESSENTIALS.

Umbrella and Jacket. Face Towel/Handkerchief. Water Bottle.

Being a college student is a major shift in life. Indeed, college is far different from high school.

Along with the excitement and giddiness in starting the freshman year in the university is the frustration and nervous- provoking feeling because you never know what’s waiting for you in the college lecture halls and corridors.

To help you transcend your college life, here are some tools to help you prepare for your first year of stay in the university as a DevCom freshie.

1. Pen and paper

From organizing your weekly schedule to gathering data to jotting down of notes, a pen and paper is a must- have. Although we are now exposed to different technological advancements, it is still important to have a pen and paper with you for it will not only keep you on track of what you should do but it will also help you in enhancing your note- taking skills.

2. Smartphone and powerbank

As a DevCom student, smartphone is not just for communication purposes but also for academics purposes. From capturing photos to recording interviews to taking down notes, having a phone with you is a great advantage. However, a phone’s battery doesn’t last that long that’s why it is also important to bring your powerbank just in case your phone battery goes low.

3. Laptop and storage devices

Drafting an article, editing a video, online discussions- these are the things that you’ll encounter on your freshman year. Having a laptop and storage device such as flash drive is a must because it will help you in accomplishing these works.

4. Earphones

Along with performing an interview is the transcription of it, and earphones are vital when transcribing an interview. Aside from keeping you away from noise, it will also help you in finishing your task in a faster and easier way.

5. Water and umbrella

Gathering information, going through different places and covering events will truly exhaust you. That’s why having a bottle of water and an umbrella in your bag is a must. Aside from keeping you away from sunlight and keeping you hydrated, these two will also help you in functioning well in your tasked activity.

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Every day in UP feels like you’re in a battle for survival. Its either you go on a day finishing your outputs or your outputs finishing you. As a DevCom student, I always bring these 5 weapons with me to school to help me get through the day. 

Umbrella

I have to bring an umbrella since the weather in Elbi is unpredictable. I wake up knowing that the sun is out and end up going home in the middle of the rain. It is easy to catch a cold in this fast-changing weather; so to avoid getting sick, I always bring an umbrella.

I.D.

Aside from verifying who you are, your I.D. can also give access to you. I can stay in the reading room or the library because of my identification card. I can also use computers because of this.

Cellphone

As a DevCom student, my mobile phone is handy. I use it for note-taking in lectures and when I’m doing my research. I can also store the lecture powerpoint files on my phone that made it easy for me to review for the test. It is also necessary when I do my fieldwork because I can easily gather data through the help of the voice record and the camera on my phone.

Powerbank

I can quickly drain the battery of my phone because of my heavy usage. I need a power bank for my device to continue to operate. It is convenient because I can charge my equipment anywhere.

Laptop

As a DevCom student, I can’t escape online works. I have to edit pictures and write articles as a part of my job. I can easily do my requirements as long as I have my laptop. I can work anywhere and finish my tasks anytime because of my personal computer.

Before I entered DevCom, I had little idea of the things I needed to have. I watched countless videos on YouTube, but I was never appeased. On;y experience would really let me know.

So, for you, here are my 5 Keepsakes in DevCom:

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A good, old pair of shoes – to keep you running.

Even sandals would do. Among the shoes that I own, this one’s my fave even though I only had them since eleventh grade. I love the color, the material, and the fact that only my crush and I had the same brand in our batch. *wink*

Since you’re in Elbi, you gotta get around with a comfy pair of footwear.

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Biscuits or any go-to carbs – to keep you living.

I prefer bread over rice, since it doesn’t need both my hands to use while eating. Also, because I move at a gentle pace, so eating big snacks over a meal buys me more time to do other tasks.

Always have snacks with you, because you never know when you’ll find time to really eat.

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Brain dumpster and pen – to keep your thoughts and ideas.

One of the things I don’t like about myself is that when I have an idea, say a song or a story, I don’t write it down unless I have my journal with me. But it’s quite a hassle, so having a notebook that serves the single purpose of containing all that you are thinking about is a really good idea.

Be free and personal with it so that you will never get tired of using it.

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Personal circle – to keep you laughing.

I am an introvert, but that does not mean I’m antisocial. I like knowing new people, and since the beginning of the semester I already set out to find friends.

Given the individualistic lifestyle we have in college, having accountability groups as well as people to humanize with is a great advantage to keep your self. As for my advice, make lots of friends but stay with those whom you think can sharpen you and that you can also uplift.

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Memorabilia – to keep you going.

Last February 4, 2017, I stepped in the campus for the first time and was captivated in wonder. In my heart, I dreamed of studying here and since then, I already declared every time that I would study in UPLB. I am so grateful that God brought me to that day, when He introduced me to a place where He has already gone before me.

I admit that I can barely count the days when I was grateful to be in UPLB because of the stretching things that I’ve experienced. But looking back to that day in 2017, I stand amazed and thankful that I am here, doing the things I am now.

So as you come here, bring something with you that will remind you of why you began in the first place. Always remember that everything has a purpose bigger than life, as we know it.

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Every student needs the right tools and equipment to help them with their subject requirements. So, here’s a checklist of tools that I think will help you survive these requirements especially in your Devcom classes.

☑ Notebook & Pen. From gathering data to jotting down lecture notes, a notebook and a pen are the first item our checklist. These are the most basic items for a devcom student. It’s convenient for a student to have a notebook to keep all information like notes and deadlines organized. In that way, you won’t forget all the announcements and deadlines and cram your requirements.

☑ Laptop. A laptop is the second item for devcom students in our checklist. Since devcom students are exposed to activities which require word processing, multimedia presentations, photo, video and audio editing and online submissions, it’s convenient to have your own laptop with you. Although smartphones today have the same uses, having a laptop is more advantageous since it’s easier to multitask.

☑ Phones + Earphones. A phone is the third item on our checklist. Just like your laptops and personal computers, phones are helpful for various activities. Today, smart phones have features that includes apps for instantaneous word processing and note taking, audio recording, photo and video editing and organizing your schedules. It’s basically an all-in-one tool which makes it more convenient for students. Earphones are also a must have which you can use in both your phone and your laptop. It’s useful in case there is a need to transcribe interviews. If you also love to listen to music while you work, then earphones is a need.

☑ Storage Devices. Your storage devices such as flash drives or hard drives are the fourth must item on our checklist. For students like me who doesn’t own a printer in my dormitory, a flash drive or any other storage device is essential. It will save you a lot of time whenever you need to print requirements in compuer shops. Likewise, these storage devices are also helpful whenever you need to transfer files and there’s no wifi.

☑ Power banks. Since phones will be used most of the time, it would be a good idea to invest for the last item in our checklist which is a power bank. In that way, you won’t worry that much with your battery. You’re prepared in case you’ll be needing to charge your phone.

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In every course in the university, we have our own signature tools that helps us in our professions. An example would be a doctor and his/her stethoscope, an architect with the ruler, or chemical engineer with his/her flasks and tubes. As DevCom students, we are usually perceived as reporters or journalists, so we have our pens as our first-hand weapons. However, it isn’t simple to be DevCom students as we stumble upon a lot of written work that requires a lot of other complementary tools. So here are the other tools that are essentially helpful to DevCom students.

Usually, these two things are all needed by every student in the university. However, we DevCom students are more exposed to messages or lectures that are usually lengthy or uses highfalutin words. Because of this, it is important to jot down all these details on a paper or notebook so we won’t forget about them. Some people actually use phones nowadays for note-taking but the pen and paper trick is more reliable when it comes to remembering something because you have more effort on taking down notes using a pen rather than using a phone.

Our smartphones are actually like our-third arm. It serves many great purposes as it is multi-functional. Aside from communication like texting or calling, it serves as our mini-computers that let us almost do the exact same things a computer does. First of all, we have easy access to the internet, which is a part of our lives now. Not only that, it is a source of relaxation because it gives us entertainment wherever and whenever we are. Social media is very important to DevCom students as we need to be updated all the time of what’s happening around us. Our smartphones can also be our pen ‘n paper, but digitalized.

Sometimes, our phones are not as reliable as our laptops. Some applications on our phones are not as optimized as the software in our laptops. DevCom students primarily use laptops as their mobile office, the blueprints, or crafting benches to produce quality handouts or other academic-related outputs. In reality, laptops are not only for DevCom students as most of the students in the university rely on laptops on making academic works. The laptop provides multiple uses such as web-browsing, movie-editing, Photoshop, entertainment and other uses.

As we progress through our academic works, one might find their phones or laptops having trouble with its data storages. Sometimes, we don’t want to delete some files because we think that some of these files might still have use for the future or we are so attached to it because of the memorable things that manifests on those megabytes of data. Hence, we resort to finding another storage to find new spaces for our work or make a back-up from the residual files that we have. Usually, we have our USB flash drives to help us out. These drives are small and compact yet powerful in terms of storages so we also might consider trying to get a minimum of 16 GB worth of storage space.

Being college students who are far away from our homes and loved ones, we find ourselves terrified of having sickness, even the common cold.  Unlike in high school, we aren’t scared of being sick because we are near to our love ones who usually take care of us. However, in universities, the weather is still unexpected as always and we might want to consider having umbrellas at all times. We don’t want to end up being in bed for a whole week and disrupt our studies because of diseases we got from rainy days. Because of this, we need our umbrellas to help us not get sick as well as not ruining your fashion outfit from the rain. Even when it’s sunny, you still need an umbrella because you’ll never know.

• BACKGROUND IMAGE REFERENCE – https://imgur.com/gallery/HBEncIQ

(NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED)

As a development communicator-in-training, there are certain tools and devices that we need to have. These tools and devices are essential in our everyday routine may it be in school or outside.

Listed below, are my top five must-haves:

Laptop: This device plays an important part in a development communicator’s daily practice. In this device, you write your articles and essays, edit your videos & photos, lay-out your posters & visual guides, create your online blogs, and even have your online discussions.

Planner: A planner is an underrated yet highly significant item that a development communicator must have. A planner helps you organize your day, reminding you what you’ll be doing, or who you’ll be meeting, or maybe where you’ll be going. It also helps you keep in track with the dates of your deadlines and what specific work that you’ll be needing to pass.

Mobile Phone: In this present time, a mobile phone seems like another part of a human’s body, not going anywhere far from its host. This device is immensely important for it has everything that a development communicator needs in order to survive the course. If you don’t have a laptop, a mobile phone is an easy replacement. You can also capture pictures and videos as well do an audio recording in a mobile phone. This device also helps you communicate with other people in any parts of the world at any given time.

Pen and Paper: You will never go wrong in going back to the basics of using the classic pen and paper. There will be moments that our phones and laptops will have a dead battery. There will also be time that we might forget it or will might not have it with us, so having a pen and paper with us at all times is essential.

Umbrella: This tool is a random one in the list but holds a weighty purpose for any development communicator-in-training. Going outside the school and having immersions are some of the activities that we’ll be doing throughout our devcom adventures. An umbrella is important to those adventures because it protects us from the harsh rays of the sun and the heavy pours of the rain. It might sound unbelievable, but this tool really prevents us from having illnesses.

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These tools and devices that worked for me, might not worked for you. But one thing is the same for the both of us and that is to survive the course (in four years hopefully) and become a competent development communicator.

Padayon to us, mga siz and bros!!

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Pen & Paper

The use of pen & paper will make it easier for you to take note of the information you will gather.

phone

This handy device is useful for taking photos, videos and recording audio when you’re conducting an interview. Be sure to always bring it with you anywhere you go.

laptop

You’ll be able to save a lot of time organizing and creating your documents and outputs because it provides easier access to your files.

powerbank

A portable source of power will be a great help in case your devices, especially your phone, run out of battery charge.

water

Data gathering will surely exhaust you so don’t forget to bring your water and stay hydrated!