I am going to try something different with this week’s journal. I am going to treat it more like a journal than a reflection assignment. I am going to treat this week’s journal differently because I have been thinking a lot about school lately and need to get some of those thoughts out into the air. I am still going to talk and reflect about my homework progress but this journal should have a more personal feel to it.
Like last week, I have managed to get lost in the CD 315 homework pile. I have managed to complete nothing more than the work from the previous week. I slacked for a week and can’t seem to find the time to catch up on everything. My work schedule wasn’t quite so demanding this week, but with the start of my anatomy class and the holiday weekend, I ended up wasting my homework hours. We haven’t had any tests or quizzes in my anatomy class yet, but I am beginning to get really scared about how I am going to do in the class. We have two tests this week. One of the tests is a lecture test and the other one is a lab test. None of the lecture material seems to be that difficult and I think that if I burn some midnight oil I will do well on the test. On the other hand, I am really afraid that I am going to bomb the lab test. We have to identify different types of cells that we see under a microscope. Initially, I thought that it would be easy, but after completing the cell lab I am under a different impression. I couldn’t tell the difference between any of the cell types. Sure, I saw tiny differences when they were pointed out to me, but I couldn’t do it by myself. My lab partner and I were both lost. I just pray that I get a couple chances to look at the cells again before the test on Thursday.
My mission in CD this week was to prepare for information literacy. (As you know, this is week 3’s mission.) I prepared myself for information literacy by subscribing to a professional mailing list, searching the web for information about my last name, Jude, and my research topic, which is Auditory Processing Disorder and Attention Deficit Disorder, reading articles that concentrated on unfamiliar resources, reading, developing a prompt, and responding to my prompt about teacher development, taking the VARK inventory to examine my learning style, and by responding to a prompt that focused on my experience as a learner.
Much of the homework that I completed this week was done on Monday. Monday’s seem to be the day that I have the most time to concentrate on this class. I also have ample time to do homework on Tuesday, but I never want to turn the computer back on after our weekly MOO session. The first thing that I did this week was subscribe to an appropriate professional mailing list. In order to complete this task, I simple clicked on the hyperlink that was providing under the assignments page of the class website. After connecting to Net Connections to Communication Disorders and Sciences, I explored the site. I looked around the site for a short while before clicking the “discussion forums and electronic newsletters link”. Soon after, I was given a list that provided information on various topics. I ended up subscribing to the Central Auditory Processing List. I subscribed to the list by sending an email that stated “subscribecapd-valeriejude” in the body of the message to the mailing list manager. After minutes of sending my message, I was sent a confirmation letter that I forwarded to the class list. I have been a member of the CAPD mailing list for a week and have only received one message from the group and that message was not useful for this class or my research. The message simple stated that the online discussion had changed rooms.
The next homework assignment that I completed was a web search for information about my last name. In order to complete this assignment I had to read several articles that contained information about searching the World Wide Web. The information I the articles were very helpful because I am very unfamiliar with web searching. I had to select several search engines and compare their results in response to my topic, which was my last name, Jude. I choose to use Google, AltaVista, and Yahoo for my search. I entered my last name at each of the search engines, then examined and analyzed my results to the search in a narrative type email message that I sent to the class. I was not very effective at comparing the sites due to the nature of my search. However, I was able to compare Google, AltaVista, and Dogpile in a similar assignment that dealt with a search about my project topic, Auditory Processing Disorder and Attention Deficit Disorder. I also examined and analyzed my results to my topic research in an email that I sent to the class via email. The topic search was easier when comparing sites because I knew what exactly what I was looking for and what information would be helpful for my MRP. In this assignment, I found that Google was the most useful search engine for me. Here, I did a refined search and managed to find articles that directly answered questions that are essential for my research topic.
My next task for the week was to read an article about teacher development, create a prompt that related to the article, than answer my prompt. This article was very interesting. It discussed pairing distinguished and inexperienced teachers to continue the growth of knowledge even after college. I really enjoyed this article because I thought that it discussed a very important concept for governmental officials to consider. I think it would be very beneficial for new teachers to pair up with experienced teachers before they start their independent teaching. I think that both teachers could learn a lot about different methods and styles of teaching that would most benefit their students. I continued this assignment by revealing more of my opinions in an email that I sent to the class list.
After completing this assignment, I took that VARK inventory. First, I clicked onto the VARK inventory hyperlink provided on the class homepage. After entering the VARK website, I answered several questions that related to my learning style. After completion of the VARK, I emailed my experience and results to the class. I really enjoyed this assignment because it was fun, helpful, and, most importantly, it didn’t feel like homework at all. Although I enjoyed the assignment, I wasn’t surprised at all by my results. The inventory said that I was an aural learner. I was well aware of this information before taking the Vark inventory. I tend to learn and understand best when I hear information being taught. This is why I only miss class when I have to. I hate to miss class because I know that it will be much harder for me to understand the lecture material through notes than by hearing it firsthand. In addition to being fun, this assignment provided me with some helpful study tips for the future.
The last assignment for the week required my response to a prompt that was provided by Mrs. McComas. This prompt asked me to think about my experience and history as a learner. The prompt also asked me to share a story about a time that I remember learning something. In addition, I was supposed to share my disconnections and excitement associated with learning new things. This assignment was the most difficult to complete. It is so difficult for me to relate a specific example about a learning experience. You would think that I am 92 years old because I have so much trouble remembering things. In addition to the mere recollection of details, it is also difficult to share. I have mentioned this in a previous journal but it is difficult to write information that I will share with everyone. I don’t know why I have difficulty writing things that will be read by everyone in class, but I do. I think that it is the fear that my work will be inferior to the rest of the class’ work. I know that my work won’t be inferior to the rest of the class’ (And even if it is it won’t be dramatically inferior.), but that fear is there. I almost always wait until the last minute to post my narrative stories on the class page. I do this because I think that not as many people will read it. How awful am I? It is really unfair for me to act this way because I love to read everyone else’s responses. I think to read them because the prompts given to use allow us to really get to know each other better. It is not very nice for me to read someone’s work and get to know more about them without revealing my own thoughts on the topic. Anyway, these current discussions questions are always the most difficult part of the week’s work.
Besides all of the homework, I also gained a lot of insight through the MOO connection this week. While online, I had numerous questions about the MRP assignment. Most of my questions were cleared up and now I have a better understanding about how to complete this class’ final assignment. I manage to amaze myself at every MOO session that we have had. I get off the computer and am amazed at how much class time I consume by typing/talking away. I hate to take away everyone’s turn to talk but I always have questions. (As I said in the MOO session, I have difficulty understanding the discussions because I am an aural learner.) In addition to pure confusion, I really hate to have dead time in the MOO class. For me, it is much easier to undergo quiet times in a classroom than it is on the computer. I don’t know why, but it is. Even though I continue to slack, I am still learning a lot of information in this class. (I am just learning things a week later than everyone else.) The most crucial piece of information that I learned this week is about the MRP in the MOO session and how to refine searches online. I have completed several researches online for research in the past, but for some reason I have never clicked on the refine button to get the most effective search. I gained the computer confidence to click refine and gained information that will really help save time when researching future topics. Overall, I have had a good week. I wasn’t all that productive, but tomorrow is my CD homework day. I will do homework all day and night, but I will get the work from week 4 completed.

WHAT A WEEK!!!!!

I have accomplished virtually nothing in this week. I have only finished the required assignments. I am horrible. Actually, I haven’t been horrible at all, just very, very busy. Everyone was taking vacations at work so I got stuck with a lot of extra hours. This week I worked a double shift and I also got 10hrs. of overtime. It was bittersweet. It is bad because I hate my job, had to work every day this weekend, and didn’t have a lot of time to work on homework. On the other hand, it will be wonderful when I get my next paycheck. In addition to my hideous workweek, I also started my anatomy class. The class only met one time last week so it didn’t really interfere with anything. I am terrified of this class, which is probable why I put it off for so long. I also had a baby tantrum this week. My boyfriend’s entire family was heading to Myrtle Beach for a few days and they offered to take me with them for FREE. (I was expected to pay for my own food and fun, but the room was FREE!) I really wanted to go so I got the nerve up to ask another girl to take my shifts. She said, “NO!” I was so mad that I thought that I was going to dye. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t care but I have taken plenty of her shifts when she asked me. So, I had a tantrum when I got home. Anyway, back to CD.

We were asked to do several tasks this week. Our mission was be prepared for Information Literacy by the end of the week. Unfortunately, I missed it. First thing tomorrow morning, I am going to accomplish the rest of my tasks for the week so that I won’t be too far behind. That will get me a chance to get back on schedule by the end of the week.

The first thing that I attempted this week was the webliography. I didn’t look at the directions for any of the assignments until last night and I was overwhelmed when I saw that a couple of them were due the next day, especially the webliography. I have no previous experience with designing web pages, preparing web links, or anything at all that dealt with HTML so I was terrified. I knew that I needed to start on it last night but I needed to go to bed because I had to be at work at 4:00 this morning. So, I thought that I would wait and work really hard on it today. The first thing that I did to prepare for the webliography was to think of some good sites to put into it. I did this part while I was at work. When I got home, I turned on my computer, connected to each of the sites that I had considered while at work, and stared at the address screen. I made sure that I wrote everything down that needed to be there. After gathering all the necessary addresses, I started on the webliography. As directed, I divided my work into four sections: personal interests, discipline, research, and fun where the titles of my sections. I began with the personal interest section. I wrote several sentences in the section. I continued that process throughout my paper. I wrote the name of my web links in the appropriate section with the intention of going back to those areas to fill in the web links and addresses. After the narrative portion of this assignment was complete, I began filling the HTML code in the areas that I wanted my links. I gathered my code from the link on the webliography instructions. I continued to fill in the codes for all of the appropriate areas, as I began to get scared that everything continued to look the same. I was expecting for the link to immediately appear once I had entered the code. Once this was complete, I saved my blog. I was so excited to see that all of the links and the right hyperlink word to be in the correct place. I only had one error. I did not have a link under the word ADD for the information about Attention Deficit Disorder. I couldn’t figure out what I could have done wrong. Next, I clicked the edit button. Once the old version returned to the screen, I realized that I never even entered a HTML code for that entry. I was relieved that it was a mistake, rather than a real problem. Now that I am completely finished with the webliography, I am astounded at how simple it was to make. Obviously, it would have been much more difficult without the codes in front of me, but everyone has to get the codes from somewhere. I remember when I was a senior in high school and a lot of my friends were in an Internet class. One day I went in the class to just sit and talk to my best friend Chrissy. She was working on a web page that looked absolutely wonderful. I remember thinking, “ I wish I took this class. That looks so neat and I would love to know how to do that.” I know that creating a web page is much more difficult than what we have just completed, but I am not so intimidated by her page anymore. I know a web page will be harder to create, but I am confident that I will be able to create one with a little guidance.

After I completed my webliography, I went to the class web page and clicked on the current discussion link. Then, I began to type in a few questions that I considered to be necessary for answering my research question. I actually began this task a little earlier than I did the webliography. I began looking at different types of information about my topic on the Internet last night. I jotted down a few notes that I thought would be helpful for my research in the future and began to think about important questions to ask. I ran into some problems about my topic when I was thinking about questions while at work. When I finished the webliography, I pulled out a scrap sheet of paper out of my purse and began to reply to the foundation questions prompt. After I my information was published on the web page, I copied and pasted it onto my weblog. Finally, I pasted another copy to an email that I sent to the class, asking them for their help. My problem was whether I should change the wording in my essential question. All of the research information would be the same, I would respond to the research in a different manner. My initial essential question was, “How often are children with APH misdiagnosed to have ADD?” This seems like a very good question and to be honest I would love to know the answer, but it just seems like I would never really get the question answered. Therefore, I considered this question: What are the repercussions of a child with APD being diagnosed with ADD? This question is very similar to the other one, but it seems like I can get an actual answer.

Although I didn’t do much work this week, I still managed to learn a lot from this class. I am amazed and proud of my webliography. I cannot believe that I was so effective when attempting this task. I can’t believe that it was so easy to do. I am sure that I have a few mistakes and did a couple of things incorrectly, but the basic principle of applying a hyperlink seems so easy to me now. Before this project, I was overwhelmed with the idea of web pages and hyperlinks. I was terrified of this project until I hit the save button on my blog and saw my finished product. I feel like I am slowly coming out of my internet/computer phobia. I feel even more confident this week than I have in the last two weeks of classes. This class is working, I am gaining confidence to try new things and I am not afraid of what will happen if I click a button.

This has been a very hectic week for me. Along with my usual 40hrs of work, I had to attend a wedding and a funeral. Therefore, I have already begun to slack in CD-315 and that worries me. This week we were asked to read different articles to increase our knowledge of the internet, subscribe and unsubscribe to a mailing list, search for people using specific websites, and post our response to several discussion questions on our blog sites.
I began my CD-315 week on Tuesday with my first MOO meeting. I was very surprised at how well everyone communicated using a chat-room format. I was especially surprised at my own performance in the MOO meeting. I talked, or should I say typed, a lot during the meeting. I talked more than I do in actual class meetings. I can’t figure out what got into me that made me feel the need to type messages throughout the entire 2-hour meeting. I refuse to believe the truth (Which is that I am just a motor mouth.); instead I like to think that I talked so much because I was uncomfortable just sitting in front of the computer doing nothing. In normal classes you can live with an uncomfortable silence, but on the Internet it is really uncomfortable. My goal for this week’s session is not to share my thoughts as much as I did in the last meeting.
After the two hour on-line class meeting, I was not in the mood to sit in front of my computer for another second so I put off the 315 homework for the night. The following day I started on my 315 homework as quick as I got home from work. First, I went to the 315 homepage and clicked on links provided under the first assignment. I read each of the articles about email that was presented under the links. I managed to jot down little interesting notes as I read. When I finished reading all of the articles, I opened another window to access my email. Then, I composed a letter to the class about the most interesting points in the articles that I read.
After sending that email to the class, I clicked on more links that led me to information about mailing lists. Once I had read all the information about mailing lists, I decided to attempt my next task, which was to subscribe to a mailing list. I didn’t have any major problems with this task, but I did encounter a few minor problems. Initially, I mistyped some of the necessary information to subscribe to a mailing list. The next problem was that I could not locate my confirmation letter. Finally, I located it under my junk mail folder and send that letter to the class list.
Once I was successful in subscribing to the mailing list, I was expected to unsubscribe to the same list. This assignment was also fairly simple to complete. I had to complete the same steps as before, except this time I had to type unsubscribe instead of subscribe. To complete a subscription or unsubscription, you had to send an email to the MLM of the subscription with a command to subscribe in the body of the message. It is that simple. It seems simple now, but the truth is that I had no idea about the steps you should take to subscribe to a mailing list before reading the articles and attempting this assignment. Once I received my confirmation letter to my unsubscription, I had to forward that letter to the CD-315 class list.
The next task on the 315 agenda was to read articles about navigation in the World Wide Web. We were to test our newfound knowledge about navigation by visiting several websites dedicated to locating people. We were asked to attempt to locate someone using the three websites provided for us. After our people finding experience, we were to write a note about our experience and report it to the rest of the class. We were expected to report our information by sending an email to the class.
The last thing that we had to do for the week was to post our response to several questions on our blog. This the area in which I slacked off in the 315 work for the week. I completed ¼ of these assignments. These questions require deep thought and personal knowledge of oneself. I think that in why I have only responded to one of these questions. I think that I know myself pretty well, but when I go to respond to a question I can’t think of what to say. That’s unusual for me because I always have plenty to say. Another thing that makes it hard for me to respond to these questions is that I know that anyone can read them. Unfortunately, I am not all that comfortable displaying my work. On the other hand, I know that displaying my work will only make it easier to do in the future. My delay in CD work could be due to plain old laziness. To be honest, that is probable what is keeping me from doing the work, laziness. It’s hard to dedicate yourself to sit in front of the computer when it is so pretty out. But most things in life aren’t always easy, are they?
I really feel like the work this week was easier to complete than last week’s work. This week required more time and thought, but everything was new for me last week. As I have mentioned several times, I know nothing about computers. It is like I am a child trying to learn how to tie their shoes for the first time. I attempted each task about 5 or 6 times before completing them last week. Not only did I attempt the tasks on various occasions, it would take we forever to do them. Maybe I felt more comfortable using the Internet this week that made the tasks seem easier. One of the things that I have learned about myself this week is that it is easy to know how you are but much harder to analyze yourself by writing about your thoughts and experiences. Obviously, I learned this by thinking about the questions of discussion, rather than writing about them.