E-Portfolio Cover Letter

Linsey Cushing

December 11, 2007

E-Portfolio Cover Letter

    Throughout this semester as I completed the weekly assignments for Computer Networking in CD (better known as CD 315), I created a portfolio of my work by posting the assignments on my personal blog.  At the beginning of the semester, I was close to illiterate when it came to computer technology and the digital areas that come with it.  However, I had high hopes for the class, stating, “As I strive to become more information-literate, I will positively impact my future career as a speech-language pathologist. The skills acquired by being information-literate will help me to problem-solve when I am unsure of a diagnosis, research many resources when I know little about a particular disorder, and develop creative treatment methods tailored to individual clients” (Week 1).  As the weeks wore on, I found myself being more comfortable with blogging, Google Docs, online classrooms, Flickr, Movie Maker, and wikis.  Although this language seemed foreign to me at first, through this class, I became literate in the world of technology.  I now feel confident that I am competent enough to navigate my way through these applications and communicate with other users in order to be an efficacious, yet still ever-learning, student.

    Without objectives, a course would have no structure or meaning.  This course had many objectives for me, as the learner, to achieve through my classwork.  Although these objectives looked quite daunting at first, looking back, I realize that I did, in fact, achieve them.  This gives me a great sense of accomplishment knowing that I actually achieved and learned so much through this course and it is all sitting right in front of me on my blog.  I think this is what makes portfolios such great examples of learning because it gives the learner a tangible object to look back and realize how much she has done.  In the following paragraphs, I will present the different objectives for the course and provide evidence from my portfolio to prove that I achieved each objective.  The objectives are divided into conceptual objectives and technical objectives, proving that this class involved both critical thinking and application.  

“The learner will acquire knowledge of the various conceptions of literacy in the 21st century.”

    

    As I reflect on the semester, this objective is particularly humorous.  I will never forget our first class meeting of the semester (a live meeting) in which Mrs. McComas told us to do a free write on what we thought literacy was for ten minutes or so.  We all just stared at each other, having no clue what literacy was.  After sharing our thoughts, we came up with the assumption that literacy included reading and writing, books and papers.  However, this class sure proved us wrong.  As stated in Week 1, “Our society, which is based on the assumption that education is synonymous with learning to read and write properly, needs to embrace the upcoming movement of the multimedia. This movement incorporates the language of the screen with modern technology, provides all the expression and intelligence that text does, and has even greater advantages. Many people associate being educated with being well-versed in knowledge obtained from texts. However, in order to be considered educated in the future, people will have to learn the multimedia language of the screen.”  Literacy is so much more than reading and writing.  Today, almost every area has its own type of literacy.  In one discussion, we talked about how people who are considered “illiterate” to society may be extremely literate in an area such as electric work.  The main focus for this class was, of course, digital literacy. 

“The learner will acquire knowledge of what constitutes acceptable sources and resources within a profession and in the 21st century.”

     This class really opened my eyes to what is considered to be a politically correct and acceptable source.  Before, I had no idea why Wikipedia was not considered to be a reliable source by many teachers.  However, as I discovered in Week 4, “Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia that is open for anyone to access and edit. It allows the users to control the topics and how much information is included about each topic. Wikipedia gives students the opportunity to take part in a collaborative learning environment that involves participants from around the world.”  I now understood that anything could appear on Wikipedia, and not all of it is reliable.  However, the idea of Wikipedia is amazing and has fostered a huge community of users who are passionate about maintaining the validity of the site.  This objective also touches on our focus on false web sites.  In Week 7, we conducted a web evaluation for a site called Better Dog Food.  The site turned out to be a very well-designed hoax, which I discovered quite quickly when I actually looked at the information.  As you can see from this link, I thought the web site was of no value to me as the reader ( http://lcushing.wordpress.com/2007/10/04/a71-web-evaluation-i/ ).  However, looking back, I realize it was quite important because it taught me to actually pay attention to all aspects of a web site before taking it as a reliable source when researching.  Finally, we discussed a lot of information regarding copyright and the importance of abiding to these rules.  This is particularly important when using other’s sources in research.   

The learner will acquire knowledge of the professional issues relating to literacy within the ASHA Scope of Practice. 

     At the beginning of the semester, we reviewed the all-so-familiar ASHA Code of Ethics.  However, I now realize the importance of looking at the Code for this class because one of the major aspects of this document pertains to research.  We, as future speech-language pathologists, are required to utilize all resources available to provide the best service possible.  Without the knowledge I’ve obtained about searching for this information, I would not be able to provide the optimal services.  For example, I did not realize that Google does not give the searcher every web site that goes with that search.  Instead, each server has a pool of information to search from.  If I want to find the best information, I should search from several search tools.  I also need to ensure that these documents are reliable sources.

The learner will acquire knowledge of the forms of inquiry associated with evidence based practice.

    This objective coincides with the prior objective because it deals with the research aspect that is expected of us as professionals.  Evidence based practice is formulated by the clinician’s expertise, the client’s preferences, and the latest research.  The only way that we, as speech-language pathologists, can provide the best advice to the client is by keeping up on the current research for that particular part of the field.

The learner will prepare for and participate in class discussions and activities.

     Although this class was mainly based on individual work, several opportunities for class discussion arose throughout the semester.  We had several live meetings to introduce information or discuss what we discovered in the previous weeks.  I also had the opportunity to take part in an online classroom on TappedIn ( http://tappedin.org/tappedin/ ).  Our first online meeting was with the whole class.  This proved to be very entertaining and quite chaotic.  However, I thoroughly enjoyed this, as you can see from my response in Week 7: “I actually had a lot of fun ‘going’ to class this way because I learned a lot but also got to joke around with my classmates. Also, I like how it is not a typical lecture-style classroom. With this type of virtual classroom, the students are the speakers while the professor is more of a passive observer, providing advice or answers only when needed. Overall, I thought this was a great learning experience because I learned about information pertaining to speech-language pathology while also learning some technology tricks.”  The following week, I participated in a group meeting with three other classmates and discussed the importance of copyright and how it pertained to us, both as students and future speech-language pathologists.  In order to prepare for all of these discussions, I was required to read information and have questions ready to spark conversation with my peers.

The learner will develop strategies for effectively planning and completing independent work (meeting both the letter and spirit of the work, not just the letter of the work) in a timely manner.

     As I learned very quickly, this type of class requires you to participate fully and with all your ability.  I had to use my time management skills more than ever this semester as I juggled this class work with other homework and studying, going to class, teaching dance, and trying to still have some time for myself.  I learned that the best way to get everything done for this class (without doing it all in one day) was to space it out from the beginning of the week.  If I got an assignment or two done each day, I could have the weekend free!  Although this did not happen every week, I am pleased with myself as I look back because I see that almost every week, I reached this goal.  In fact, my Aims and Objectives for every single week included something along the lines of “My personal goal for this week’s assignments was to finish everything before Saturday…” (Week 3).  As far as meeting the spirit of the work, my reflections that conclude each week’s worth of assignments are proof that I dedicated myself to this class ( http://lcushing.wordpress.com/category/memos/ ).  The Conditional Knowledge section, which reflected upon how I was affected as a student, future SLP, and a citizen by that week’s work, showed that I learned from each assignment and how much this class has impacted my life. 

The learner will use practical thinking (solve problems and make decisions), critical thinking (analysis and evaluation), and creative thinking (imagining and creating) to complete an inquiry project focused on a disciplinary issue relating to literacy.   

    This objective is, in my opinion, the main objective for the entire semester.  Our semester-long assignment, on top of weekly assignments, was to write an I-Search Paper concerning some aspect of speech-language pathology and literacy.  We started out by creating an essential question and foundation questions to base our research on, which we posted to a wiki that could be changed whenever we pleased ( http://cd315.pbwiki.com/Linsey+Cushing+ ).  I then gathered resources through two library searches on weeks 5 and 7 ( http://lcushing.wordpress.com/category/resources/ ).  After selecting the resources that I found most relevant to my project, I wrote an I-Search Paper concerning “How does age of implantation have an effect on reading ability in cochlear implanted children?” ( http://lcushing.wordpress.com/category/i-search-paper/ ) that connected my resources and portrayed my recently gained knowledge about the subject in a first-person paper.  The final step to the project was to create a movie on Movie Maker that published the results of our research ( http://lcushing.wordpress.com/video/ ).  This step was by far my favorite part of the research process because I was very pleased with my end result.  Although it was very rewarding, each step of this process took a lot of hard work and time, making it that much more worth it in the end.   

The learner will demonstrate enhanced communication skills and strategies, using the discourse of the discipline, in both oral and written formats.  

     

    This class made me realize that there is not just one way to communicate, but rather, many.  Because the Internet is now considered essential in today’s society, the means of communicating through the Internet are expanding rapidly.  One major method of communication for this class was via the class e-mail list ( http://listserv.wvnet.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=MU-CD315-L ).  Any time I had a question, I could e-mail this list and it would send the question to the entire class, including the teacher.  This way, I could receive insight from both my classmates and my instructor.  Another method of communication was by commenting on my classmates’ blogs.  Each time you post on a blog, you have an option at the bottom for people to respond to the blog.  Throughout the semester, I received posts from my instructor, a newly graduated speech-language pathologist, and classmates to provide encouragement or advice.  I learned a lot about netiquette, or Web etiquette, on Week 2:  “I need to be more aware of the technical aspects, such as adding a signature to my emails. I also need to remember that my emails are not as private as I think so I shouldn’t send something ‘I wouldn’t mind seeing on the evening news.’ I plan to use some of the grammatical suggestions in future emails to make myself more clear to the recipient.”  Orally, I had to work on my communication skills when working on narrating my Movie Maker project to ensure that I spoke clearly and also portrayed the information in a manner that was easily understood. 

The learner will participate and collaborate, synchronously and asynchronously, in online professional communities.

    As you can see from the previous objectives, I participated in many types of online professional communities this semester: blogs, online classrooms, wikis, and e-mail lists, to name a few.  In order to take part in communities such as these, I had to constantly remind myself that I was writing something that could be seen not only by my classmates, but by the public.  I enjoyed taking part in each of these communities because they each provided me with different aspects and procedures that I learned not only to appreciate, but understand.  It was great to be able to discuss and post information with my classmates without ever stepping foot in a classroom. 

The learner will demonstrate self-confident interdependence in multiple digital spaces and with multiple forms of media.  

    Wow.  This objective pretty much sums up my experiences with this class.  What started out as an unsure, not-so-computer-savvy student evolved into a student who is confident about using multiple digital spaces and using these effortlessly.  Although I still have questions, which I always will as things change and I take on new projects, I feel that I know so much more about the Internet and its applications.  I now have my own blog, and it represents a complete class portfolio ( http://lcushing.wordpress.com/ ).  As provided above, I also have my own space on a class wiki.  I created a movie on Movie Maker that represents a semester’s worth of effort and research that I am very proud of.  As you can see, I have definitely learned from this class.  However, I have not just learned about digital literacy, but also about communicating and the field of speech-pathology.  The skills I obtained this semester will follow me throughout my life, aiding me wherever I go.  As I stated early in this semester, “There is a lot more to digital literacy than simply being able to work a computer. I can personally testify that even when I’ve figured out how to work something like a blog, wiki, RSS, or social bookmarking, that does not mean that I can successfully produce information on it. You have to have both the procedural knowledge and the cognitive ability to possess digital literacy.”  As I write the final words for this class, I now believe that I have the skills and the knowledge to call myself computer literate. 

A13.5: Week 13 Participation Memo

Linsey Cushing

November 18, 2007

Week 13 Reflection

Aims and Objectives:

     This week, my goal was to turn in my final draft by Friday.  After this, I planned on finishing up the rest of the week’s assignments before Monday the 19th because that is my birthday! I wanted to be able to spend the rest of the week enjoying myself and spending time with my family for Thanksgiving.  Of course I will have to spend time on other classes’ homework and begin my Movie Maker for this class, but as of right now, I am giving myself a much needed break!

Declarative Knowledge:

     This week, I learned a lot about age of cochlear implantation and reading ability in children.  In my conclusion for my research paper, I decided that age of implantation does have an effect on reading ability.  I learned that the earlier a child is implanted, the better that child’s reading abilities, including reading comprehension, vocabulary, and word reading, will be.  I also learned that everyone, both hearing and hearing impaired, learn to read utilizing the same skills.  These skills include phonemic awareness, phonics, reading comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency.  Everyone also develops reading in the same stages.  However, deaf people usually plateau at Stage 3 out of 5, where hearing people and children who are implanted early in life have the potential to reach Stage 5.  Overall, I learned the importance of early intervention in children with severe to profound hearing losses so that they have the chance to be implanted early enough to reach normal or close to normal reading and academic achievements. 

    I also realized something very important this week: No matter how many times I revise a paper, it still can be improved.  I finally reached a point where I stopped and made myself turn my paper in.  However, I am sure that there are areas in the paper that could still be improved.  In the end, though, I revised and edited to the best of my abilities.   

Procedural Knowledge:

     This week, I did not necessarily learn how to do anything new.  However, the processes that I did use this week were crucial for the success of my paper.  I critiqued and edited my paper numerous times in order to make it ready for turning in.  However, as mentioned above, I could have done this many more times.  In addition to the process of finalizing my paper, I also wrote drafts for my Preface, Acknowledgements, and About the Author sections. 

Conditional Knowledge:

    This week, I learned a lot about the process of editing and revising a paper.  I realized that you come to a point of revision where you have to stop and turn in the paper.  I have learned so much about my actual topic and the process of writing papers during this research project.  As a student, the information I learned this week will greatly benefit me in the future because I have become a better writer and editor by writing this research paper.  This can only help my research and writing skills in the future.  I also have learned a lot more about cochlear implants, which can benefit me as a student because one of my current classes is Aural Rehabilitation.  As a pre-professional, the skills I have learned this week are very important.  I am sure that my researching will not end here; rather, I will continue to research cochlear implants and the benefits of early implantation, both in reading ability and other aspects.  I also have become better at writing, critiquing, and editing by doing this research paper, which will benefit me when doing future projects.  As a citizen, the information I’ve learned through this research has made me much more knowledgeable about the benefits of early intervention and early implantation, which I can advocate.  Also, I have learned a lot more about the importance of literacy itself, which can be relayed to my community.   

A11.3: Week 11 Participation Memo

 Linsey Cushing
November 4, 2007

Week 11 Reflection

Aims and Objectives:
    This week, my goal was to finish up doing my research, write the research paper, do all of the weekly assignments, and turn them in!!! I did not even get started on these goals until Friday because I had two major tests this week along with a paper due.  This weekend has been very stressful and I don’t plan on waiting this long ever again to do a paper or to finalize my topic!

Declarative Knowledge:
    This week, I learned more in depth about another literacy skill: branching literacy.  Branching literacy skills are those that you utilize every time you try to navigate the Web.  These skills include learning how to transition from looking at literal aspects, as you do with books, to using a non-literal fashion to search the Internet.   The Internet does not have a table of contents or page numbers to follow.  You, as the user, must navigate through the endless links and read through information that is not necessarily relevant in order to find information that pertains to your search.  I learned that branching literacy requires time and experience for the user to become efficacious at searching for information.  Also, I learned that certain traits help a person to have good branching literacy skills: the ability to create mental models and concept maps. 
    This week, I also learned more about writing an I-Search paper as I completed my rough draft.  After e-mailing back and forth with my instructor, I learned that with I-Search, you do not present a view in your research.  Rather, you present the information you’ve found and then make your own judgement in your conclusions.  My instructor also taught me that you sometimes have to reformulate your research questions as you conduct your research when you cannot find information that is fitting.  I also learned the importance of early implantation when looking at reading skills in cochlear implanted children.  

Procedural Knowledge:
    This week, I learned how to write an I-Search paper again.  In order to write an I-Search, you first must write an Introduction/Questioning section in which you tell what you knew before starting the research and explain why you chose your topic.  Next, you develop an essential question and foundation questions, which are also included under the Introduction/Questioning section.  After this, you conduct research, which you present in a section titled Searching.  Next, you form an answer to your research question based on the information you’ve found during your research.  This is included under a section titled Concluding/Answering.  Finally, you write all of your references used in the paper in APA format under a section titled References. 

Conditional Knowledge:
    This week, I learned a lot about research in general.  This week was definitely a challenge to me because I had to do a lot of work in a very short time frame: the weekend.  I had a lot of difficulty with my essential question, which I have changed several times over the past couple weeks.  As I researched this weekend, it became clear that I was going to have to change me question and foundation questions yet again.  This really worried me because I knew my paper was due Sunday night.  However, after e-mailing my instructor several times and doing more research, I finally arrived at an essential question and foundation questions that I was happy with and that were appropriate for the I-Search paper.  I am so happy that the rough draft is finally complete!!! *Huge sigh of relief*
    In regards to branching literacy, I discovered that there is a term for the sometimes seemingly endless wandering I do on the Internet when searching for sources (how convenient that we had this term this week).  One point I found particularly interesting was that with branching literacy, we move from a literal fashion to a non-literal fashion.  I found this to be very because we don’t “look through” the Internet as you do books; you “search.”  This skill is essential for the future because almost everything is now done through the Internet, whether it be banking and bills, office work, or schooling.  If you do not understand how to navigate the Web, you are helpless and hopeless. 
    As a student, the information I’ve learned this week about I-Search papers is invaluable.  Although I’ve done an I-Search paper before, it was in eleventh grade and I had totally forgotten how to write one.  I also learned that you sometimes have to establish questions as you conduct your research, which was hard for me to do because I like a set plan.  The branching literacy information was also helpful as a student because I use this on a daily basis when searching the Internet.  As a pre-professional, the information I’ve learned this week is beneficial because I possibly will have to conduct research on cochlear implants in the future.  Now I already have a collection of sources that are available to me so I don’t have to start from scratch.  As a citizen, the branching literacy information is important because I must remember that there are some people out there who still do not have branching literacy skills.  As a citizen, I should help these people to become literate in branching literacy and start their journey on the Web. 

A10.4: Week 10 Participation Memo

Linsey Cushing
October 24, 2007

Week 10 Reflection

Aims and Objectives:
This week, my goal was to revise my project prospectus and get started on researching. I also wanted to get the week’s assignments posted before the weekend because it is Homecoming!! =)

Declarative Knowledge:
This week, I learned more in depth about reproduction literacy skills. Reproduction literacy skills involve taking information, such as text or visuals, that already exists and rearranging it into something new and creative. This type of literacy skill is basically a complicated form of copying and pasting. When using reproduction literacy skills with text, you must take something, such as a paragraph, that already exists. You then rearrange the words so that the paragraph brings about an entirely different meaning. When using visuals, you combine photographs, videos, or clip art so that a new visual emerges. A great example of visual reproduction literacy skills are the works done by Pop Art artist Andy Warhol. The other information I learned about involved my research on cochlear implants and how they facilitate learning literacy skills through the auditory channel.

Procedural Knowledge:
This week, I did not necessarily learn how to do anything I’ve never done before. However, I continued to use the researching processes I’ve learned in the past weeks while searching online for more sources. Overall, I am learning how to do a research project in small sections over a semester.

Conditional Knowledge:
This week, the majority of my focus has shifted from weekly assignments to my research project. I’ve had to adjust to this shift because it went from a list of readings and reflections that are due at a certain time to a more self-directed, research on your own time outlook. I’ve learned this week that I really have to make myself do research when I have some free time. I work better when I’m on a set schedule and have deadlines, so researching on my free time is not easy for me. However, the deadline for the rough draft is approaching way too quickly, so I am applying myself as best as I can.
By reading about reproduction literacy skills, I was once again reminded of the importance of digital literacy and the impact that technology is going to have on our future. As a student, I have never learned about reproduction literacy skills. However, in the future, this will be an essential skill that will be taught in schools. As I said in my post about reproduction literacy, ‘creative writing’ will take on an entirely new meaning as children are assigned to rearrange an existing passage into a completely different story rather than creating a story as we did in the past. Computer skills, both technical and conceptual, are changing our lives and will determine success in the future.
As a student, the information I’ve learned this week is already having an effect on me as far as my research for this project. The information about reproduction literacy skills opened my eyes to a new type of skill that I should become acquainted with. I suspect that at some point in my future as a student, I will have to apply reproduction literacy skills to some type of assignment. As a pre-professional, this information is useful because my profession is built upon evidence-based practice, so research is essential. I will use the skills I am learning today in the future when doing research. Also, the information I’ve learned about reproduction literacy may apply because I may have to teach a client how to utilize these skills within a classroom. Finally, as a citizen, this information is useful because it makes me more aware of what generations after me will be learning in schools so that I can be educated on the same information they will be. This will facilitate better communication between us and also allow me to keep up in the fast-paced technological world.

9.4: Week 9 Participation Memo

Linsey Cushing
October 19, 2007

Week 9 Reflection

Aims and Objectives:
This week, my goal was to figure out exactly what I am doing my research on and get started on my research. I also wanted to get all of my assignments finished on time, as always.

Declarative Knowledge:
This week, the majority of the information I looked at for this class involved either cochlear implants for my research or photo-visual literacy. I am learning a lot of information about cochlear implants and am planning on writing a section of my paper about general cochlear information facts. When looking at photo-visual literacy, I learned that this skill involves using graphics and icons to follow instructions rather than written text. Photo-visual literacy is being used today in video games and computer games as we learn how to play through visuals rather than written information. This form of literacy is easy to understand yet involves a good memory and critical thinking skills. Photo-visual literacy is also more interactive than graphic text. Another aspect I learned about was my project prospectus. I learned that when writing my main question, I need to be more specific in my questioning and actually put my intended point in the question. I also learned that my foundation questions need to be very specific to my main question and not be questions that could involve an entire research paper within themselves.

Procedural Knowledge:
This week, most of my focus was on obtaining knowledge rather than learning how to do something. If I had to pick one thing, I would say that I learned how to critique a project prospectus and change my research question and foundation questions into what I actually want to research. This was done by attending a conference with my professor and comparing my actual research question to my tentative point, discovering the difference between the two, and formulating a question that will involve my tentative point. After this, I had to formulate new foundation questions that would answer my main question.

Conditional Knowledge:
This week, I mainly learned that my original project prospectus needed some major improvements in order to portray what I actually intended for it to say. My main question was very general and did not ask what I wanted it to, which I discovered when I had my conference. I now realize how hard it is to formulate a question that is accurate when researching. However, after my conference, I had a much better idea and plan and I am ready to research! By reading more about photo-visual literacy, I realized that visual graphics are more important than ever and these will become the forerunners in education in the future. Within our digital society, photo-visual skills are essential for success. I think this is great because, as I said in my reflection on photo-visual literacy, icons and pictures do not have a language barrier. By enforcing photo-visual skills, we are making our world even more of a global community. As a student, the information I obtained this week is very useful in helping me to plan my research paper for this class and also for research in the future. I now realize that I should sharpen my photo-visual literacy skills so that I can keep up with our digital society. As a pre -professional, the photo-visual information was very useful because I could use icons and graphics on the computer during therapy so that my clients will be interested and can relate to the information I’m trying to teach them. As a citizen, this information is valuable because not everyone is photo-visually literate, so I could help others to understand this skill and make them feel like they are part of a global community.

A8.6: Week 8 Participation Memo

Linsey Cushing
October 12, 2007

Week 8 Participation Memo

Aims and Objectives:
This week, my goal was simply to get everything done by the due date. I did not have the Internet for several days, so I did not reach my previous goal of getting everything done before today (Friday). I wanted to complete everything in this class so that I could enjoy my weekend because I’m going to the So You Think You Can Dance concert on Saturday…woohoo!! Another goal for this week was to get a better idea about my research project.

Declarative Knowledge:
This week, I learned about several different things. I broadened my knowledge about copyrighting through my online discussion with my group. I also continued to learn about digital literacy by reading an article for the second time. From this article, I learned that there are five different categories that make up digital literacy: photo-visual literacy, reproduction literacy, information literacy, branching literacy, and socio -emotional literacy. The study in this article proved that adults are stronger in some of these areas (reproduction literacy and information literacy) than high school and college students. I learned that even though younger generations have more experience with computers does not necessarily mean they have the skills to go with it. During the APA Review assignment, I learned a lot about citations in APA format. I did not realize the difference between ED and EJ for ERIC sources. ED stands for documents that are not found in journals and EJ stands for documents that can be found in journals. The way you cite an ERIC source depends on whether it is ED or EJ. I also learned that whenever you are citing a database, you need to put “the ____ database” at the end instead of just the database’s name. I also learned that a project prospectus was a tentative plan for a project (my research project).

Procedural Knowledge:
This week, I learned how to create a project prospectus. First, I recorded my research question and foundation questions. Next, I wrote my tentative point (what point I plan to make through my research). Then I wrote a 400-500 word discussion about my topic regarding what I already know, what am I learning about it, and what challenges do I predict in the future when answering my questions. Finally, I recorded all of my resources in APA format. I also learned how to correctly cite all of my sources in APA format. In our TappedIn class, I learned how to make myself an office.

Conditional Knowledge:
The skills I acquired this week will be of great help in the future. Most of my work centered around my research project, such as the APA format assignment and the project prospectus. Both of these assignments will help me in my research about cochlear implants and literacy. Rereading the article about digital literacy helped me to realize that I actually am becoming digitally literate (gasp!) as the semester goes on. Although I am definitely weaker in some areas, I believe that by the end of the semester, I will be able to classify myself as digitally literate. My group discussion on copyrighting really opened my eyes to how easy it is to infringe upon other’s copyrighting without even realizing it. This discussion made me more aware of copyrighting and will make me a more conscious person in the future. As a student, this information was beneficial because I will continue to write papers in APA format for the rest of my college career. Now that I know exactly how to cite, I will be able to do this with ease in the future. Also, I now understand how to do a project prospectus, so I can create one for future research projects. As a pre-professional, this information is helpful because I am now aware of copyrighting laws so that I do not infringe upon them. Also, I will probably use the research information in the future as I do research. Finally, as a citizen, the copyrighting information I’ve learned this week is of utmost importance because I need to be a model citizen for those around me so we can give people the credit (and money) they deserve for coming up with music, art, books, movies, etc.

A7.7: Week 7 Participation Memo

Linsey Cushing
October 6, 2007

Week 7 Reflection

Aims and Objectives:
This week, my personal goal was to get the assignments done by their due date on Sunday evening. This was the first week so far that I have had to work during the weekend on my assignments, and I am planning to make my goal for next week to be done by Friday again. I did not get the assignments completed earlier this week because I have had a lot of other work to do in addition to dancing on Thursday night. Midterms = stress.

Declarative Knowledge:
This week, I learned about the Three R’s of Inquiry in the McInnis article and I learned about evaluating web sites. In the McInnis article, I learned that students must become competent in the areas of reading, writing, and research to become successful in the academic world. In order to do this, students must change their mindset when researching from trying to find “the” answer to trying to compile information so that they can come up with an answer themselves. I also learned about the two types of knowledge: “knowing that” and “knowing how.” “Knowing that” involves facts while “knowing how” involves processes and procedures. Students must know how to obtain both of these types of knowledge to participate in an academic culture. The three R’s, reading, writing, and research, are all included under “knowing how.” I also learned that the best way for instructors to teach students how to obtain these skills is through assigning research topics and requiring students to write a paper and present the information to the classroom. This way, the teacher is able to mediate and teach the student during the process while also making it something that the student must participate in. Another thing I learned about was evaluating web sites. When I see a web site, I must think about several things before accepting that the site is valid and reliable. I need to look at the accuracy of the site, the author’s credibility, objectivity of the site, any available dates on the site, and how well the information is covered.

Procedural Knowledge:
This week, I learned how to take part in a live classroom on tappedin.org . First, I had to sign up to become a member of Tapped In and verify via e-mail. Once I successfully logged onto the site, I looked at the other people listed. I clicked on KarenLM (my professor’s name) and clicked Join from the drop-down menu. I then clicked on her name again and clicked on the door icon and was admitted to her “classroom.” Once all of my classmates were in the room, we presented questions to a guest speaker (a speech-language pathologist) and discussed the information in a chatroom-style fashion.

I also learned how to evaluate a web cite. As stated in the declarative knowledge, you must consider these categories when checking for the validity and reliability of a web cite: accuracy, authority, objectivity, currency, and coverage. After answering the questions provided under each of these headings, I determined whether two web sites were good sources or not. I also learned how to become a member of a social bookmarking network called del.icio.us. I visited the site, signed up to become a member, and verified the information by clicking a link in the e-mail sent to me. Next, I logged on to http://del.icio.us and I was done!

Conditional Knowledge:
The information that I acquired this week will be very beneficial in my future. Regarding the Three R’s, I feel confident that I have received a good basis for the development of these three skills in my past and am continually learning about them in my current education. I feel that I will be able to communicate efficaciously in the future with colleagues in the academic world. In the McInnis article, the information about students mistakenly searching for the answer rather than searching for the information that can lead to an answer really opened my eyes. I know that I am somewhat guilty of this; instead of trying to come up with my own answer when researching, I try and find “the” golden answer. The article really put this into perspective for me and I plan on reminding myself of this in the future. I completely agreed with McInnis that we must have “knowledge that” and “knowledge how” in order to succeed. It is the combination of these two categories that makes a student successful. A breakdown in one of these areas results in failure for the student. Actually, this can also be applied to the field of speech-language pathology. If a client cannot remember facts due to a memory loss, perhaps from a TBI or dementia, he or she will have a breakdown in communication. On the other hand, if a client cannot remember processes, a breakdown will also occur. A breakdown in either of these areas will result in the need for therapy. As a citizen, I will use this type of information because I plan to be active in my community and I am sure that I will at some point apply my writing skills to do this. Perhaps I will write an article for the newspaper to educate my community about certain disorders or even write an article in my children’s school newspaper about upcoming events at the school. As you can see, this type of information will be a necessity for the rest of my life.

A5.5: Week 5 Reflection

Linsey Cushing
September 21, 2007

Week 5 Reflection

Aims and Objectives:
This week, my goal was just to make it through the week!! I had two tests on Tuesday, GRE on Wednesday, and I am leaving today (Friday) to go out of town as soon as I get this reflection done. If nothing else, I wanted to make it through alive and finish all of my assignments before I left because I will not be back until Sunday evening.

Declarative Knowledge:
This week, my learning centered around very social aspects of the Read/Write Web, especially social bookmarking, virtual worlds, and virtual meetings. I learned that social bookmarking allows the user to bookmark sites just as the old type of bookmarking did, but makes these bookmarks and the tags that you put along with them available to the public so that you are instantly connected with others who are bookmarking the same type of information. This allows you to find an abundance of resources without having to do much searching and also with a large amount of people who are knowledgeable or at least interested in the same topic as you. I learned that virtual worlds allow people to create their own virtual person, or avatar, and “live” in a virtual world while communicating with others (also real people represented by avatars). Virtual worlds are used both for entertainment and educational purposes. For example, some universities are using virtual worlds for medical students to practice on virtual clients before they actually have to deal with real people to allow time to adjust and room for error. Finally, I learned about virtual meetings. These allow participants to meet on any computer that has an Internet connection. Teachers are able to conduct class, use audio and visuals so that students can see the teacher, and an electronic whiteboard is available for demonstrations and communication between students and teachers. Also, virtual meetings allow for students to be connected with guest speakers or other students who can literally be anywhere in the world as long as a meeting is set up that agrees with both time differences.

Procedural Knowledge:
This week, I learned how to subscribe to a Newsreader and how to add a link for this Newsreader on my Weblog. First, I went to bloglines .com and clicked on the “Sign up now It’s free!” link in the center of the page. I entered my email address and a password and clicked on the “Register” button. I received a confirmation email and after clicking on a link in the email, I was officially signed up! Next, I added four newsfeeds to my newsreader to start learning how to operate it. I simply added the URL for each site to the upper right-hand box on the page and selected “Subscribe to URL” in the pull-down options. I chose which link I wanted to subscribe to out of a list, and I was connected. I repeated these steps for each newsfeed I wanted to subscribe to, which were: 2 cents worth, indexed, Read/Write Web, and Weblogg-ed. To link to my blog, I went to my dashboard, clicked on BLOGROLL, put in the name and address of my newsfeed, and clicked “ADD LINK.” I also learned how to begin social bookmarking in Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms.

Conditional Knowledge:
I will utilize the information I’ve learned this week throughout my educational, professional, and social life. As a student, this information will come in handy very soon because I am currently creating a research question for research that I will do for this class. By utilizing social bookmarking, I will be able to keep track of my sources on any computer and also will be able to find more sources than I alone could find by connecting to others. I will also use virtual meetings in the upcoming days because our class meeting on Monday, September 24, will be our first virtual meeting. I am excited to see how this goes because I’ve never had a virtual meeting before. I think that Marshall should begin to require virtual meetings for classes offered online because whenever I have taken an online class, I feel very detached from the teacher and my classmates. As a pre-professional, this information can lead me to others who are striving to become speech-language pathologists so that we can share our knowledge and resources together. As a citizen, I could use virtual meetings to connect with other people from my community. I could even join a virtual world where Huntington is depicted. I think that I would really enjoy virtual worlds because I used to play Sims all the time. I am reluctant to join one because I have a feeling I would be on it a lot which would take away from my homework time. Facebook already does enough of a job on that. =) Overall, I think that the information I’ve learned this week will greatly help me in my future in all aspects of my life because it is helping me to become a more well-rounded person, especially in the technological aspect of the Read/Write Web.

A4.8: Week 4 Reflection

Linsey Cushing
September 14, 2007

Week 4 Reflection

Aims and Objectives:
This week, my goal was to get all of my work done before the weekend because I have two tests on Tuesday I need to study for and a wedding on Saturday. I didn’t do very well because it is Friday night, and here I am typing away! My other goal was just to try not to stress too much about this class. When I saw how much we had to do this week in addition to my other classes’ work loads, I was quite overwhelmed. However, I’m trucking along and slowly making progress!

Declarative Knowledge:
This week, the I learned about Wikipedia, RSS, and searching the Web. I did not know that Wikipedia was the eighth most visited Web site in 2005. Considering it’s popularity, it is probably higher today. I also learned that Wikipedia has a Discussion tab where editors can give their reasoning for editing the page so that others can search for bias in the article. Most of our readings for the week focused on RSS, or Real Simple Syndication. When you apply to an RSS feed, you select the Web sites that you want searched. Then, an aggregator searches these sites for updates and whenever it finds one, that site is identified on your RSS feed. This way, you no longer have to search sites for updates, saving you time and effort. RSS is the solution for organizing the overwhelming amount of information that is currently available on the Web. As author Will Richardson said, “RSS is a powerful, flexible tool that…will be changing our information gathering habits for years to come. If you don’t try any other tool…, you simply have to start using RSS” (2006). Finally, I learned about searching the Web for topics. I learned that there are three types of search tools: search engines, subject directories, and the invisible Web. Search engines are databases such as Google and Yahoo that allow you to type in a topic and search for results. Something called a “spider” searches through the database and returns to you with results, known as “hits.” Subject directories are for specific topics and are created by people interested in this topic. Finally, I learned that some Web sites are “invisible” and cannot be picked up by search engines or subject directories. The most important thing I learned about searching the Web, however, was that you should search more than one area when looking for information.

Procedural Knowledge:
This week, I learned to how to properly search the Web for information in search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Ask. I learned how to manipulate the wording of the topic so that different numbers of hits will come up when I search for it. I also learned how to subscribe to an RSS feed in Chapter 5 of Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. Finally, I learned how to subscribe to a professional mailing list when I joined one that related to my topic about cochlear implants.

Conditional Knowledge:
The knowledge I acquired this week will be very helpful in my future, especially in the near future for this class. We are in the beginning stages of a research project, and the information I learned about Wikipedia, RSS, and searching the Web will all be very useful when I am searching for information on my topic, which deals with cochlear implants and literacy. For example, I will probably use Wikipedia as a starting point for research but not as a main source because it is ever-changing and therefore hard to cite. An RSS feed would be helpful in identifying when new information is added to sites involving cochlear implants and literacy. The information I learned about searching the Web is already coming into play because this week, we had to search different search engines for our topic. Also, the mailing list that I joined will aid in my research. As a pre-professional, this information is useful because I am learning to incorporate technology into my future career, which will be essential in the future. I’m sure that I will use an RSS feed to keep track of Web sites that pertain to speech-language pathology. As a citizen, Wikipedia is a great place to become part of the global community. I could help to contribute to Huntington’s page on Wikipedia to fulfill my duty as a citizen.

A3.6: Week 3 Reflection

Linsey Cushing
September 6, 2007

Week 3 Reflection

Aims and Objectives:
My personal goal for this week’s assignments was to finish everything before Saturday so I could enjoy the BIG GAME! (For those of you who don’t know, our school, Marshall University, is playing our in-state rival, West Virginia University!) On a more serious note, I hoped to have an idea by the end of the reading and blog writing about what to do my research on. My plan was to write the reader response logs on Monday and Tuesday because they take the longest. I hoped to get the reading and reflections done on Wednesday, leaving today (Thursday) and Friday to finalize my topic and write this reflection. That way, my work is fairly spaced out and I also have time to enjoy my weekend.

Declarative Knowledge:
This week, my readings focused on wikis, collaborative editing, research questions, and essential questions. I learned that wikis are areas where people can post information that is open to anyone for editing. Before this, the only wiki I knew about was Wikipedia. However, I learned that there are many different wikis out there for pretty much every walk of life, such as Wikirecipies, Wikitravel, Wikinews, Wikiquotes , Holocaust Wiki, and Teacher’s Lounge (a place to share and comment on lesson plans). Wikis are being introduced as a means of student collaboration in schools because they are easy to understand and encourage skills that will be essential in the future. Wikis only require a Web browser and Internet access, so they are also easy to access. I learned that collaborative editing is a combination of a wiki and instant messaging. Collaborative editing involves people meeting on-line to edit information on a topic they have previously written. Everyone is assigned a color and that person’s edits appear in his or her specific color. This way, everyone knows what changes have been made and by whom. Collaborative editing shows the editing as it takes place on each person’s screen, which saves time and eliminates accidental overwriting. Collaborative editing is being used by colleagues working to write a textbook or to plan a meeting. It is also becoming popular with students who divide up responsibilities for taking notes during class. One student can type, one can organize, and one can make connections and comments. While reading about developing research questions, I learned the eight questions you should ask yourself when choosing a research topic. Finally, I learned that essential questions go beyond the typical research question and require the researcher to either evaluate, synthesize, or analyze information that has to do with real life problems. I also learned that essential questions cannot simply be answered and may, in fact, take a lifetime to figure out.

Procedural Knowledge:
This week, I learned how to create my own page on the class wiki. I first went to the class site (http://cd315.pbwiki.com), selected the “create a new page” link, and entered the class password. Next, I entered my name and email address and checked the “notify me of changes” box so that I will receive emails if anyone edits my information. After this, I clicked “login” and created a name for my page (my full name). I then selected “group project,” clicked the “create new page” button, and saved it. I also learned how to evaluate a possible research question by asking myself eight questions. They are: “Does the question deal with a topic or issue that interests me long enough to spark my own thoughts and opinions? Is the question easily and fully researchable ? What type of information do I need to answer the question? Is the scope of this information reasonable? Is my question too broad, too narrow, or okay? What sources will have the type of information that I need to answer the question? Can I access these sources? Given my answers to the above questions, do I have a good quality research question that I actually will be able to answer by doing research?” (Developing a Research Question, Empire State College)

Conditional Knowledge:
The knowledge I obtained this week will be used throughout my life. I had to immediately apply the information about wikis when I created my own page on the class wiki site. I also had to consider the research articles because I had to come up with a research question to post on the class wiki. However, this information will not solely be used for this class. I am sure that in the future, I will take part in wikis and research both as a student and as a professional speech-language pathologist. From a student’s point of view, this week’s information was very exciting because it gave me a glimpse of what the future of education might be when schools become digitalized. The possibility of students taking notes through Collaborative Editing is a great idea. In my current classes, we still take notes via pen and paper and I am constantly having to look at my friends’ papers because I miss something that is important. With collaborative editing, students will be able to have a specific role and only focus on that aspect of note-taking during the lecture. After the lecture, a great set of notes will be available for all students in the group. I also thought that Essential Questions were promising for future students. Rather than looking up information that is somewhat boring and readily available, students will be given questions that apply to real life situations and they must create their own answers. This will require more thinking than the old type of research project but at the same time, be more intriguing for the student. As a pre-professional, this information is important because as I progress with my education, I will be required to do more and more research and collaborative projects. This information will allow me to choose topics that lead me to successful research and also give me outlets to share my knowledge and be critiqued by my peers and others. As a citizen, this information is helpful because wikis are being created for cities and towns around the world. I could help my city develop its own wiki to aid in drawing in tourists but also as a way to bring the people of the city together and develop more of a community.