December 11th, 2005
Final Learning Reflection/Record
The first major strand of work that I began this semester was preparing for information literacy. While preparing for information literacy, I completed assignments such as searching the Internet and reflecting on my own learning. These assignments were the first of many that began to help me to develop across several dimensions.
I have always relied a lot on factual knowledge and direct teaching in order to start working on assignments. One of the first tasks that I was faced with in this class was to write a response to a prompt about students becoming involved in self-directed learning activities. I had to really consider that topic and think about the benefits of becoming an independent learner. In responding to that prompt, I realized the effects of taking control of my own learning and becoming more confident with myself in order to become a better learner. My response to this prompt can be found by clicking here…
Once I realized the benefits of becoming a more independent learner, I tried to figure a lot more things out on my own. For instance, while beginning the information, discovery, retrieval, and management section, I learned how to create a web page and publish on the Internet http://www.mupfc.marshall.edu/~sirk4 At this time, however, I also learned the value of helping my fellow classmates with problems that they were encountering while trying to publish their own web page. I knew that it was important to be an independent learner, but to also reach out for help when you need it.
Also in the information, discovery, retrieval, and management section I learned how to evaluate web pages for legitimacy. This was a very important skill to learn because we must decide every day whether a web site offers information that you can trust. Also, as a researcher, you must make judgments about if the information you find on the Internet can be used as a reliable resource. I learned some of the strategies for evaluating web sites when I completed the assignment that required me to evaluate the Better Dog Food Company’s site, which can be found here.
I was also able to learn how to look up information by using an online database and then site those sources that I retrieved from the online databases by using APA style. I used some of my prior knowledge for citing resources, but also used the Publication Manual to learn how to cite these particular sources. It took several tries for me to get it right, but I was finally able to do so, and you can view my final cited sources here. I will use the knowledge that I gained about using online databases and citing sources throughout the rest of my academic career and also my professional career.
As I entered into the processing information section of the class, I was confronted with the new task of reflecting on how the definition of being literate will change throughout the course of time. My group thought a lot about this and had a conversation about how technology will continue to become more and more important, and how the actual definition of literacy will change. I then thought about why our conversation took that particular route. You can view my reflection on my group’s conversation here.
Also during this section I created and edited the genres for my MRP. Several of my genres required me to write from the prospective of a person with dysphagia. Since I have no experience with this, I tried to rely on my own experiences from when I was going through something that was hard and scary. I thought about how I would feel if I was diagnosed with something as serious as dysphagia and of times in my own life when I was faced with the unknown and had only my family to rely upon. Two pieces of work that I created that really reflect personal feelings and trials are the email exchange and journal that were written for my MRP. I also relied a lot on prior knowledge while I created my references page, which you can see here. I had to use the skills that I learned in previous classes and in this class about how to site references from a book, online web sites, and online databases.
The last major strand of work that I completed this semester was transferring information. Before I moved all of my work onto my web page, I had to continue to think about revision. I used the SCAR method that we learned in class to revise all of my genres. Several of my genres changed a good deal due to my revisions and those were my PowerPoint presentation and my pamphlet. You can see the changes that took place in my pamphlet by clicking here to view the rough draft in Tabulas compared to my final draft that is posted on my web page that you can access by clicking here. While editing my pamphlet, I used all aspects of the SCAR method that I had learned about previously in the class.
Throughout the entire semester, I frequently reflected upon my own work and even my own process that I used to give peer responses. The piece of work where I reflected upon how I evaluate others’ work and also how I would like to improve my evaluating skills can be found here. I did many other reflections throughout the semester, but the most comprehensive reflection was my final reflection that can be found here.
In conclusion, this semester I have worked on four major strands of work that included preparing for information literacy; information discovery, retrieval, and management; processing information; and transferring information. Throughout the semester, I have been able to develop across the five dimensions of confidence and independence, knowledge and understanding, skills and strategies, use of prior and emerging experience, and reflectiveness. I did not develop across these dimensions in any particular order, but was able to become a better researcher and student by working through the four major strands of work and slowly but surely developing the necessary skills to grow in my own abilities.