Halllelujah! A huge burden has been lifted off my shoulders! I just took my final. I have no more worries...the math saga is finally over! NO MORE MATH!!!

The class work this week was not that difficult. There were less assignments, but the work was more in depth and took more time. This week, we really started working on our MRPs.

I liked meeting with the class Tuesday f2f to go over Powerpoint. It was good to see familiar faces instead of staring at my computer screen. I had no trouble figuring out Powerpoint. For some reason, I always thought that Powerpoint was really hard. It did not seem that way on Tuesday, but ofcourse, I have not done it for real, yet. The class meeting also provided me with insight into my topic and resulted in a revision of my essential question, foundation questions, and prospectus. Good thing I had not submitted the Assignment 2.2.1. yet!

Speaking of Assignment 2.2.1, as of now, it is still not completed!! I am having difficulty coming up with 5 sources. There are many more than 5 hits that come up, but very few have full text articles, and the Drinko library does not have those periodicals, the MUGC does. So, I do not know if those articles will be usefyl because I can not access them. Needless to say, I am still searching!!

The most fun assignment this week was the genres. I am kind of ahead on those, I guess because I did an extra one this week. Writing my interview led me to thoughts for an "I am" poem. So, I wrote down my thoughts while they were fresh in my mind, and came up with a poem.

I really thought about my project this week. At the beginning of the week, I had a few ideas, but nothing really good or detailed. Now, I have started to see my question more in terms of the project. I have a good idea of what I want my project to be now, and I think I will be able to further develop my ideas in the next few weeks to complete my project.

This week has been the best yet. A little update on the math saga... I got a 97% on our second exam. Needless to say, I am overjoyed. No gaurantee of an A though; I will have to do well on the final for that. Still, I can not complain. I have exceeded my expectations. On top of a good week in math, the assignments for this week were not too bad.

My main goals for this class this week were to get everything done by July 4th, except this blog, and to start thinking ahead about the MRP. I have done pretty well. I am still working on the prospectus, though.

The content this week, was mostly about researching and thinking ahead to our projects. A few of the assignments involved evaluating sources. I am glad that we did this because I learned a lot about credibility. Many of the articles and webpages on the web that I have come across do not give information about the author. I realized that anyone could have written the information on these sites!!

The most difficult part of the assignments this week was completing the prospectus. The MRP has been on my mind a lot lately. I am having trouble picking out points of view to use. I know two points of view; obviously the client and clinician, but I am struggling with the third. I have a few in mind, but I am going to have to think it through before I make a final decision.

This week has been a good one. The most important thing I have learned has been about evaluating sources. I know that I am going to be analyzing every webpage I come across from here on out...but, I think that was the point!

I have one question- The MRP directions say that there must be at least 3 points of views included. So I could maybe use 4 points of view?

The format of my journal has been changed this week. For the past two weeks, this opening paragraph has been reserved for complaints. I am happy to report that this week has been virtually stress free! Amazing...I have no complaints!

I started the week out with the goal of finishing Kiss the Girls and completing all of the assignments for this class. I am very close to accomplishing those two goals. I am hoping to finish the book tomorrow and then assignments today. I guess you can say that I have goals within goals because I have goals for completing these assignments. This week, I wanted to develop a really interesting essential question, find a good professional mailing list to subscribe to, search the web for good resources, and create a cool webliography.

The hardest thing about this week, was the essential question. Most of the assignments for this week could not be completed if I did not have a good question. I ended up changing my question this week and I am happy I did. I have found a lot of good information this week. The assignment about Foundation Questions took a while for me to complete. I had just settled on a topic when I went to tackle this assignment. It helped me narrow down my question, I hope now that it is not too narrrow. After settling on a essential question, the rest of the assignments were fairly easy to complete, though time consuming.

Finding a professional mailing list about Laryngectomies was harder than I thought it would be. There were not very many out there. I ended up subscribing to one about Laryngeal Cancer. I also subscribed to a voice list, but this list must be very low volume because I have yet to receive an email from them. Searching on this topic was easy. There is tons of information available on recovering voice after a laryngectomy.

I have not quite finished the writing assignments for Learning Needs and Learning Highlights. I expect to finish those soon. I have read the articles for Learning Needs a few times, and I am still collecting thoughts and thinking of a good prompt (especially since Laura stole my prompt idea). I am having trouble answering the Learning Highlights prompt, simply because I can not think of very many instances were I remember learning. Oh, I know that I have learned a lot in my lifetime, I just can not remember the actual process of learning the lessons.

My favorite part of the assignments this week was completing my Webliography. It was time consuming, but I like doing stuff like that. I like creating web pages and stuff like that.

So, through all of the work I did this week, what did I learn? I learned that I should feel pretty confident in my computer skills. I subscribed to the professional mailing list and searched on my topic with very few problems (other than deciding on an essential question). I also finished my Webliography without any problems. I also learned, through what I have written on the Learning Highlights, that I need to be more confident with myself. I can see now that the times I have struggled with learning have been the times when I have not believed in myself, or when I put set goals that are too high for myself. Overall, this week has been the best of the three. I have been much more relaxed, and there have been no tears.

The only question I have is how to make your email a link. Like how can I type my email address and let someone click on it to email me?

I did not think my week could possibly be any worse than last week, but I was wrong. This has been a week with more downs than ups, and lots and lots of tears. I am really not an emotional person. I am not usually a big crier; I could watch the saddest movie ever made without shedding a tear. I am also not really excitable; my parents could have me a new car parked in the driveway and I would probably not jump up and down and all that…even if it were a Mercedes! I am just not that way, but this week I have been an emotional roller coaster. I have really struggled in my math class and I am finally coming to terms with the very strong possibility that I will not get an “A” in the class. I have shed many tears over that class this week, which has made me more sensitive than normal. I had to hold back the tears this week while I was listening to a CD in the car, which was the first time I have ever cried while listening to a song. The funny thing is that it was not just one song...it was a whole CD! But, I must admit that I have learned more about myself this week than any other time in my life.

Answering the prompts this week took lots and lots of thought. The prompts were really deep. I had to answer the questions over several sessions because I was in such deep thought that it made my head hurt. I have finished them now (except for the essential question), but I am going to tweak them some more before posting them. I have also had the literacy articles on my mind all week. For me, the content of this week was to become more familiar with the WWW and myself. I have done a lot of soul searching this week. I will say that at the beginning of the week I thought I knew all there was to know about myself, but I have found out more than I could have ever imagined.

I do not know how many times I examined and reexamined myself this week, but it was a lot. I almost feel like I have been in therapy or something. When I was answering the prompts I started to realize that I have been putting way too much pressure on myself. I am in the process of accepting that grades are not the most important thing in the world, and that in 10 years, or even 10 weeks, the grade I get in a class is not going to matter. The only thing that matters is that I have more knowledge after completing the course than I did before I started it. I have also realized that it is my responsibility to make sure I know more than I did when the class began, even if the teacher could care less. I am experiencing that first hand right now. My math professor is not the ideal teacher that was described in the literacy articles. I have realized that if I want to learn math I am going to have to do it myself. I had to suck up my pride this week. I went to tutoring and I had to ask my uncle for help. I also got a second book that explained the information better. I have realized that I relying on class time is not going to cut it. So, I have taken the first step of becoming a lifelong learner…I have taken responsibility for my learning. Really, that step is just a baby step.

This week, I learned the most through the writing assignments, which is usually the case for me. Writing is a great way for me to get things off my chest. I almost wrote and vented in this blog a few times this week, but I chickened out. I am not ready for that yet. Before this week I hated reflections. Most of the class probably still does, but I have learned so much this week because all I have done is reflected. My reflections have not been on paper, but in my head. It seems like the more I have thought and questioned and explored, the more I feel the need to evaluate, ponder, and form more thoughts. It has been mostly about myself, not the course information. But, I think that looking inside myself is the best place to start. If I start examining my attitudes and values (like I did in the first prompt) then I start to realize what is really important to me. Realizing what is important to me gives me a direction to go in.

While the prompts really got me thinking this week, I still have not gotten over the literacy articles. I keep thinking about all the kids that are missing out, all the kids that have not been encouraged and challenged by their teachers to make learning a priority. I have concluded that I am very lucky. In my case, consolidation gave me a better education. At Huntington High, more challenging courses were available. I also had two great teachers who really wanted their students to become information literate that I would not have had at Huntington East. But, I think about the other kids I went to school with who are no longer in school, who have probably not thought about researching or learning since they graduated. I can not help but think about why I was given the opportunity that I had and other students did not. Was it because I had the inner drive, was it because I had parents to push and encourage me, or was it just the luck of the draw? I have thought a lot about my brother this week and the lack of desire he has for learning. I just can not figure out how we are so different. My mom always says that she’s got one that’s wound too tight and one that is not even wound up at all. Why did he not have teachers that thought information literacy was important? Or did he have those kinds teachers, but he just did not care? I also keep wondering about teachers. Why do some feel really strongly about information literacy, while others do not? Is it because the ones that feel strongly about it are lifelong learners themselves? I have had many questions arise from that reading. It seems like the more I think about what I read, the more questions I have, which is why I said that I have done a lot of reflecting this week.

Our class discussion on the MOO was really interesting this week. It is funny how that each group can bring out points that another group never even thought of. When I thought about the media I was thinking news articles and stuff like 60 minutes, but Matt’s group brought up a good point about commercials and movies that poke fun at communication disorders. I had not even thought about that when my group and I were discussing the questions. I have thought a lot about the double standards that our society has set for communication disorders. Speech problems are so cute until the child hits a certain age, and then when the problem does not go away, others conclude that the child is abnormal and that something is wrong with them. Part of the code of ethics requires us as SLPs to promote public understanding. I think it was Melissa in our group that posed the question about what we can do to change the how society views CD. I think one way to do that is to educate ourselves so that we do not misrepresent those with CD. It is also important to go out into the community and get involved. Maybe hold meeting that are free to the public that address misconceptions, or even create an informative website to make sure people are getting accurate information. There are even more things that we as students (and NSSLHA members) can do.

I have had trouble this week with developing an essential question. I have an area picked out, but not a specific topic yet. I love the adult population. I do not know what it is about them, though. Sometimes I see my grandparents in the elderly, or I see the possibilities that are ahead for a young adult who has a CD, and other times I just see that they are really in need of good care. There are so many things I am interested in that involve adults that it is hard for me to pick just one topic. Dysphasia is really interesting to me, but so are strokes. Really anything neurological is fascinating to me. That is why I am having such a big problem. I am going to research some of the topics that interest me before I make a choice about that subject and my essential question.

I feel like I have grown so much this week. I have learned so much about myself and my views on education. I have also started thinking more critically. I have posed lots of questions this week and I have been looking for the answers. Not only have a grown this week as a person, but a student too.

Overloaded, stressed-out, unintelligent, and SUPER FRUSTRATED are four adjectives that describe me this week. I am overloaded and stressed because, after starting the week off with a fever of 102.6, I found myself working 30+ hours at the "Panty Palace", dog-sitting, and working on the assignments for my two summer classes. Somehow I managed to complete all tasks and still get a little bit of sleep. So why do I feel unintelligent? Two reasons really, one started at 8am on Monday in Math 123, which is basically Algebra and I have not had that since at least 11th grade. Needless to say, I have forgotten the majority of that material. The second reason is that I felt like a complete idiot on the MOO because I was had no clue what I was doing. Now, why am I SUPER FRUSTRATED, well because this is the second time that I have written this Blog. About 20 minutes ago I had just completed my Blog and was attempting to email it to myself before I pressed save, when AOL informed me that my email was temporarily down and then decided that it did not want me on the computer and kicked me off. So, pretty much I have wasted at least an hour of my day and now I can not go out to dinner like I had planned. Now, after I have run through the house yelling, crying, complaining about AOL, I am typing in Word and trying to remember what I had previously typed.

At the beginning of this week, I set a few goals. They were to become acquainted with MOO, be able to access and use the class mailing list and archives, figure out what this course is about, and then to tackle my Blog.

The MOO is really neat. At first I was intimidated by it. I felt really uncomfortable and dumb when I signed on. I was really unsure of what I was doing. I also felt like everyone else was one step ahead of me. I had trouble remembering when to use the commands and I thought that everyone probably knew it; I was really paranoid. Then I realized that everyone else was probably feeling the same way. The MOO is totally different than any place I have experienced on the web or anywhere else for that matter. Before this class I never really thought about what existed outside of instant messenger and the search engines I used for research. The MOO is unique. I tried to explain what the MOO was to my boyfriend this week and I had trouble describing it. It is way more than a chat room, it is an “interactive learning room”. It is a classroom, really. It is just not the conventional SH108 that we think of. It is amazing to me to think about what it really is. Whenever I think about it I can not help but say to myself, “Isn’t technology something”, which makes me feel like my grandparents, who are in total awe of the computer. One minute I can be in the 315 Station talking and learning with all of my classmates and then after a few pecks on the keyboard I can be in the Bookcases room, or the Recliners with just two or three classmates doing the exact same thing. It is also cool that you can page each other in the room and no one else can see, and that you can send nonverbal messages too. I like the MOO now, and I feel pretty comfortable in it. I know that the more I use it the better I will feel about myself using it.

Using the class list is not a new thing to me. Email is something that I have used for a long time now. Yahoo is new to me, though. I also have not used the archives yet, simply because I have not needed to. I do plan to try to access them soon, that is on my “To-do” list.

I have not quite figured out what this class is really about, yet. I really doubt that I will know that for sure until I have completed to course. Someone asked me this week if this class was just a bunch of busy work. I could honestly say no. With any other teacher I would have my doubts, but I know from previous experience that there is a reason for every assignment. Somehow, I am sure, everything I do will all end up linking together in the end, it always does. I have a few thoughts, though, about what I think this class is going to be about. First, it is about communication, communicating effectively and confidently with one another and with those whom we do not know. It is also about learning and discovery. These two terms seem alike at the surface, but I view them as different. Learning is something that does not happen the first time. Sometimes you do something over and over again before you learn the lesson, or other times you have the knowledge but you have not learned how to apply it yet, or sometimes there are new ways to apply what we have learned, which is learning yet again. Discovery is different. Discovering is when you see something for the first time, and I definitely think that I will discover things in this course. I have already discovered things, like the MOO. I also expect to discover things about my field, too, while I am researching. So, at this point I would say this class is about communicating, learning, and discovering. But, I know that as the weeks go on, I will find that this class is about much more than I imagine right now.

The last goal I set was tacking this Blog. I had some trouble getting started. I must have stared at the screen forever yesterday, but I just could not get my brain in the writing mode. I felt some pressure because my name is the first one on the website under Student Blogs. I thought that if a stranger came to our website my Blog would be the first one he would read. I am over that now. Strangers read away! I think I am really going to enjoy my Blog, even though my first experience has not been a good one. I have seen lots of possible uses for it. I read what Mary said in her Blog about NSSLHA and I think that using antville would be a good idea for NSSLHA. Since I was elected president for next year, I have been wanting to do something with NSSLHA on the web. I am excited now that I am using this Blog because I am getting all kinds of ideas. I think it would be a great place to post information about what NSSLHA is and what members missed at the meetings. I also think upcoming activities could be posted and maybe even some pictures of members at work at the activities. There are lots and lots possibilities and I am really looking forward to playing around on here and seeing what I can create.

I just have few questions this week and both relate to the Blog. I was wondering if the format I have is okay. When I usually do reflections I have everything broken down into content, process, premise. I do not for this Blog. It is kind of all jumbled in here. I also want to know how I can get my BLOG to not look so BLAH. It is kind of plain and I know there are ways to change colors and add pictures. That question you really do not have to answer right yet. I am going to try to experiment first and see what I can come up with.

I am really looking forward to this class. I have never considered myself to be a computer whiz. I have always thought that I was pretty average in the computer knowledge department. I know, though, that what I already know is going to really be enhanced, and I am going to learn so much more.