A2.5: Week 2 Reflection

Aims and Objectives:  My first personal goal this week was the familiarize myself with the websites we are going to use in this course such as writely.com, tapped-in, and our personal weblogs.  My second goal for this week was to complete all of the assignments on time.  I set out to explore and find out more about my personal weblog this week.  I have never created a weblog before so I was not very familiar with the different features that were available.  I also wanted to learn more about the weblog because the majority of our assignments for the week were centered around our weblogs. This was good for me because I got to learn and accomplish my goals at the same time.
Declarative Knowledge:  This week I learned about developing a weblog.  I have never used a weblog before so I also learned about the different categories on the weblog and posts on the weblog. Throughout the week I also learned about different websites we will be using for the remainder of the class.  A few of these websites are del.icio.us, tapped-in.org , bloglines, writely, and wordpress.com.  During this weeks assignments I also learned about my classmates through their weblogs.  I learned about their personal interests and learning values.
Procedural Knowledge:In order to use the websites for the class, I had to go to each website and create my own account.  In order to have an account I had to make up a username, password, and for some accounts fill out additional information such as my e-mail address, etc.  Then, for our first assignment I had to go to my personal weblog, click on “dashboard”, go to ‘manage” and click on “categories.” I then had to click on “add new” and create a category called Week2 with a description, and then a category called Online Journal with a description.  After creating the categories, I had to go to my weblog click on “write post” and do each of the 4 assignments following the same process, but giving each a different title. I had to designate what category I wanted each assignment in by checking “online journal” or “week2″. After finishing each assignment I clicked on “save”, and then clicked on “publish.”  I then had to make comments on my classmates weblogs by going to their sites, clicking on comment and posting my comment. 
Conditional Knowledge:  After doing this weeks assignments, I feel like I should have previously learned the things we have done such as make a weblog.  It is a good way to express your views, opinions, thoughts, and it is also a good way to get feedback from others about your views and thoughts.  I am glad I have been introduced to these different websites not only so I can do well in this course but to continue to explore the different features on the internet that may help me as a student in the future, and also in my professional career.  I think it would also be a good way to currently keep in touch with different classmates and to keep in touch with them once we have gone our separate ways and become professionals.  Knowing more about these features will be beneficial both for educational purposes and personal purposes.
Questions: Not really a question, but a concern, I am nervous that my journal will not have the necessary information because I tend to confuse declarative, procedural, and conditional knowledge.

A2.2: Reflection on Information Literacy

Do you think technology is an important part of information literacy? Why or why not?

I feel that for students, and all professionals it is important to understand that technology is one of the primary sources that will assist us in becoming information literate.  It is important to remember that when we talk about technology, we are not only talking about computers.  There are several different forms of technology that are available to us.   As a technological generation, we are familiar with the Internet, computers, i-pods, and many other forms of technology that previous generations did not have access to.  These advances in technology have enabled us to possess the knowledge of finding and utilizing different kinds of information that we may need, whether it’s for educational or noneducational purposes.  I believe it would be very hard to find information on various subjects without the use of technology. In a sense, technology makes it easier and faster for us to access information.  The information has always been available to us, however with the use of technology, it seems to be easier to obtain. As more people explore information literacy, I think students in high schools, colleges/universities, and professionals will see the very important role that technology plays, and will continue to play in information literacy.

A2.4: Reflection on Learning Values

What were some of the values and attitudes toward learning/education expressed in your family? How have they influenced your thinking and your practice (as a student)? How are they consistent or inconsistent with your own values and attitudes toward learning/education?

Throughout my educational experience my family has been very supportive and encouraging.  Each time I talked to my parents or my sister they always ask how my classes are going.  My family has always encouraged me to do my best and if I ever need any help to ask for it.  They told me that as long as I tried my best, then they would be proud of me.  However, I felt that having an older sister often put a lot of pressure on me to live up to her academic standards.  When I was younger, I was more interested in sports and extracurricular activities than school mainly because I was not a straight A student like my sister was.  I was also more interested in sports because I was better at sports than I was school work.  Until I began college, I don’t believe I ever truly did what my family felt I should do, which was try my best. My family also felt that although education was very important, you must have a balance in your life.  They encouraged me to participate in other activities such as sports, church, clubs, and many others. They emphasized that my health, family, and religion should be important in my life.

Knowing that my family supports me as long as I try really hard has definitely help me set standards for myself in my education. Since I have been in college I have realized that the only part of my school work that my family sees is my final grade, which is gives me more incentive to do the work for myself and not necessarily only for my family.  I’m always glad when my family is proud of me, but knowing I did all I could is very rewarding for me despite the final grade I receive.  Without my family’s encouragement and standards, I don’t believe that I would be very successful as a student.  My family’s values and attitudes are consistent with my own towards learning/education and I continue to try my best in every class, and also in this profession.   

A2.3: Reflection on Personal Interests

Why do you want to become a speech-language pathologist? What is there about being a speech-language pathologist that drew you to this profession?

I would like to become a speech-language pathologists for several different reasons.  The first reason I would like to become a speech-language pathologist is from my own personal experience with speech therapy, both when I was young and from observing.  Without my speech therapist, I would probably not have the ability to speak as well as I can today.  I also observed this profession before deciding to change my major to communication disorders.  I want to be a speech-language pathologist in order to hopefully help people the way I received help.  I also want to become a speech pathologist because of the flexibility of the profession.  I like the fact that speech pathologists can work in a variety of settings with different age groups.  Many careers are confined to one environment with a specific age population,  and do not offer the opportunities that our field provides.  So far, I have not decided what area of the field that I would like to go into.  I do enjoy working with kids, but I have not had much experience working with adults so I would like to have the opportunity to see if I also enjoy that population.  I hope to see what I prefer as a speech-language pathologist as I continue my education.  Additionally, the demand for speech-language pathologist is very promising.  Knowing that job opportunities are out there is very important as a student. I am very excited to have all of these opportunties as a speech-language pathologist.