A4.8: Week 4 Reflection

Aims and Objectives: When I first looked at the work required for CD 315 this week I became very overwhelmed. I was really unsure how I was going to complete all the work required for this class and other classes, study for the GRE, and work at the Olive Garden. I set the goal for myself to have my work completed by Friday morning. By diligently working on my assignments I was able to surpass this goal as it is only Thursday and I am done with work. I wanted to have my work completed by atleast Friday morning so that I did not have to worry about completing work the night before I take the GRE. I also set out this week to gain more knowledge about Wikipedia and RSS. Since RSS was something I had never heard before I wanted to make sure that I understood what it was and how I could use this as a student and as a future SLP. The last thing I set out to do this week was to really examine the research question I developed, make improvements on it, and begin searching for information available on that topic. Writing research questions is something that I have a difficult time with so, I wanted to use the assignments required of us this week to help me to improve my skills on writing and searching for information on my research topic.

Declarative Knowledge: This past week I learned that RSS is a a protocol that allows individuals to subscribe to content on the web. Individuals recieve updates when any information has been on a site in which they have subscribed to. RSS is very beneficial in the educational curriculum and the professional world in that it allows people to stay updated on the latest news, research, and information. I also learned more information on Wikipedia. I developed a better understanding of what Wikipedia is and how an individual can edit and post information to the site. The information I examined this week looked at how certain tools on the internet can help people stay connected and find information using the WWW. I became a better navigator of the web this week as I learned all about various search engines. I learned the advantages and disadvantages associated with specific search engines. I even learned some new information about my last name.

Procedural Knowledge: This week I learned how to successfully complete research on a specific topic using a search engine. I have done numerous amounts of research using search engines, but the assignments this week helped me to learn which sites elicit better results and more hits. I learned how to type information in to the search engine so that I recieve the best results for that site. For example, the use of quotations and capitalization.

Conditional Knowledge: The information I obtained this week is something that I will use throughout the rest of my life, both as a student and a pre-professional. I will use search engines to research information for school and for fun! I know using RSS is something that I want to experiment with. I feel that this would be very beneficial to me as a future SLP in that I will be able to stay informed when researching is being updated in areas dealing with my field of study. I am excited to put these new skills to work as I finish this semester and continue on with the rest of my life.