By: Krista
Guiteras~Duncan
409b
Dr. Leon James, Instructor: http://soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leompsy/leon.html
Instructions for this report: http://soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy17/g17research.html
The Challenge
A. The initial
point of view of Michelle Alonzo on learning the Internet was seen as “the most
difficult thing that she ever had to do.”
The challenge was faced when the learning process began. With learning something new, one needs to
have an open mind and a great amount of patience, especially in learning the
Internet. Ryan Mitsui stated that, “learning the Internet is a hands on
process.”
I
saw his view in learning by trial and error.
Everyone has their own method of learning the Internet because it
depends on how that person goes about it.
Overcoming Obstacles
“I
could finally start working effectively without having to rely on everyone to
teach me.” Michelle Alonzo
“…but
we need to keep pushing on!” Ryan Mitsui
Overcoming obstacles that we are
confronted with in learning the internet is something that each of us have to
go through. We get frustrated in not
knowing, confused in thinking that we know, and stressed out in being stuck at
an obstacle. Obstacles are inevitable
and we overcome those road blocks by keeping focused on the task at hand and
absorbing what we are told to do step by step.
The Progress in Perseverance
“The
struggling, frustration, and of course, perseverance, really paid off because
most of us ended up excelling in that class.” Michelle Alonzo
“Students
became familiar with using the internet and are confident and no longer have to
waste time and get frustrated.” Ryan Mitsui
The progress in perseverance phase is
keeping at the particular task without throwing the white towel in the
ring. Great progress is made when one
keeps an optimistic point of view in choosing to progress instead of
regress. A level head and even
temperament is required to prevail and succeed in being Internet literate.
B. My reaction
While reading the overall view of the
Internet by Michelle Alonzo I could relate to her from her very first comment
to her very last comment. I also
thought that the beginning was the most difficult because I was so clueless. For starters, I did not know how to log on
with my name and password and when I finally did that I stared at the screen
not knowing what to do next! In each
obstacle I turned to the lab monitor for help.
I got through my first report with the help of the lab monitor. I could
not have been able to do it alone.
Michelle says, “It really helps when you
have someone helping you out.” I
totally agree with her because if I did not have that helpful lab monitor boy
(Thanks Jordan) I would have never have gotten my first report up loaded!
I
also agree that “with practice, one can excel” because things have been looking
up for me in doing this report. So far I did not need to call the lab monitor
for help! Practice, support and
patience are some keys to learning the Internet.
I think the initial pattern is being “clueless.” We all have to start somewhere, and we need
help if we do not know what to do. When
we need help, we ask for help, and when we get help, we learn how to do the
task at hand. I recall certain
instructions being hard to grasp, so I would ask for help. When I got help I was relieved to know that
the task was not impossible to learn. I
think the cause of uncertainty can be overcome by someone validating your
process by overseeing your work.
In learning the computer, we are faced with many challenges and we get
through those obstacles by learning from our peers, helpful lab monitors, and
instructors. Michelle Alonzo
stated: “I could finally start working
effectively without having to rely on everyone to teach me.” This is phase II: Overcoming Obstacles.
The key to learning the internet is to have patience and to persevere as
Ryan Mitsui says, “…but we need to keep pushing on!” This is the attitude that we all need to have in life.
The third phase is the Progress in Perseverance phase which is directly
related to the previous phase of Overcoming Obstacles. Learning something new,
especially on the computer can be quite complicated. Each instruction needs to be followed specifically step by step
or else you will be lost in the abyss!
You will progress step by step and perseverance will keep you going
until you reach your goal of finally uploading!
Section
II. Self Observation Data
A. The forms are @ www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy17/g17forms.html
Before, during, and after
each search we were instructed to fill out forms on our goals for the search,
what we expected from the search, what database we chose and why, and how we
felt. The form was in three sections.
View overview of form here:
Section A- Before
Describe the task…
How long do you think…
How important to you…
How upset would you be…
How sure are you…
How likely is it that you will become good…
How much luck do you have in searching…
How motivated are you…
Computers and search engines make it easy…
How likely is it that there will be something
specific…
How much effort do you expect…
Section B. – During the search
List the databases and search engines…
Explain why you chose it…
Section C. – The End of search
How irritated did you feel…
How frustrated did you feel…
How much rage did you feel…
How much effort did this task require…
How much effort did this task require of what you
found…
How supportive are you of the search engine or
computer facility you used…
How easy was it to use…
If you compare how long did it took to other
sessions…
Which factor was most important in getting the
search results…
Did you change the goals from the beginning to the
end…
B. Data was gathered using my favorite
google search engine. The forum assignment at http://www.hern.hawaii.edu/webx
encouraged me to succeed in my search process.
I gathered my data using important key words that lead me directly to
the information that I needed. Almost everything that I found was relevant to
my chosen topics. It was time
consuming to fill out the forms after the search process. It was not easy to fill out each form after
each session with a time restriction.
I found that my searching at night was more relaxed and paced while my morning searches before class caused anxiety and dissatisfaction. Honestly, I usually postponed the form assignment until the next day because I was too cross-eyed to finish it after every search process.
C.
In assessing myself by using the forms, I found that I am a total
optimist. I usually thought that the
search would be easy, less time consuming, and that I’d find something
relevant. I never felt rage because I
chose not to let myself have such an awful feeling. I felt somewhat anxious at times, and some excitement which lead
into getting motivated. I also found
that after a great search, I was motivated to search more. After a long and tiresome search, I
would be exhausted and I fell asleep
immediately.
D. The data about my information behavior suggest that I am not a person to hop on the emotional merry-go-round. I found my behavior to be stable and calm in most situations. Being an optimist helps me to put problems in the proper perspective in school- work and life in general. The computer and search engine that I used started off as a foreign object, but as I spent more time getting acquainted with searching on the computer I felt more confident and productive. I enjoy working on the computer and I wish that I had acquired this skill a decade ago. Searching on the computer saves one time, energy, and money. Sure beats the library!
Bibliography Report here: http://soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy17/g17bibliography.html
Section
III. Counseling Session
A. I went to my counseling session at 12
noon today. Emily met me at the door and was very cheerful and happy. We talked
for five minutes while waiting for the second student that never made it. I felt better having a chance to talk with
Emily outside before we started anything because she made me feel
comfortable.
I didn’t know what to expect once we got in, there was a small table with two chairs set up. Emily read me the instructions and gave me a sheet to sign. The next thing I knew I was on the computer typing in “1998 Mona Lisa disappearance…” I needed to find answers with three references before ten minutes. I had three questions to answer. I answered the questions and did the search forms. I was confident and motivated after each search.
B. During the counseling session I learned that I get nervous when someone is watching me search on the computer while timing me! I’m not one to get nervous. That was interesting. The second thing I’ve learned was that I could have used the sub titles on the left under “clustering” to help me during my search. Knowing that would have helped me speed up my search process. I noticed the box with sub titles on the left, but did not bother to ask Emily what it was.
C. I think that it would be a good idea to prep students before they step into the room. I didn’t know what I was going to do at all. It would have been nice to know what I was getting into. Once I was told that I would be answering three questions by using the visisimo search I knew what the session was about.
A. Generational Curriculum:
This article introduces the special advantages of
the new online technology and the steps to intellectual citizenship. Significant aspects of an online
generational community of students who experienced an internet-integrated
university course were assessed. These
students wrote reports on their personal experiences in learning the Internet
and the content analysis of their reports helped to identify particular phases
in learning the Internet. “The
Generational Curriculum” is the creation of a social learning community through
former students or “generations”.
Students are challenged to learn the Internet by assignments given by
the instructor.
B.
Research Report:
The research report fits into the
“generational curriculum” approach by:
1) Reviewing
generational students papers on line and
describing the students point of view on each.
2) Reviewing our
personal forms and describing how data was gathered for the forum and
bibliography report.
3)
Assessing personal information behavior in searching and suggesting ways
to improve the learning experience of future students.
4) Students learn to
become Internet Literate with graded assignments via Internet.
Every week I looked
forward to participating in the weekly discussion forums. The forums helped me to remain focus in
doing my reports. The discussion forum
was helpful because we shared information that we discovered on our topics with
our classmates and got feedback from each other. This was very helpful and fun!
Using the online forum was very convenient because the forum is online
and I was able to participate right after I completed my online search.
The forum discussion became a community beyond the classroom because we
were instructed to make comments on other student’s postings. This was the
first time that I participated in a web discussion forum activity, and I found
it to be exciting and fun to be able to communicate with my classmates beyond
the classroom walls. I also feel that
inhibitions appear to decrease when we are allowed to type our comments to one
another instead of voicing them in the classroom. A lot of us are “non confrontational” and feel better expressing
our thoughts and feelings by writing. I
really enjoyed my classmates comments and learned a lot from their postings on
their chosen topics.
C. What is Information Literacy?
Information literacy is the ability to discover,
utilize, apply, and communicate information with critical discrimination and
transform it into knowledge. Being
information literate requires knowing how to define a subject or area of
investigation clearly. It demands an
awareness of the way in which information systems work, and the major
connection between a significant information need and the sources and channels
required to satisfy that need.
Dr. James discussed the various aspects of Internet
learning and growth experienced by former generations. There are certain phases
that students will face and most likely overcome while taking an
Internet-integrated college course. The author states that, “there is the creation of a social learning
community through the metaphor of ‘generations’.” According to Dr. James, there
are three phases of Internalizing Learned Online Skills. He tells us that
students will experience Level 1: Achieving Focus on Internet, Level 2:
Achieving Engagement, and Level 3: Personalizing. Upon reaching this level,
students will “begin to accept Internet by personalizing it in the presence of
feelings of attraction and the desire for task completion.”
I am glad to say that I feel I have successfully
completed level one and two. I have achieved focus on the Internet and
engagement. The learning process has been
very time consuming and I am glad that I finally learned how to go about doing
certain task on the internet because it will absolutely be of great help to me
in the near future. The “information
highway” is growing each day, and I am determined to grow along with our
education system and not only have computer skills, but information skills too.
Check out: http://www.theschoolquarterly.com/info_lit_archive/defn_discussion/00_gg_ilps.htm
D. What’s the great
connection?
The two components of “The Generational Curriculum”
being one, a creative social communication through “generations” and two, the
assessment of prior generations reports by the new generation is directly
linked to information literacy by the transforming of information into
knowledge. The research report ushers the student to utilize “The
Generational Curriculum” and to acquire firsthand knowledge of the Internet. Self-evaluation is a part of the research
report that connects directly to the Generational Curriculum and requires
information competency.
There are two principles, which fall under the Online
Generational Community-Classroom. The first principle is the Mining Hypertext
as a Learning Resource, in which the hypertext environment “provides the medium
in which students can practice authorship, critical analysis, and social
development through community integration.” The second principle called
Creating Community-Building Forces Among
Learners, describes how students “find motivation in group solidarity as well
as in competitiveness.” Dr. James also explains how generational students build
and enhance their leadership and citizenship skills through the use of
cyberspace.
Being that we are in an information society, online learning in the
community classroom is of great need.
Access to this technology and developing the skills to use the
technology does build and enhance our leadership and citizenship through the
use of cyberspace. Thanks Dr. James! It
is beneficial to be equipt with technology-supported learning, school reform
through technology, and global telecommunications.
Back to My Home Page: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/409bf2002/krista/home-.html
Back to Class Home Page: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy17/g17classhome.html