Undoubtedly, this week was not a personal favorite of mine. I aimed to get some good research and genre planning accomplished for my MRP done this week, and, unfortunately, I failed to adequately do so. I did not make good use of my extra time (because I didn’t have ANY) and I became quite upset with myself as a result. I had so many other assignments, papers, and tests in my other classes that I felt completely overwhelmed and my time management skills were not effectively used. This week far surpassed the usual label of “busy,” and assumed the more fitting title of, “chaotic.” Although I did not get a lot accomplished on my MRP research this week, my thinking was altered in a variety of ways.
First of all, I thoroughly enjoyed Wednesday’s class session held in the lab. This was a great opportunity for me to learn more about Power Point presentations. I’ve never had to do a Power Point presentation up to this point, so before reading the how-to information, I had no clue where to even begin. Actually, even after reading the how-to info., I didn’t feel confident with the process. There was an abundance of information provided in the reading and I found it difficult to absorb all of it because I was unfamiliar with the program. I realized becoming familiar with and skilled at creating Power Point presentations is definitely going to be a “doing” process, as opposed to one where reading the “how-to’s” is sufficient. The tips and tricks will be most helpful, but experimenting with the different features and options, is what will really contribute to my understanding. The more I think about it, the more I realize that I understand almost everything better when a hands-on activity is involved. Most people I know seem to share this opinion, but I’m sure there are those people who can overlook the “doing” step in their journey to understanding a new concept or idea. It would be interesting to research how different individuals’ understandings are either hindered, enhanced, or unchanged based upon the inclusion of hands on activities in the learning process. Hmm…I bet there’s already been some research on that. Ok, now let me get back on topic. The in-class discussion about what components/features make up an effective Power Point presentation was interesting. At the end of the discussion, I successfully created a mental definition of a perfect PowerPoint presentation…if one really exists. It would be relative to topic, appealing to the eye, neatly formatted, contain clear, concise sections of pertinent information on each slide, present animation, sound and/or video clips, pictures or clip art in an enhancing (not annoying or excessive) manner, have sources cited appropriately, and contain information with no spelling or grammatical errors. While I have a mental image of what a great Power Point consists of, I know it will be easy to overlook minor details when fiddling around with all of the various features. That’s why I will most likely have another peer take a look at my presentation before submitting the final draft (it’s easier for others to catch little mistakes or give options I may not have previously considered).

My MRP topic shift was another important change made this week . After the one on one meeting on Wednesday, my topic’s focus evolved from how SLP’s can incorporate ESL into therapy sessions, to how understanding the individual needs’ of an ESL client can assist the therapist in developing an effective therapy plan. This shift forced me to re-evaluate my primary purpose, foundation questions, and sources and I am still in the process of acclimating myself to this new approach. When I first thought about this new focus, I thought it would be much more involved and difficult than my previous topic. However, I realized this wasn’t necessarily the case. While I now have a broader essential question and must find more research outside of the communication disorders/speech language-therapy spectrum, I can still use my original idea of the individual case study in my MRP. Finding that out was a definite relief, because although one portion of my MRP was altered, the part where I had used the most creative energy to develop, was able to remain unchanged. Once I push myself to delve into researching my new topic more (in the next few days, hopefully), it will be interesting to see what form this project will take. In the one on one interview, I was told something that shocked me a bit. It was that, upon completion of this research, I may not find a definitive answer. I have thought about that statement each day since Wednesday and my feelings toward it have remained ambivalent. In one way, it’s unsettling because doing research makes me want to find answers. Even if I find many different answers/viewpoints to the same question, it’s still something real that someone has once pondered and researched. But, to find absolutely nothing that supports or refutes my opinion about a specific question would probably leave me frustrated and unsure about what position I would want my thinking and research to assume at that point. On the other hand, not finding an answer would be kind of exciting. Even though it is a small question, it may not have been something that anyone has ever asked publicly before and I could be one of the first to share my beliefs on the subject. Not finding an answer would also allow me to take a more creative approach to the presentation of this project, since there would be no right or wrong way to answer the question. Anyway, I may be jumping the gun here…I surely won’t be able to tell if my question has an answer until I complete a great deal more researching. Therefore, this becomes a definite priority for me this week, and is much more possible since this week will not be as chaotic as the last.
Ok, just a couple little things to discuss before I finish. First of all, I took it upon myself to change the title of my weblog. Kelly brought it to my attention during Wednesday’s class that if someone does a search on almost any major search engine for “Erin Nichols,” my weblog is the first link that pops up in the results. Ugh! For some reason, that kind of made me uneasy. I don’t mind if my classmates or other people who are interested in my academic endeavors for this class read my work, but I don’t want just any average person to be able to read my personal feelings and thoughts. I guess there is not really a way to avoid this completely because if someone wants to access a piece of information on the web, they will find a way to do it. However, by changing my weblog title under the preferences section, my weblog is now not so readily accessible through the various search engines. Also, I just wanted to say thanks to Mrs. McComas for the comment about my journal voice becoming stronger. That is a goal I've been working on and it is gradually becoming easier with time. When I read that comment, I realized that when I think more critically about the weekly assignments and my project, it really does help to make my journals stronger. Yeah! That's all for this week. No questions at the present, but I'm certain some will develop when I attain new information for my new topic. Everyone should consider this as we begin to put our genre drafts together in the upcoming weeks...

"Doing your best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment."
--Oprah Winfrey