I’m finally getting used to being so busy. I’m not quite sure if I like being this busy yet, but it beats being bored. Here comes the journaling…

This week I had aimed out to keep planning my week as I had done the week before. It just didn’t happen this week. I can’t say why really, I think I just forgot. I really began paying for it too right around Wednesday. I planned to do certain assignments for this class on certain days, but I didn’t start on them until Wednesday or so. I guess I didn’t just because I had so many other things to do that needed done right away and I knew that these could wait a while. Maybe I shouldn’t do that in the weeks to come. I also set out to not get overwhelmed by the week 3 assignments this week. I aimed to do that because usually, I print out the following week’s assignments and look over them on Monday (Monday of that particular week). I usually find myself feeling pressured or overwhelmed. This past week, I said “NO MORE!” And this week, I didn’t. I’m still using that “What comes next” mindset and it seems to be working out pretty well, at least it’s doing good for my stress level. Unfortunately, the assignments from this class are the ones that are put off, and I need to stop doing that. That is going to be an objective of mine for the next week: To plan to do these assignments (maybe one or two a day) each day of the week and actually follow through this time. Also, maybe then I won’t have so much homework for the weekend!

There was a lot of content addressed this week. Perhaps what I struggled with the most was subscribing to the professional mailing list. What a process!! It took me forever almost to even get a reply. I’ll mention more on this later (relating to what I did specifically). Checking out all of the search engines was very cool. I especially liked searching for my name. I found so much stuff on my name and I even found the name “Heather Perdue” in one search! That was pretty neat, but I couldn’t open the page it was linked to and that drove me crazy. The VARK inventory was neat too. I wasn’t surprised at all to find that I’m not a very auditory learner and that I learn better through reading and writing and through kinesthetic means. It was neat having that confirmed. Also, answering the prompts is always fun (LOL). No, really, they aren’t that bad. They make you think or REFLECT upon yourself a little and that’s always nice. Also, meeting online and doing the MOO thing on Wed. was very cool, although I had computer problems and was 15 minutes late!! During the MOO meeting, I found that it was really nice to get some feedback on my research topic and my essential question, which I have refined since then. I also liked being able to help my MOO partner/group, Erin, with her questions and her topic. It was fun to actually do the MOO thing for real this time. I liked it (I know I’m a dork).

In completing my work this week, I didn’t really use any noteworthy processes because to be honest, I didn’t start most of these assignments until later on in the week (sorry, I was so busy!!). However, I did utilize persistence in subscribing to a professional mailing list this week. I tried so many lists and so many times (I really wanted one on autism, but they all seemed to not work properly). Finally, with some help from Mrs. McComas (thanks again!), I got a response. Actually, the list owner e-mailed me personally to welcome me to the list and also recommended other lists to join. I’m confident that I will get some good info. from these lists. Also, I have begun to utilize collaboration as a process for getting good info. on my topic. The mother of the autistic child that I work with has been very helpful in trying to obtain information for me regarding my essential question. She has also recommended a few lists to subscribe to and has given me information on these lists.

Overall, I feel that this was a very productive and very informative week in regards to this class. I am now going to stick to my guns when I say I’m going to do this assignment on Mondays and these two on Tuesdays and maybe these two on Wednesdays, etc. I just think it will make things go smoother and it will make my weekend look more like a weekend. Also, I feel that I’m really ready to start getting serious about this project. I’m getting very excited about finding out more and learning more about behavior management and autism and what I can do as an SLP. I am also beginning to see how wonderful and how important collaboration really is. I have had a few people offer to help me in my attempt to gain information on aggressive behavior techniques that can be used with autistic clients and it’s really amazing to see how many people support learning and research…even at the college level. I’m so grateful for people’s help and their opinions.

Some questions that I have found myself asking this week are:
1. Do I want to ask an essential question on aggressive behaviors in autistic clients (specifically), or do I want to ask something else?

2. How much information on this topic is going to be available to me (good information/usable information)?

and finally…

3. Now, exactly when are things going to slow down in this class???

These questions will probably be answered soon, so I probably won’t be asking them for very much longer. Looking forward to next week…

HLP

It seems as though I am settling into some sort of schedule. This week has been as hectic as the last few weeks, but a little more routine which helps a lot. I can’t believe we are already entering our fourth week of school. It has went by so fast. I only hope that it continues at this pace so that Christmas break will be here before we know it!! On with the journaling…

I had several aims and objectives going into this past week when it came to this class. For those of you who read my last journal entry, you know this. I aimed to plan more thoroughly and actually set aside certain days to do certain assignments for this class. This helped tremendously. I’ll mention more in the process section of this journal entry. I set out to plan more thoroughly because my usual method of planning and organizing, although very thorough, was just not cutting it. For this class, I needed more because there are so many little assignments that if you’re not careful, they will begin to pile up very quickly. I had to do something and I think I’ve got it figured out (finally!!). Some objective that I’ve set for this coming week (for this class) are: to continue to plan my week out on Sunday evening; plan to do CD 315 assignments day by day (e.g.—do the first three assignments on Monday, next two on Tuesday, etc.); and to begin really solidifying a research topic and begin to form some questions that I would like to answer regarding that topic. Those are just a few, but I’m sure I’ll come up with more as the week goes on.

The content addressed in this class this past week was quite interesting. I especially found the things that we had to read about e-mails very fascinating. I never knew that e-mails could contain so much emotion and could be so laid back. I guess I sort of did (I don’t recall ever sending a formal e-mail), but to actually see an article saying that e-mails weren’t meant to be formal was very interesting. I also never knew how very un-private e-mail can really be. This terrified me! I don’t know if it was such a good idea to read some of those articles or not (you know, what you don’t know won’t hurt you!). It was also interesting to find that subscribing and unsubscribing to e-mails could be done so easily and by just typing in simple commands in an e-mail and sending it to an address. How neat! Also, I found it very enjoyable to answer the prompts in the class discussions this past week (no, really, I did!!). These prompts (Personal Histories, Personal Values, Learning Futures, and Essential Questions) really made me do some deep thinking about who I am as a learner and what kind of learner I want to become. Also, the Essential Questions prompt made me realize that I need to get on the ball with choosing a research topic for this class! Also, I feel that I’ve finally got the hang of this online journal thing (you know, just writing about this class and not griping about all of my other classes).

Overall, I think that the processes that I used in completing my work for this class this week was much more effective than the weeks prior. I planned my week more thoroughly for this class (as I had mentioned above, planning to do certain assignments on certain days) and realizing that some of these assignments can wait( I don’t want to sound like a huge geek here but, when I sit down to do these assignments for this class, I don’t want to stop. I want to do more of them and I tend to neglect my other classes’ assignments that are do like, the very next day!). Now, I just do a few or a couple a day so that my time is well managed and I have an ample amount of time for all of my assignments (both for this class and for my others). I also tried something a bit different that I thought would help me: I printed out all of the things that we were supposed to read and at night while lying in bed, I would read them so I wasn’t straining my eyes trying to read them at the computer and because I have a clearer head and am able to concentrate better at night. Maybe some of you should give it a try (who knows, maybe I can be a little trendsetter like Kelly!). All of these processes helped me tremendously and I now feel a little less stress and a little less overwhelmed. I think I’ll continue with these processes and I’ll update you guys on their effectiveness in my next online journal entries.

As a result of my new found processes and the content that I explored this week in this class, I found that I really do enjoy this class and that I’m not just saying that in order to someday believe it (really, guys!). I found all of the information regarding e-mails to be very interesting and the MOO stuff was neat too. I found that I must be much more open to new ideas and new stuff than I had imagined (because I would usually say that I hate computers and that computers and me aren’t such good friends). I have also found that these new found processes are a life saver!! I would still be trying to do three or four of my assignments right now for this class, but instead I’m finished with all that I need to do right now (it’s that “What comes next?” state of mind that has led me to do this ((thanks Mrs. McComas!!))). Also, due to all of the prompts that we responded to this week on our current discussions page, I kind of got in touch with myself as a student and discovered that I am a true-blue active learner (I kind-of thought that I was, but it took really thinking about it and reflecting upon it and writing about it to make me realize that I really was an active learner!). This really made me proud because this is the kind of learner that I want to be. Responding to the Learning Futures prompt made me realize that ok…I’m not a good test taker. I got an ok score on the ACT. I did okay on the GRE. But these tests say nothing about what kind of student I am or what kind of clinician I will be and the bottom line is…I can APPLY, so therefore, I KNOW!!! Also, I know that it is time that I give my research topic some serious thought. This is something I will do this coming week and hopefully by the next week, I’ll have something solid.

I really cannot bring myself to think of any questions at this time (the time is now 11:56 pm, Saturday night, and it’s been a long day!). However, I do have this one for myself: What is it exactly that I want to know more about? I mean, I have mentioned some topics in the Essential Questions prompt, but what, when it comes right down to it, do I want to know more intimately? What can I put a lot of effort into knowing more about and still enjoy at the same time? Who knows, maybe I’ll have the answers by week’s end. Until next time…

H.P.

You know, as I read over my entry for Week #2, I realized that I didn’t ask any questions that I could perhaps answer in the future. I feel that I covered all of my aims and objectives for next week and perhaps the weeks to come. At the time that I did my online journal for week 2, I didn’t really have any questions. Well, I take that back. I did have a question and it went like this: “God…could you please help me? Could you please make things slow down a bit?!” Okay, so this is more like a prayer but hey…they are questions, right? Also, I forgot to mention (or maybe I didn’t) that most of the aims and objectives that I listed particularly pertained to this course (CD 315), because this is the course that will require the most time management, the most organization, and the most dedication.

The only questions that I can think of at this point (besides the ones that I said above) are:
1. Just how bad is this semester going to be?
2. Will I be able to keep my head above water?
3. Will my Therapeutics lab always be as bad as it
is now?

I had to add that last one because I know you seniors out there are thinking it, but you ain’t sayin’ it!! And for those of you who don’t know what this class is, I’ll give you the gist: you sit in class, watching taped therapy sessions that you really can’t hear and you really can’t see well (in other words, the quality isn’t so great), and you write down everything that you observe. You include everything from what the people (client/clinician) look like, to what the physical environment looks like, to what the people are doing in the session. Even though the therapy sessions themselves are pretty interesting, I feel as though my hand is perpetually cramped after the class is over. So you juniors had better be prepared!!

I feel as though I am on my way to answering questions #1 and #2. I am sure that I will formulate other questions in the weeks to come and perhaps, I may even come up with some in the next day or so. Until next time…

HLP