There has been a lot of computer content as well as project content over the semester. I will begin with computer. I learned more information about e-mail than I ever thought was possible. I knew it wasn't the most private method of communication, but I didn't realize people other than those reading over the intended recipient's shoulder, are possible able to access my so-called private e-mails. I was introduced to the world of "blogs". Our first class session was my introduction to the idea of blogs. I was completely unaware of them. This semester was also my first introduction to the world of the MOO. I have only participated in a chat room as a result of an online history course, so MOO was a new concept for me. It was interesting and best of all, I didn't have to track down a babysitter to "attend" class. I liked that part. I also subscribed to a mailing list (actually two) this semester. I received some e-mails that were sort of interesting this summer as a result of belonging to this list, however, I think they have become more interesting these last few weeks. There have been topics discussed that I think would have been really interesting to do some research on. Too late now, maybe I will have a chance to explore something from this next semester or in grad school. At the time that I was doing the assignments regarding essential and foundation questions, I was completely lost. I see now how helpful it is to do this sort of background work before I begin a project, but at the time I was lost. I guess I had never really sat down to think about a certain question I wanted to answer in a research project. It was an interesting experience. Naturally there was a lot of instruction and practice in researching via the web this semester. I have done a bit of searching through EBSCO before, but it was mostly sort of hit or miss. I either hit on what I needed or completely missed it. This semester I learned how to refine my searches and make them more productive (thank goodness). Otherwise I would probably still be searching for information. I guess this is really heading more into project content than computer content, so I will focus on that for a while. I have already discussed the research aspect of the project. Undoubtedly the most difficult portion of this project for me was deciding on a topic. I think everyone else had a topic well before I had my first idea, and I ended up changing that idea. I of course did this the hard way, after the majority of the research was supposed to be finished, so I had to redo everything. Talk about poor time management skills. If I had settled on my topic the first time around, I might not have been so stressed out all the time. I did find the actual set up of the project to be interesting, although I was initially apprehensive about the poetry requirement. That is sort of funny since I ended up including two poems in my project. I approached this as a sort of creative writing project. Of course the difficult part was that the creative writing had to have some sort of factual basis. I used my own reactions to finding out my sons were each blind in one eye in the journal entry. I really think that parents go through the stages of grief when they find out that there is something wrong with a child. I know I went through denial and the other stages with the boys, and their problems have been "fixable" for the most part. I had to revise extensively and I am really grateful for the peer review aspect of the project. Michelle and Kelly provided me with some great ideas and feedback and I don't feel I would have been as satisfied with my project without their input.
I don't know if I can say I actually established a set routine this semester. I guess I sort of did. I logged on every Monday morning before heading to campus for class to get the week's assignments. I read over them so I could start thinking about what I need to do. My husband's father always reads through things, "ponders" on them, then takes action. I feel like I am starting to follow his example. I like to get some information, think about it, then act on it. Oftentimes I didn't actually get my assignment in before Saturday or Sunday - right before the deadline. I think that has to do with procrastination, and while I didn't do as bad as I have in the past (I set a 9 p.m. limit for myself), I could probably work on improving that aspect of my work habits. I can't get up at 5:30 a.m. and actually function if I work past 9 p.m. at night. The roadblocks I encountered were mainly electronic. I got locked out of the blog site and it just ruined my break from school. I was so aggravated, I know my blood pressure shot straight up. That roadblock never actually resolved. I had to find a different way to get into the blog - through Internet Explorer, which for the record I cannot stand. At least with AOL I don't get tons of pop-ups and automatic "personal shopper" downloads even when I turn them down. I went into the settings and tried to delete as much of that garbage as possible, but there is some small loophole somewhere I haven't found yet. At least they only pop up when I am just signing in now, not all the time. I actually went to visit my husband at work last week so I could use his computer so that I didn't have to deal with Internet Explorer. I also discovered the 2nd floor computer lab in Smith Hall. I knew there was one somewhere, I had just never needed to use if before, so I never looked for it. I did a lot of work there this semester between classes on Mondays and Wednesdays.
I guess I have learned that computers and blogs aren't as scary as I used to think they were. I usually left a lot of the technical stuff dealing with the computer to my husband, now I am more confident because I know how to do things like put links in writings using hotmail code. That was pretty cool. I forgot to write about that in the content reflection. I have to use my papers to remember everything, but I am proud of myself for knowing how to do something like that. I think this project has helped me to think in broader terms. The clients you have aren't just existing in their own little worlds. They are part of many different units. They have family units, class units, peer units, etc. They aren't just alone and it is important to remember that while your client is your main concern, there are other concerns to think about. I also think information is vital for everyone involved. I think making sure parents have all the information they need to make the "right" decision is very important and can sometimes be overlooked.
I see computer technology integrated into my future academic work a great deal. I don't think you could have learning that isn't in some way related to computer technology nowadays. I haven't had one class this semester that I haven't used a computer for in some way, shape, or form. I think back to what it was like in high school a little over a decade ago and I am just floored by how prevalent computer use is now compared to how it was then. It is definitely much easier to write any type of paper. I hated using the correction strips, then trying to realign the paper to try to retype information. I can remember when I took word processing classes and those even seem so archaic now.
I was even reading in my Audiological Rehab textbook this morning how there are computer programs that are used as treatment for kids with auditory processing disorders. I think computer technology will only increase, it will never become obsolete. I can't quite envision computer technology replacing a human SLP, but I can see it being used for other aspects of the profession that don't deal with clinical treatment. I know in audiology there has been an explosion in computer-related testing and I think that is good because it is allowing audiologists to get much more detailed information than they were able to get before.
I started this semester a little apprehensive about what to expect with this class. I thought I would be glad when this class was finished, but I think in a way I will miss it a little bit. I got to the point where I never wanted to see another computer again, but now I am looking at a month of not nothing, but of no structured learning. My husband says I am horrible to live with during breaks at school. He says I get bored and grouchy. Maybe I will find something constructive to do during this break.

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