Wishing & Personal Connection

It's almost over! I wasn't sure how I would get here, but here I am. I am honestly relieved and proud of myself. I've accomplished something.

I'm amazed that all my feelings in this project coorelated with Carol Kuhlthau's Information Search Project. This model knew exactly what I was going through, with all its ups and downs!

The Ups:
Finding a topic that interested me was not a problem. I felt like I was an investigator, trying to find the answers to my own personal questions. I'm also proud of my final product. It may be a bit amateur, but I was able to find out how to set a webpage and added the graphics and pictures myself. (I am not the most tech savvy person out there- so this was a big deal for me!) I also feel like I was very honest in this entire process. Journaling helped me become honest and organized, making the process go by a little bit easier.

The Downs:
I wasn't able to do everything that I wanted to do. For instance, I would have loved to caught up with my friend Noor, who knows everything about fashion. A few days before this project was due I found a "Plan B" (my friend Kelly Kendall) so in the end it worked out. I should have been a bit more organized with scheduling. Also, if I had more time, I would have checked out more books, looked at more electronic databses, and asked for some technology help with my website. But I can always do better next time. And lastly, I found it hard to stay focus on what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to research about Fashion- but it was hard to narrow the idea down. I could have gotten a lot more resources or information had I limited my topic early on instead of keeping it so broad.

If I had to do things differently:
Hmmmm....well, if I had more time, I would have "fancied up" my blog a bit. Perhaps added more pictures, tables, or weblinks to things I read or seen. There were times when I felt a bit hurried, so I may not have explained things as much as I should have. I might have taken more time to connect things together more. But honestly, I am pleased with how this project evolved.

Relating my experience to a young adult:
The blog experience was an entirely new experience for me. I was nervous but ready to do it. I think younger people need to get excited about doing something. If you tell young adults that blogs are "the new cool thing" they might be more willing to do it than someone who is my age. So though I was nervous about this research process like a young adult would be, I had a strong internal determination to do it. Younger people might need extra reassurance from their teachers or parents.

Finding a topic was pretty easy for me. I was able to list four ideas down that I'm interested in and then narrowed it down to one topic. I think with young adults the hardest part for them is starting to think of what they want to write about (watching). Sometimes they need examples of possible topics to get them going.

Like young adults, I wasn't afraid to write my feelings down. If I was frustrated, I would say so. If I felt positive, I would say that too. Yet, I kept on going. In the webbing and wiggling stages, it may be easier for students to just give up or slack off. Yet, I was looking at the finish line the entire time--for some students, they may not see the light at the end of the tunnel if something in their research process goes wrong.

Unlike young adults, I knew how much of a time commitment this was going to take. I tried my best to start early. If my younger self was given this task, I don't think she (me) would have put any effort until the very end. Fortunately, I learned through experience that procrastinating is not always the best way to go!

Personal Connection:

This is the first time I have ever done a research project electronically. At first, I was surprised that there was no set criteria. I couldn't believe that I could write whatever I wanted. There's a sort of freedom to that, which I was nervous about initially. What if I did something wrong? Or what if what I did was not like anyone else's in the class? But once I realized there was no "wrong" or "right" way to go, I felt excited.

As I mentioned before, I was extremely nervous about the blog process. I wasn't sure what I was going to say and was even a bit scared that I may write something embarassing. But once I started to write my feelings the rest came along easy. I used the 8 W's as a starting point and went from there. I admit that there were days when I just didn't feel like saying anything--for instance in the Wiggling and Webbing stages. It was hard to get over that "hump" because my drive was dwindling. But once I got over that, the project started to feel new again.

I feel like I could take ownership in this project because the blog entries made it so personal. I took something I was interested in (fashion) and made it mine. And isn't that what independent learning is all about?

So drumroll please......

My final project:

http://www.geocities.com/mandy_kudmani/photopagelace.html

I hope you enjoy!