Learning Record Online

for Gary White

Name: Gary L. White

Course: E 309M

Computer Writing and Research Lab: CWRL Homepage

READ FIRST

Sections A and B below both contain statements from the midterm and final portfolios. All items from the midterm portfolio are in orange, items for the final portfolio are in light blue, unvisited links are in red, and visited links are in yellow. White text is simply the instructions or outline. I did not separate these two portfolios on different pages because differences can be observed more easily with the two together.

Part A

A.1 Interview with another person who knows you well-for example, a parent or other family member, close friend, or teacher. The interview should focus on the person's impressions of your development as a reader, writer, and thinker. If you have completed an interview like this in a prior class, please pick a different person to interview for this assignment.

I interviewed my Dad to see how I have improved and developed as a reader, writer, and a thinker. As a reader, he hasn't seen much improvement. According to him, I have always read at about the same speed. I would always start early to get it done and understand the material. He has noticed that I have started to read for fun more often since I have been in college and this has increased each year I've been in college.

As a writer, my Dad has seen tremendous improvement. The last time he has seen anything I have written, before this past summer, was my senior year in high school. This summer I had to write an essay for dental school applications and he wondered who had written it. He didn't know I could write and express myself so well and so smoothly on paper. I'm sure this interview doesn't show it, but since I came to UT I have really seen a big improvement in my writing skills and technique. I have learned to enjoy writing.

As far my thinking has developed, my Dad has noticed a change in the way I communicate with people, especially older people, and has seen that I have developed personal views and taken sides on adult issues. He has seen me contradict and present different points of view even when I agree with the person I am contradicting. He says I have learned to communicate my opinions and support them with "rational thought." Even though him and I have our disagreements about subjects, my Dad has enjoyed the way we have been able to talk more intelectually over the past few years. Whether it has been because of maturing, college, or both, my thought process, according to Dad, has progressed, will progress, and improve with time.

A.2 Reflections on your own development with respect to reading, writing, speaking and listening, and technology.

Gary White is a twenty one year old Jr. He has chosen Biology as his major. Gary has a computer at his home, so he has had experience with them. He finds that they are very helpful and appreciates many of the benefits which they can provide. Gary came to the University of Texas from Plano. After spending his entire freshman year just having fun, Gary realized that he needed to start studying . He used to be forced to schedule in time to study, or he found that he just wouldn't get around to it. Gary is interested in sports such as tennis and golf. In high school he was a member of student congress. Playing the guitar is also one of Gary's favorite pass times. Technology is a very interesting subject to Gary. He is impressed by how through the use of the Internet, you can gain access to information at any time of the day. He feels that this is important, because it means that people can get information even after the office has closed. Gary hopes to improve in specific areas through this class. Gary feels that he needs to increase his typing speed. Gary also wants to increase is vocabulary and reduce the numbers of grammatical errors which he makes in his work. One of Gary's major problems with writing is that he never feels sure where to start or how much to write. As a result, he feels that he usually writes too much. Gary also feels that he has trouble putting his thoughts into words. Gary also seems to have trouble comprehending what he reads out of books, and is often forced to reread what he's working on several times. While at college, Gary has become a hard worker. He is an RA at Doobie, and has many responsibilities. He finds it necessary to schedule in time to have fun in the day, or he wouldn't be able to. He also no longer needs to schedule in time for studying, because he does that without setting aside a specific time for it. As long as Gary works as hard to improve on what he wants to through this class, as he has done in other areas over the past few years, he shouldn't have a problem.

-David Santos III

Data Collection

1. Observations (made periodically during the semester). Observations should include a range of interactions: individual activities, small group work, whole-class activities. These are very brief, informal notes.

* Observations of reading and research activities

2/28/96 - I really hate researching. I'm not sure how to find a way that I can enjoy or even bear it. I spend and have spent so much time in the library running in circles just to find one article.

Through the second half of the semester I found myself enjoying researching for the different projects. I think this was because it was mostly done on the internet. I think I don't like researching in the library because it overwhelms me. What I mean is that all of the literature, floors, shelves, and numbers really gets me confused and frustrated before I even go in there. Just the thought of going to the library for research purposes gives me a headache. I guess this is a bad and good thing. Bad in the way that no matter how I try to get around it, many times I will have to go to the library to do research, but good in a way that I can first try researching on the internet and enjoy it. I guess it's all a matter of getting things done in the best way that works for me.

* Observations of writing activities

During the first part of the semester, I was mainly concerned with getting comfortable with the class and didn't see to much of an improvement in my writing from previous classes. Now that it is the end of the semester, I have seen an improvement in my writing through the projects completed. Not they are so much more gramatically right, but it is that they flow quite a bit better. The words and sentences blend and run smoothly together better now than they did at the start with project one. The most important thing is that I felt a lot more comfortable writing now than at the beginning of the class.

* Observations of collaborative activities

Sarah and I have had a really hard time matching schedules. Collaboration is much harder than I thought. Once we get together we work very well.

Collaboration was still difficult in the fact that it was hard to meet schedules. By project four I found myself leading the group. It seemed I was the one making meeting times and telling group members that we have got to get together because if we don't we would be rushed and wouldn't get it done. I am sure that the quality of the projects reflect the time I and other group members put into collaboration.

* Observations of technological activities

1/25/96 - Platinum Blood - This story was kind of strange. I really didn't follow the story that well as far as the plot went, but I followed it well through Storyspace. I like the idea of reading a story like this. It showed me a different story every time I switched to a new character because it was from a different point of view. However, I guess I'm just not used to reading like this because I didn't like it. I'll bet it just takes getting used to.

2/22/96 - I am very impressed I got through the storyspace project. For some reason I found that very confusing at first. I got used to it and at the end even though it wasn't as complete as I could have made it if my time would have permitted, I was impressed with the flow. If I were to cut and paste it into a continuous document, I think it would be very good. I think storyspace helped the starting and thinking process of a composition. I have had a hard time with starting a paper for as long as I can remember and I can see storyspace becoming a big help in future papers.

Group work has been fun. I like it because the subject was set and it is easy and interesting to write about personal experiences. My project 2 is going much better than project 1.

4/15/96 I learned quite a bit about how the whole publishing on the web works. Dr. Syverson explained the whole bit about how servers read address and files with index.html. I just can't believe how much computers and servers and such can do without anyone inputting all of this information. All the programming that had to be done for the net must have been incredible.

This class has taught me so much about computers and using them for communicating by writing. I never thought that I could be making web pages and feel so comfortable doing it. The technology currently available is awesome. Interchanges, internet, virtual reality, etc. is really quite an accomplishment in my eyes for such a brief period of time it was made in. Even more amazing is to observe and imagine the technology just over the horizon.

2. Evidence

* Samples of written work (formal and informal writing)
* Samples of comments by others (professor, other students)
* Samples of other activities (i.e., interchanges, notes, planning diagrams, and so on)

The following items are linked in the final portfolio section below.

1. Project 1
2. Project 2
3. Reading response of articles
4. Responses by students
5. Interchange 2/29

Part B

B.1 Summary interpretation of observations and evidence in terms of the four major strands of work and the five dimensions Four major strands: rhetoric, research, technology and collaboration five dimensions

* confidence and independence
* knowledge and understanding
* skills and strategies
* use of prior and emerging experience
* reflectiveness (critical awareness)

Concerning the four major strands, the one that needs the most practice is research. When I research I find that I hate going to the library to start. I know how to find information I just really dislike doing it. I have always disliked researching even when the research is on a subject I enjoy. The strand I like the most is the technology strand. For some reason, lately I have been really getting into this computer and internet stuff. I am about to jump out of my skin at the idea of starting the class web projects.

Of the five dimensions, the one I have seen the most improvement in is the confidence and independence. At the beginning of the semester I was real unsure about how to do all of the things required on the computer. All I had done before this class is word processing and surfed the net. I had a lot of questions at the beginning, but now I feel sure of myself that if I have a question about anything in the class I can reason it through myself, find the answer on the net, or I can email it to Dr. Syverson. Although I am not totally comfortable, I have become more and more self-sufficient as each class passes.

The one dimension I feel I still need help on is reflectiveness. First I need to find out exactly what this means. If it means being aware of weaknesses and recognizing them when they appear, I definitly need improvement. I am aware of what many of my faults are but I either don't see them coming or I recognize them and do nothing about it.

The other three dimensions are fairly well oriented when writing is concerned. I am comfortable with using prior and emerging experience (except in the area of recognizing my faults), the skills and strategies I use to complete an excellent document, and the knowledge and understanding I have and obtain for use in a paper.

I guess it is impossible to tell exactly how much I have improved in the five dimensions, but I can tell you that I have improved in all five. The major thing I think that has helped my performance is that I feel comfortable in the class, at the computer, and navigating my way through the projects more so than I did at the beginning of the semester.

Confidence and independence pertaining to me has gone up tremendously since the midterm. When I go into the computer lab I know exactly how to perform functions and be productive on what I am doing. I have gained so much confidence in class that I feel right at home when I go to the lab in the evenings. Going to the lab on my own I believe has helped me quite a bit in the independence dimension. It has helped me figure out and work through problems that I encounter while working on a project.

The knowledge and understanding strand has developed in me as well. I have learned the basics behind many technological subjects such as web authoring and computer configurations. I have also learned how to use differnet software. For instance, creating a web page using BBEdit, previewing it in Netscape, customizing and inserting pictures using GraphicConverter, etc. However, to me the most important thing that I have learned is the theory behind hypertext. During the Storyspace project and project 2, How to create a Storyspace document, I never really grasped the idea of hypertext. I thought I knew what hypertextual format was but it wasn't until much latter in the semester when I finally converted my Storyspace project to html format when I reallized what hypertext was all about. I had been using hypertext environments everytime I stepped onto the internet. I found this fascinating because the whole time I thought I knew what the theory of hypertext was and could visualize it but it took converting the project into a style I was more familiar with to learn the real theory of hypertext.

The skills and strategies have developed as well. Each day I worked on a project and each different project I found myself doing different things that made my work and time spent more efficient. Learning more BBEit extensions, dragging documents onto an application window or icon to open them, copying and pasting, and learning tricks on the internet from researching to copying images made me produce higher quality work with efficient use of my time.

From the previous projects, I made an effort look at what I had done and try to make it better. Sometimes I determined what didn't work well for me and performed it differently next time. Most often ,however, previous experiences taught me differnet things about organization. Each day it seemed that I had a new and better way to organize something or say something. I found that after doing web pages that simple and easy to read, understand, follow is the way to go. When I started out doing the Johnny Mnemonic page, I had so many links and different ideas that it was even giving me a headache. I simplified it and it flows so much smoother. I wasn't quite satisfied with it after I started project 4. Therefore, I did a few initial things differnetly and project 4, in my opinion, is much better organizational wise than project 3. I guess it takes trial and error to find the best way to accomplish something.

Reflectiveness or critical awareness only increased a little from the midterm. I have always known that I have a tendency to put things off until the last minute. However, I found that when motivated, whether by interest, a person, or being the leader, I was caught up on my work daily and learned a great deal more than expected or even wanted to. So in the future when I am not motivated to do a job or task, I should find one of the three things listed above to kickstart me.

Part C

C.1 Midterm portfolio

* Estimated evaluation in terms of grade
* Suggestions for your own further development during remainder of semester
* Suggestions for class activities or for the professor to better support learning

If I had to give myself a grade right now I would give myself a low B for the following reasons. At the start of the class I was very confused about what was going to be done and what was expected out of me. As the semester has progressed I have seen and felt drastic improvement in interest and performance concerning writing and especially the technological aspects of the class. After I became less confused, I found myself devoting more and more time outside of class to projects and learning more and more about the web. With the trend that I see in myself now, I am predicting that I will further increase my possibilities for a higher grade as the second half of the semester begins.

For my own further development I want to expand my knowledge of the internet and how things are published on the web from simple homepages to complex things such as graphics and movies.

I have had a Mac for about two and a half years and I was confused when we just jumped into the LRO and procedures for turning things in and so on. I know this class is all electronic but maybe for some people it would be handy to have the routines and procedures on paper at the beginning. I know for me this would have made things a lot more convienent and reassuring. Some weeks are so busy that I do not have time to dial up telesys or go to the lab to get on the internet just to find something out that is on most syllabi. To have a quick reference at my fingertips would definitly help explain many things that get looked over in class or are not thought of in class.

C.2 Final portfolio

I like the idea of turning in the final portfolio in html format such as this because it gives you the chance to easily glance at each project sequentially in order to observe improvement throughout the semester.

Project 1	Project 2	Project 3	Project 4
Reading Response	My Responses to Others Works	Interchange 2/29/96	Dr. Syverson Response

My Page in Project 4

* Reflections on semester's learning experience

I believe the above writing in blue has stated the semester's learning experiences. I have learned more about technology and writing than I ever thought I would. I am leaving this class with a new and solid sense of what computers can do for expressing myself.

* Any supplementary information or comments not included in Parts A & B

I feel that during the second half of the semester that I became dedicated to doing a great job in this class. I spent many evenings in the computer lab from 5 or 6 o'clock to 9 o'clock and I think my work shows it. I have never been a naturally computer literate person or someone who picks up computer skills easily, but I feel I gained a lot from this class and I am very proud of the work I produced.

* Any suggestions for the professor for future classes
* Estimated evaluation in terms of grade

Based on the explainations and examples given above in blue and the obvious improvement in project quality I made from the first half of the semester, I feel that I now deserve an A over the B I gave myself at the midterm.

However, despite the grade, I feel good knowing that I came out of this class with an A's worth of knowledge