Proof of Learning Report- Week 4

This is my final Proof of Learning Report for the course and I am actually a bit sad it is coming to an end. This week I focused mainly on my research project by gathering sources, compiling my own personal data, and developing a website on the topic. I also continued to be active in the discussion boards, trying to help others with their research- which was actually very interesting because I got to explore my classmates research!

I was really excited that I was able to choose my own topic for the research project because it really allowed me to become immersed in a topic I felt passionate about. My research explored one of the new robotic technologies in the medical field called the da Vinci Surgical System and how people are reacting to this new technology. The system allows a human surgeon to control robotic arms which actually operate on the patient. I chose to develop a website for my final project because I felt it tied everything we have learning during the semester together. It was a way to use the very technology we have been studying for weeks and applying what we've learned about genre's, online communities, technology, etc. to the setting. I chose to use weebly.com because Sarah mentioned the use of the website in one of the discussions and said it was a very good tool to use. I definitely agree with this statement. The website was very user friendly and helped me to develop a creative and informational website about my topic! 
Here is the link to my website: www.roboticmedicaltechnology.weebly.com

I conducted a study to see how willing a person would be to having a medical procedure performed by the da Vinci Surgical System and I was very surprised by my results. I hypothesized that the older a person was, the less willing they would be; therefore, the younger a person was, the more willing they would be. However, the findings from my study showed that this was not the case. It was slightly the opposite; but ultimately, there was no correlation between age and willingness to have a procedure by da Vinci. 

I have been looking through my classmates final projects and I am very thrilled to see the websites and project of my classmates- we have a lot of creative people! I was especially interested in Maren's website because it is very similar in ways to mine in regards to medical technology. Her project focused more on the new technologies used in cancer treatment rather than surgical technology. Her website was very informational and professional and helped me learn a lot about new cancer treatments!

Overall, I really enjoyed this class. The first week I was really nervous because I didn't know what to expect with the use of Sparklix and the Blog, but I have ultimately learned a lot more about how technology impacts our lives and the lives of others than I ever though possible in a 4 week period of time. I really felt this class went above and beyond in regards to communication in the discussion boards. Although it was sometimes hard to keep up with the discussions every day, I can honestly say that I read every post and I really learned a lot from what my peers had to say throughout the course. I also felt the material we learned throughout the semester was relevant to us as current technology users. I know I have taken a lot of useful information away from this class and I will surely be applying it in my everyday life!

Proof of Learning Report- Week 3

This week's readings focused a lot on online communities in regards to using discussion boards and online magazines (a.k.a. e-zines). Two of the major themes discussed were the notions of asynchronous vs. synchronous online atmospheres and the use of e-zines to incorporate an audience into the network.

The first reading for the week was an article written by Dezhi Wu and Starr Hiltz entitled ""Predicting Learning From Asynchronous Online Discussions." This article discussed at length the benefits and drawbacks of using asynchronous (not occurring at the same time) discussions in online courses. The authors state that online discussions are a key component to computer conferencing. We have become very accustomed as a class to using a discussion board and I can understand the benefits of using the technology. Some of the benefits include place independence, time independence, as well as convenience. According to the article, the combination of face-to-face and computer-mediated discussion provides a better learning environment than regular lecture classes alone. They also state that online discussions promote higher levels of critical and cognitive thinking.We discussed this topic at great length on the discussion board and I think that we received a lot of great feedback. Jeffrey stated that ..."if we were given the chance to learn about [new technologies] in one setting, i.e a classroom, we would be able to help each other out much faster and easier." Joel responded against the notion of having a mixed mode course by saying "...we must also consider the restrictions of traditional classes. Because of time and the number of students, not as many students would have the chance to argue or assert their opinion on topics. The asynchronous aspect of discussions, such as this one, allow students a greater amount of time to pose questions, arguments and statements and to support them in a more effective manner" (Mixed mode courses: good and bad, 6/1).Through the study performed by Wu & Hiltz, they concluded that about 57% of students felt the online discussions increased their learning quality and 78% of students felt the online discussions were a good way to interact with the instructors and classmates. I would definitely agree with their results. I feel that I have gained substantial knowledge from conversing with my classmates on a discussion board and I would like to see them incorporated into more courses!

The second major topic up for discussion this week was the use of e-zines which are online magazines. An article written by Matthew Smith called, "Strands in the Web: Community-Building Strategies in Online Fanzines" states that "most e-zines represent a fan's first attempt at self-publishing..." (Smith 2). Once a e-zine is established, many people turn to them for useful and current information. E-zines usually include images, references, member columns, external links to similar sites, and some even have guestbooks for fans. I had never heard of an e-zine before reading this article. I knew that magazines were being put online to save money and to reduce the use of paper copies, but I had no idea that there are thousands of these sites on the web. I did a little personal research for my project trying to see if there was an e-zine pertinent to my topic- and there was! I know a lot of my classmates were in the same place I was but I was glad to see that a few already had used these resources in the past. Ryan made the comment that "...using online magazines (ezines) for research and other projects can be a very helpful tool. I have received electronic versions of several magazines for a few years now. The first few were through my employer, but over time I began to appreciate them on a more personal level. They nature of an online version allows for easy searching" (Ezines, 6/2). I think this will be a fantastic tool to use for our research project and I'm so glad we learned about them!

Speaking of the research project, I have come a long way in researching my topic and gathering data. For those of you who aren't aware, I am doing a project on how various age groups would respond to having a robotic surgery procedure. I have decided to put together a website outlying how the technology works and also incorporating my study into the website. I also plan to have links to numerous websites and studies that have been done on this topic previously because I think there is so much interesting information out there! I have put my survey on the class discussion board, distributed it on Facebook, and also obtained personal surveys from doctors, nurses, and potential patients in the Central Illinois area. I have really been trying to incorporate my study into my lab notes and into the discussion boards in order to allow everyone to gain knowledge on my topic as well as trying to be an active promoter on the discussion board for new ideas! I also submitted my Genre Review of the discussion board earlier in the week suggesting that we try and limit the number of repetitive postings on the discussion board  to allow for more student involvement and I have seen some major progress since then!