ResearchReflection

__Reflection: __

 There were three parts of this assignment that I enjoyed. I liked Tom March’s Thesis Builder that we used early in the course. I felt that this helped me narrow my topic and helped me to develop a stronger thesis statement. This made it easier to start the research.

 Another part was the type of resources I was able to find and use for my research. I found slides, videos, video webcasts, and scholarly articles. Being that I am a visual leaner, I was able to get a wealth of information about my topic in a way that I liked. The fact that they were from experts in the field was great. Many experts are using the power of the web and its tools to share their knowledge. I was able to gather multiple resources from Dr. Helen Barrett’s curated sites. This part of my research just goes to show that students will look to multiple types of media when searching.

 The last part of my research journey was bittersweet but I enjoyed none the less. I knew that based n t he task that I wanted to create a story where I could use my own voice to tell me story. I decided I wanted to use simple slides with powerful words & phrases and realistic photos. I found a great site that had a super catalog of images and it was designed to add simple words or phrases to them. You had the capability to send them by email, link them, or embed them. It was called Piclits. I had fun with this site. In fact this was where my inspiration for my title and beginning came from. Half way through Piclits was giving me trouble. My plan was to upload them into Slide story where I could add my audio story. Well, that didn’t work. As time was running out, I became very stressed out. I finally switched gears. I opened Power Point and began all over. With keeping my original goal in mind, I developed slides that intended for my audience and not me. I was also able to use some of my Piclit pictures in Power Point. The rest of my copy-right friendly photos came from Flicker. I was happy with my finished slide presentation. Now, it was time to step it up and add some “POW” to it. I uploaded it into Brainshark and was able to quickly focus and add my voice story to my digital presentation. This allowed me to portray my voice and passion for my argument. I really enjoyed using Brainshark and Piclits (even though I trouble with it). They are now added to my favorites. Both can be used to give powerpoint presentations some added flavor.

 Even with all my computer issues and trouble with Piclits, I was able to complete my project and very proud of it.