Week 4

 To prepare for the Discussion:

·         Return to the Week 1 Check Your Tech Home Technology Inventory document. Can you classify the technology you use into categories?

·         Think of the many uses of technology presented this week and others you might know, especially those that track you in some way.

·         Consider how your personal and professional perspectives might influence your attitudes about technology.

·         Evaluate (by interviewing people or online searching) the types and extent of technology used in your profession.

·         Determine how the use of technology is changing in your field of study.

Post a response (at least 200–300 words) to the following prompt:

We are more connected and dependent on our technology than ever before. In Week 2’s Reading, Thoreau chose to live at Walden Pond without any of the modern conveniences of his time for a while.

Do you think you could be completely disconnected from any type of modern technology? Would there be benefits to disconnecting? Is there a specific technology or gadget that you use in your personal life that you could not live without? Could you do your current job without technology? Why or why not?

To prepare for the Assignment:

·         Return to the Montante article, Thinking on Paper, from Week 3.

·         Review your weekly journal entries.

·         Review all Self-Assessment results, Discussion posts, and Assignments.

·         Read through the specific parts that are required in your paper described below.

·         Use the Week 4 Reflection: Rough Draft Worksheet in this week’s Learning Resources to guide the development of your rough draft.

·         Review the Week 4 Reflection Assignment Rubric.

Assignment 1 Instructions:

Submit a 2- to 3-page rough draft of your Reflection Assignment.

Assignment Instructions:

As mentioned above, you are working through a writing process where you will compose the first draft of the Reflection Assignment paper. This week you will begin with actually writing and submitting a rough draft.

During Week 6, you’ll be guided through a revisions and proofreading process that will help you further develop and improve your rough draft by adding more thoughts, incorporating any feedback received, and ensuring you’ve followed Academic Writing Expectations. Your final draft will be due at the end of Week 6.

The required elements for both weeks are the same, but the expectations are slightly different. The grading rubrics for Weeks 4 and 6 demonstrate this. For example, this week’s rough draft represents a first attempt at putting your thoughts down on paper and only covers four weeks. By Week 6, your final paper should be longer, include obvious improvements to the rough draft, and include aspects from the entire six weeks.

Your paper should include four sections. Be sure to review all four sections before starting. Remember to include an introductory and a concluding paragraph, and to support your ideas with specific examples and resources whenever possible.

Include the following parts:

Part 1: Today I am…

The first and longest section of your essay should describe who you are today as a result of this first-term course and starting your educational journey. Specifically consider your personal plan for success at Walden. Answer these questions to develop this section:

·         Who are you as a Walden student?

·         What tools has Walden provided?

·         How do the tools and available support play into achieving your goals?

·         What did you learn about yourself through the assessments? How is that going to feed into your plan for success?

·         What has this first course done for you? What might this course do for you moving forward?

Think about some of the course themes and big ideas we discussed and connect them to the way you will approach learning and future classes.

Make sure to get specific and point to course examples to support your ideas.

Part 2: I promise to...

In the second section, make a promise to yourself and the classmates who might need your support during the program. Think about your reasons for being here and why you are promising to work towards success. Consider the following:

·         Here is why I am not going to walk away

·         Here’s how I will help myself

·         Here’s how Walden will help me get there

·         Here’s how I will be part of positive change

Part 3: How I will become part of the Walden Community

In the third section, explain how you might identify a mentor (colleague with different professional skills, someone in your profession, or a Walden Faculty Member) to support your educational efforts. Share how a mentor would have a positive impact on your education and the role you would like him/her to take. How you might become a mentor to others in the program?

Part 4:Visual Representation[This step will be due by Week 6]

After you have completed your Reflection, find or create a visual artifact that shows your aspiration and hang it above your desk. Think of something that will motivate you and keep you engaged and focused as you complete each Discussion and Assignment as you move through your coursework toward graduation. Be sure to include a picture or copy of this visual representation with your reflection paper by copying and pasting it into your paper or attaching it as a separate file.

Assignment 2 Instructions:

Think about the material you encountered in the course this week, and describe one aspect of the classroom resources (Assignments, Discussions, or assigned readings) that surprised you. Make sure to describe why the material interested you as a thinker.

Set a timer (on the stove, a clock or on your phone) and write for ten minutes without stopping. The prompts will remain the same each week, but you will reflect about a different aspect of each week’s resources.

Post an entry that addresses each of the following:

Observe. Describe the week’s content and resources to a person who has not seen/heard or observed it.

Process. Answer the question: “What does this content/topic mean?”

Reflect. Answer the question: “What is the value in understanding this?”