Nothing will ever be able to compare to the experiences and overall life changing lessons I have gained over the course of this semester thanks to this class. Completely out of my element, I entered the Fall 2017 semester imagining all of the possibilities that were available to me in regards to the development of my research project, and felt completely humbled by the opportunity. I myself had never done research, or at least not yet during my academic career; I knew I wanted to attempt finding a project for least one semester, but never did I imagine myself doing something like this. This course has essentially taught me the importance of interdisciplinary as well as independent studies, and has not only encouraged me to step outside of my comfort zone due to the classes requirements, but as well as forced me to do so at times. The experience I had with this class overall was a good one in some aspects, while in others I feel like the joy and excitement to participate in a course such as this one had been completely eradicated and replaced with stress and confusion.

            I started off this project with a partner, which was both a blessing and a curse within itself. I personally came into this project with an incredibly overwhelming sense of bias in regards to partner based work; in previous courses or experiences in general, I had several moments where I found myself doing the majority of the work or replacing my partner with someone else for an assignment or project simply because the person who had originally been assigned to me had failed epically to meet their share of the work. In my mind, I was prepared for the worst case scenario, as well as hoping this instance would be better, and I would not find myself in the predicament I had found myself in before:  hating my partner based work. I never felt that it was fair, the unspoken expectation that came with partner projects; if your partner failed, you’d have to pick up their slack. This is why I committed 110% to this project from the moment that I applied to the course back in April, hoping I’d hear news of my acceptance into the project and class for the fall.

Continue reading Final Thoughts: It’s Been One Hell of a Ride →

— Beginning of week Sixteen —

What follows is a perusal of the project website and editorial comments. Most of these things must be corrected (Grammar, spelling, or punctuation for example) though some things are optional (prose or esthetic issues).

Comments here are from Dr. Dunn…

Home page

• THIS PROJECT’S GOAL IS TO IDENTIFY WHERE THE WICHITA INDIANS RESIDED BEFORE THE 20TH CENTURY IN RELATION TO THE TEXAS NORTHERN FRONTIER IN ORDER TO DOCUMENT THEIR MIGRATION PATTERN, ONE THAT CHANGED DRASTICALLY THAT DRASTICALLY CHANGED OVER TIME.
• THINK ALONG THESE LINES ^ AS FAR AS EDITORIAL AND COMPOSITION EDITS AND STREAMLINING GO.
• AN IMPORTANT QUESTION TO CONSIDER IN REGARDS TO MIGRATION IS WHAT AND HOW THE TERM MIGRATION IS DEFINED.
• THIS IS AN EXTREMELY LONG SENTENCE – CAN YOU BREAK IT UP? “SUCH FACTORS CAN INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO THE SETTLEMENT OF A NEW, MORE POWERFUL GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS INTO AN AREA WHERE A LESS POWERFUL GROUP CURRENTLY LIVES AND FORCES THE WEAKER GROUP TO MOVE ELSEWHERE, THE CLIMATE IN REGARDS TO GOVERNMENT FACTIONS AND INFLUENCES THAT MAY AFFECT A GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS, INTRASTATE OR CIVIL WARS, OR SIMPLY ENVIRONMENTAL LIMITATIONS OR CHANGES.”

Continue reading Midwestern State Project Comments, Issues that need addressing.  →

— End of week Fifteen —

This week has ended on a wonderfully positive note; my presentation has been given, therefore the most nerve wracking component of the course has been completed. I’m very grateful to have had the support of all my friends and family, and even those who took the time to view my project when I presented on Thursday. To be quite honest, I was incredibly nervous to present although I was in a room all alone, and everyone else was in their respective locations. That’s the weird thing about this class; a majority of the people who I have met through this course will never meet me face to face since this class was indeed digital. I never saw myself taking a course like this, because it definitely put me outside of my comfort zone and forced me to get into the routine of logging into class and getting acquainted with people from across the country through Zoom, including my professors.

Since I shared my script with you all the day of my presentation (Thursday, Nov. 30) you all know exactly what I said and what the presentation entailed: simply explaining the importance of the research and the purpose of the website. Ultimately, the experience within itself was a remarkable one, since I finally got to share with everyone what I had been working on so diligently all semester long. To my surprise, my university President Dr. Shipley tuned into the Zoom session to view my work. Her overall presence and support really did help a lot, but it also added to my nerves.

Continue reading Project Presentations: Part Three, Reactions →