February 27: Journal Entry #17 Midterm Reflection

Research:

Prior to this SDA I had seldom used databases to research topics, and as a result I had very little experience reading scholarly articles. More often than not I utilized search engines like Google which can be inconsistent in their results. But by utilizing databases such as Gale Power Search during my research process for this SDA I was able to find articles that were both reliable and informative, however the process of reading these articles, scholarly articles, was substantially different from the articles I was accustomed to reading. Scholarly articles not only contain more information, but they also read differently; this aspect of scholarly was initially challenging, but I grew accustomed to this style of writing quickly. Being limited to scholarly articles initially felt like a hindrance because I had, up until a few months ago, used search engines exclusively, but by being forced to utilize databases, and thus scholarly articles, I found information far more efficiently which in turn progressed my research. In regards to searching for articles within the databases I found no real issue in spite of my seemingly esoteric research topic, I think this was because I had initially discovered that through a process of mixing & matching keywords I was able to get the best results out of the search engine I chose. I didn't find anything particularly striking about scholarly articles apart from the shear amount of information they hold.

SDA:

I think that the most challenging part of this SDA was editing. Prior to this SDA I had very little experience editing videos, so I had initially had some trouble navigating the editing software I chose. But after some time I was able to attain a comprehensive understanding of the software I chose, and as a result I was able to compose my videos in a way that demonstrated my learning effectively. In regards to how this SDA answered my essential question of " How do western influences on Africa affect the utilization of African resources in the continent" I think it answered the question quite well. My SDA was able to point out how western companies exploited African resources, whilst also providing solutions; the latter being the core of my essential question. Out of the 5Cs (communication, collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, curiosity) I think the strong point of my SDA was Critical thinking due to the fact that I constructed an argument in my SDA which in itself demonstrates critical thinking. The weak point of my SDA was collaboration, my rationale behind this being that I worked exclusively on this SDA. I will carry what I learned from the midterm SDA into my future learning by looking into how eastern companies (Russian, Chinese, etc.) exploit African resources, and if it differs from western companies. 

EMC:

Over the past few weeks I have found great pride in my ability to edit, and create videos because I have always daydreamed of creating video essays and posting them and Youtube; by acquiring these skills during my SDA I have enabled myself to potentially make these videos in the future. In regards to what my coordinator(s) could be doing differently to aid my research I have no suggestions, I can only provide praise for their ability to foster my curiosity, and aid my research.