LIS 2003
THE INFORMATION ENVIRONMENT
SPRING 2004

REFLECTIVE JOURNAL

One of the requirements for this course is to keep a journal that records your reflections on your daily reading of The New York Times articles.
 
LEARNING 
OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the reading and journal are to

  • provide current awareness of developing information technology
  • develop understanding of current information problems and issues
  • enhance skill in recognizing and analyzing relationships among information events
  • sharpen written communication skills.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR KEEPING THE JOURNAL

Journal entries should be made at least three times each week. It is easier to record entries immediately after you have read the paper rather than waiting. The entries should include the following information:

  • date of entry
  • citation for the article(s)
  • a summary of the article's major points
  • a reflection on how the reading relates to one or more of the course topics.

Articles selected for inclusion in your journal should

  • be selected from the week(s) that the submission is to cover. For example, if a journal submission covers the weeks of January 19-23 and 26-30, there should be 3 articles from the week of January 19-23 and 3 from the week of January 26-30.
  • be from different dates. For example, if an article is included that appeared on January 21, there should not be another article from that same date.

The journal is not a diary in which you record your personal feelings or reactions to what your have read in the article. Rather, it is should reflect your critical analysis of the impact that the event, product, activity, or whatever is the subject of the article is likely to have on how information is used by individuals or how it will impact society.

The journal is to be written in a Word file. Entries should cumulate for each submission (i.e., don't create a separate file for each entry, just add your new entries to the others that have not yet been submitted).

Click here to see an example of a journal entry. Consult the example before you submit your first journal. Be sure that your have

  • followed the correct style for the citation to a newspaper article (use the format that is in the example; also see the style manual that is the standard for this course: Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. 6th ed., rev. John Grossman and Alice Bennett. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996.)
  • followed the format for the journal entry that is given in the example
  • properly summarized, using your own words (see City College of New York Writing Center, "Ways of Integrating Sources" and University of the Sciences in Philadelphia Writing Center, "Avoiding Plagiarism" for examples of how to summarize and paraphrase correctly)
  • based your reflection section on your own critical thinking, reflectively analyzing the implications of the article for users of information or for society as a whole.

After the first submission, which should have 3 entries, each journal submission should have 6 new entries.

Your journal is submitted through the "Digital Drop Box."

INSTRUCTIONS FOR USING THE DIGITAL DROP BOX Click on the "Student Tools" button on the menu bar. Then click on "Digital Drop Box." Click "Send File." On the "File Information" screen, in the "Title" box, enter your last name, first initial, Journal submission number. For example, if your name is John Doe and you are sending your journal submission for the November 14 due date, the information in the title box should be Doe, J. Journal submission 6. In the "File" box, enter the path name for your Word file. Or click on the "Browse" button, find the file on your computer, select the file for your Journal, and click on "Open." The file path will then appear in the "File" box. If you have any comments or questions to the instructor about your Journal entry, enter those in the "Comments" box. Then click on the "Submit" button on the lower right of the screen. The Journal file will be returned to you from the instructor with comments. The file will appear in your Digital Drop Box area.
CRITERIA 
FOR 
EVALUATION		 In addition to the general criteria for evaluation listed in the syllabus, the following points will be considered in evaluation of your journal entries:
  • evidence of critical thinking
  • clarity of identification of issues
  • appropriate connections between readings and course topics
  • ability to synthesize and cumulate observations and reflections over the course of the semester.

As with all written assignments in the course, it is expected that the journal entries will be technically correct, that is, that grammar and punctuation will be correct and that words will be spelled correctly. If any submission after the first two includes more than 10 errors, you will be required to correct, rewrite, and resubmit the entries in order to get credit for the submission.

DEADLINES FOR SUBMISSION OF JOURNAL

Every other week, on the schedule listed below (also noted on the course calendar), send your journal to the instructor by sending the file through the Digital Drop Box for the course (see instructions above) by 5:00 p.m. on the date given.

Journal submission 1 Week 1 Deadline January 16
Journal submission 2 Week 3 Deadline January 30
Journal submission 3 Week 5 Deadline February 13
Journal submission 4 Week 7 Deadline February 27
Journal submission 5 Week 9 Deadline March 12
Journal submission 6 Week 11 Deadline April 2
Journal submission 7 Week 13 Deadline April 16
Journal submission 8 Week 15 Deadline April 30

VALUE 16% of final grade ( 8 Journal submissions, worth 2% each)

© 2004 June Lester 
This course material  is for the use of students enrolled in LIS 2003. It may not be reproduced, published, or transmitted electronically for commercial purposes without the instructor's consent.