Before taking this class and working on this project, my personal approach to inquiry was very limited.  I knew about brainstorming, writing a rough draft, proofreading, and writing a final copy.  I had never thought about how each one of those steps involved more detail.  Inside those stages of writing, were the 8Ws or other inquiry models.  Going through each stage and becoming familiar with what to do in each W really helped me to understand inquiry.  Until I read the chapters in The Blue Book, I didn’t realize how many inquiry models had been developed.

The 8Ws was a good inquiry model for me because it was easy to follow.  I enjoyed being able to research a topic of my choice.  I was more motivated to research and continue moving through the Ws because I was able to focus and stay interested in my topic.

When reading through the AASL standards, I found many standards for 8th grade and 5th grade that will apply to this project.  I was surprised, but pleased by the amount of standards that do apply!

Standard 1 Inquire, think critically and gain knowledge.

Indicator 1.1.1 Follow an inquiry based process in seeking knowledge in curricular subjects, and make the real-world connection for using this process in own life.

Indicator 1.1.3 Develop and refine a range of questions to frame the search for new understanding.

Indicator 1.1.9 Collaborate with others to broaden and deepen understanding.

I also found several standards that apply to grade 5.

Standard 1: Inquire, think critically and gain knowledge.

Indicator 1.1.4 Find, evaluate, and select appropriate sources to answer questions.

Indicator 1.18 Demonstrate mastery of technology tools for assessing information and pursuing inquiry.

Standard 2: Draw conclusions, make informed decisions, apply knowledge to new situations, and create new knowledge.

Indicator 2.1.2 Organize knowledge so that it is useful.

Students need to be given the opportunity to choose a topic of interest to them.  When something is interesting, learners having a stronger desire to dig deeper and find information.  This is often the motivation students need for researching.  Being able to work through the questioning stage and then actually finding the information and organizing it is critical for good research.

This project turned out to be very challenging for me.   I found myself doubting my thoughts frequently.  The topic was a good choice because I was able to find information very easily.  I am happy that I narrowed my topic down from autoimmune diseases to diabetes.  Autoimmune diseases was too broad of a topic, but I didn’t realize that until I started working my way through the stages.  My mom and sister provided tons of good information about diabetes.  I was able to find good information on credible websites as well.

I enjoyed learning about Delicious.  It is a great tool for organizing websites that I plan to use more in the future.  I also really enjoyed using Diigo.  I now have it on my toolbar and will be able to use it for other projects for classes and my school research.

I felt my PowerPoint project turned out well.  I enjoy using PowerPoint because it is an effective and useful tool to share information.

I should have given myself more time to write down my thoughts.  I was thinking about this project and had done some research before I started writing my thoughts in my blog.  I should written in my blog sooner.

Even though this topic was challenging for me, I learned a lot about inquiry and the importance of working through each stage.

The four pieces of technology I chose to use are listed below.

Social Bookmarking ~ My websites are bookmarked on Delicious.  http://delicious.com/allie3416

Electronic Communication ~ I emailed my mom to ask her a list of questions about diabetes.

Productivity Tool ~ I created a PowerPoint with general information about diabetes.

Notetaking Tool ~ I used Diigo to highlight and information I found on websites.  I found this tool to be very helpful.

After interviewing my mom and sister and looking at resources, I completed my list of facts about diabetes.  I find that when I am researching a topic I want to learn more about, a quick and easy to read list of information is best for me.  I shared the information I found on the Internet with my family members.  We are all curious about diabetes and the latest information because it directly affects my sister.  Any information that could be beneficial is important to us.

Diabetes can be a confusing topic and there are many misconceptions.  When my sister was diagnosed, many people would say that they thought being a diabetic just meant the person couldn’t eat sugar.  This is not true.  My sister can eat anything she wants as long as she knows the carbohydrate count.  She wears an insulin pump.  Instead of having to give herself shots before or after she eats, she types in the amount of insulin she needs to cover the food she has eaten.  The insulin pump is connected to tubing that goes into a site in her stomach.  She can eat anything as long as she gives herself the insulin to cover the amount of carbohydrates.  Another misconception is that all diabetes can be controlled by diet and exercise.  This is not true about type I diabetes.  A type I diabetic will always need insulin.  It doesn’t matter what she eats or how much she weighs insulin will always be needed.

I am putting my list into a PowerPoint presentation.  I have always felt that PowerPoints are easy to follow and a great tool for displaying information.  This information about diabetes could be shared with anyone who is willing to learn.  I can almost guarantee that at some point in life everyone will know someone with type I or type II diabetes.  It is important to know the difference.

I am having feelings of doubt and uncertainty.  I am finding comfort though knowing that Kuhlthau states that in the Exploring Information stage theses feelings are normal (Callison, 40).

I decided to make a bulleted list with the information I have found about diabetes.  This list will keep my thoughts organized and help me when I create my PowerPoint.  I was able to find most of my facts on the Internet from credible sources.  I searched Google using the keyword diabetes.  After the results of that search, I decided to search using the keyword diabetes type I.  Type I diabetes is my primary focus.  The Internet search results in more than enough information.  I looked mostly at websites with .org and not .com.  I also looked for websites that were fact based and not personal stories.  I had enough information from my family sources already, but needed facts.  Those facts helped to confirm the information my mom and sister had given me based on their personal experiences of growing up dealing with diabetes on a daily basis.  I bookmarked my websites using Delicious.

As I have been researching my topic, I am happy that I chose to narrow my topic down to just diabetes and not autoimmune diseases.  I have found so much information on diabetes alone that having the broad topic of autoimmune diseases would have been too overwhelming.  The Internet and personal experiences shared from my mom and sister has given me lots of great information.  I am using the new tool, Diigo as I search the Internet.  I have found it to be very helpful.  I am highlighting information and able to quickly look back to find the information I need.

According to Wikipedia, diabetes is a condition in which a person has a high blood sugar(glucose) level as a result of the body either not producing enough insulin, or because body cells do not properly respond to the insulin that is produced. Insulin is a hormone produced in the pancreas which enables body cells to absorb glucose, to turn into energy. If the body cells do not absorb the glucose, the glucose accumulates in the blood, leading to various potential medical complications.

Diabetes. org states that 23.6 million children and adults in the United States have diabetes.  Type I Diabetes is found in only 5-10% of people with diabetes.  It is usually diagnosed in children and young adults.  This type of diabetes requires the use of insulin.  In Type I, a person stops producing insulin.  Type I diabetes has nothing to do with a person’s weight.

As I began webbing, I knew I had a lot of information to research.  I decided to focus in on one autoimmune disease first.  I went right to a good source.  I decided to email my mom a list of questions I had about diabetes.  I asked her to think back to when my sister was diagnosed 12 years ago.  As she recalled her emotions and thoughts from when my sister was first diagnosed, it made me want to narrow my search more to focus on diabetes.  The first few months of dealing with diabetes were definitely difficult.  My mom had to experience things she had never faced before.  She attended school meetings to discuss my sister’s 504 plan.  Many doctor appointments had to be scheduled and constant phone calls to the nurses to check blood sugar levels were made.  My mom formed many new friendships with other moms of children with diabetes.

As I continue my search, I plan to search the Internet.  I am starting to think that I should narrow my topic from autoimmune diseases to diabetes.  Virginia Rankin states that is important to find a balance between topics that are too broad and too narrow-consider time and resource limitations. (Callison, 38)

As I think more about my topic, I have more specific questions that have come to my mind.

Are certain autoimmune diseases more common in young people?  (I was diagnosed at age 23 and my sister at age 8.)

Are autoimmune diseases more common in women?  (Only the women in my family have developed autoimmune diseases.)

Is the life expectancy of a person with an autoimmune disease shorter?

Does life expectancy depend on the severity of the disease and treatment?

Are autoimmune diseases more commonly diagnosed these days?

Are there warning signs for diabetes?  (My sister seemed to develop diabetes in a matter of a week.  She was having to use the bathroom constantly and more thirsty than normal.  My mom thought she had a bladder infection. )

If autoimmune diseases run in a family and are genetic, will I definitely pass on this trait to my children someday?  ( I do not have kids now, but do worry about passing on a genetic disorder.  I am doing very well with my arthritis and have a wonderful doctor.  I am lucky that my form of arthritis is a mild one.

I am glad to have a list of questions generated at this point.  The McKenzie Questioning Research Cycle is focused on questioning.  “Questioning is central to learning and growing (Callison, 56).”

As I think about my topic of autoimmune diseases, I have so many questions.  I have four known family members with an autoimmune disease.  My maternal grandmother has Sjogren’s Disease.  My sister was diagnosed with type I diabetes when she was eight years old.  I was diagnosed with a mild form of rheumatoid arthritis when I was 23 and my mother suffers from several different allergies.  I didn’t know allergies where a form of an autoimmune disease until my mother had an extensive allergy test done a few years ago.  I am wondering about the link of genetics and autoimmune diseases.  I am also wondering about all the different types of autoimmune diseases in my family.  Those are the two areas I plan to focus on the most when I am evaluating this topic.