Curation Update 3

               During this week I mainly detailed and cleaned up my work. I went through and fixed up the little things and revised/edited parts that I felt were lacking. One major thing I did this week was ask those in my projected audience to read over my curation and give me feedback. I got back great responses and was able to improve my curation even more by their advise. 

               The most interesting element that I found was how much my select group of five that I asked to view my page really enjoyed it. They said the template I chose was very visually appealing and that I presented the information in a very trustworthy and accurate manner. They said the site looked professional and felt the information was easy to comprehend for those who already understood cancer and for those who didn't. 

                The biggest obstacle I need to over come is knowing when enough is enough. Since this is an on going type of assignment it's very hard for me to walk away from something that just doesn't seem finished. I constantly look at my curation and find something to fix or add. I just need to accept all the elements I have and not add too much. I don't want to overwhelm my audience on just one page, so when I find that perfect balance, then I will be able to say "okay" and finishing there. 

                 The next three steps I need to take are:

1. Make sure I have everything listed on the rubric. I need to scan through and see that I pass all the marks, and if I'm missing something I'll edit it right away.

2. Fix my template in minor ways. The heading and some of the layouts are tricky to fix, but in class Mr. Allen taught us how to fix them so now I'll just go back in and fix those minor things to make it look as professional as possible.

3. Update my "story" and truly get at the reason why I chose this topic and why I chose the elements I have on pages.

                   A suggestion for making this project run a little more smoothly would be to have at least one day a week to work on your curation during class. This way you could physical check our work and see if we are heading in the right direction. Sometimes without being able to physically show you our work and ask questions it becomes hard to get the exact answer you want/need. But, overall the project has been very enjoyable and I can't wait to see what my final curation will look like on Tuesday, May 28, 2013. 

Curation Update 2

               My accomplishments this week included getting a lot of new information on the organizations most used for cancer research and awareness, local hospitals near by that are the best for cancer treatment, and the ratios of how many people this year will be diagnosed with cancer. I also decided to switch my curation location from prezi to google template that is similar to the humanities website.
               My most interesting piece found this week was the local hospital best for cancer treatment near us was Evanston Hospital. Evanston hospital houses both Kellogg Cancer Center and the American Cancer Society. Two organizations I work and volunteer for and they are rated at the top of the list for cancer treatment. I still need to check validity on what they are rated but I know that they are up there.
                The biggest obstacle I need to overcome is the validity of the statistics I use. I want to make sure I'm getting correct data and not just throwing random numbers on a web page. Each website seems to have several number similar to each other, but to make my curation as accurate as possible I may have to average all these numbers to get the data that is the most valid and up to date. Once I find these averages I'll have more confident in my work.

Some things I need to work on this week:
                1. I need to average the data I've collected for accurate statistics
                2. Start working on a works cited page
                3. Double check my work by looking on several sites for the same information
What's not working is how I'm taking notes. I don't just want to plug the information I collect straight into my curation but I have nothing else to than just write things in my journal. I feel like I have information all over the place and I've never felt so unorganized in my life. I just wish there was a better way to collect information and then plug it into the curation.

Curation Update 1

          This week I began my search for research on my topic. If you don't remember, or for those of you who don't know my topic, I'm making a curation about the story of the most up to date research on what causes what cancers and what new strategies were found successful in keeping your life cancer free. My accomplishments this week included searching for a site/web page to put my curation on and also get my toes wet with information on my topic.
           The most interesting this I found this week was Prezi. I've never used the site before and the first time I heard of it was only two weeks ago. I love the site and it gives me a whole new perspective on how to present a topic to the world. I lets me use this up to date technology and makes learning fun. I'm excited to see what my final product will look like with this new tool.
            The biggest obstacle I had to overcome was how to use Prezi. I'm not too technology oriented so learning how to actually use Prezi took some time, but now that I have the hang of it it is smooth sails ahead.
             The next three steps I need to take to move forward is:
1. I need to make a timeline of information gathered and decide from what year to the present would I like to declare the information and research found state of the art.
2. I need to organize my work more clearly and from there get into deeper detail. Right now I feel like I only have surface information on a broad question and I rather have detailed information on a smaller sub question.
3. I have to watch the sites I get my information from and compare it to others to check its reliability. I want reliable information so my audience will be told the 100% truth, not an assumption or average.
              What's working so far is my constant work I'm putting in every night. By just taking 30 minutes to an hour a night gathering information and editing my Prezi I know my curation will turn out great and very helpful to those who will use it in the future.