Author Archives: Mariam Kamagate

End of the Semester Reflection

How do you view research differently after this class?

I used to look at research as such a tedious time consuming thing when it came to academic classes. I have always enjoyed researching jut not keeping track of what I came across. But now I view recording my research as something very important not only for me and the work that I do but for the individuals who will be taking my research a step further or to the next level, whether I know it or not, there may be someone who will be depending on my documented research. I am contributing to something much more bigger than I think.

How does a  geographic viewpoint impact your approach to research and understanding of place?

For me personally, it makes it so much more tangible and so much more interesting because whether the history of a place is verbally or literally recorded there is so much history to it, and that creates so many layers of research to be done. With something like a geographic location, I would rather try to obtain as many oral stories as I could, not everything is written in the books, sometimes you have to create your own research method in order to answer your question.

Will you use (and seek out) primary sources in the future? Why or why not?

I definitely will be seeking out primary sources in the future. And I will be doing that because it is a very reliable source and there is never any speculation or anything skeptical about the credibility of a primary source. And I have also been working on my own website for almost a year or so, so primary sources will be very vital to include.

How can research in general, and place-based research in particular) be made more engaging?

Research can be made more interactive by first allowing the pupils to come up with any topic of their choice, unrelated to the course and allowing them to come up a number of credible sources then evaluating their sources in class, maybe in a game like way and testing their knowledge on how to determine if a source is reliable and credible.

Eleventh 100 Word Reflection: The Importance of Access to Academic Research

Question: Why is access to academic research a privilege?

Access to academic research is a privilege first and foremost because there are many people around the world who are in great need of it, and could possibly do wonderful great things for this world. And also in order to gain an solid education access to academic research is needed.

How can you leverage that privilege by contributing to public resources like wikipedia?

By contributing to an outlet such as wikipedia, I will be opening one more door for someone who needs the information I am providing who wouldn’t otherwise receive it without my contribution to wikipedia.

Tenth 100 Word Reflection: Wikipedia and the Death of the Expert

My absolute favorite line from this reading is “learners are doers, not recipients.” for the simple fact that this is more than true, really hits home. I for one believe that when you are given information, it definitely is up to you to do whatever you want with it, but if you actually understand the information being fed to you, you will figure out a way to implement it into your daily life, so you as a learner is actually doing something making you a doer. However if you just keep the information you’re given and store it you’re not actually learning, you’re just receiving the information brought to you.

Eighth 100 Word Reflection: Why is Academic Writing so Academic? And Annotated Bibliographies (Reading)

As far as the author of the article on “Why is Academic Writing so Academic?” I completely and utterly agree with everything stated. Academic writing is not for everyone to understand, because it is not catered to the general public, it is meant for people who actually enjoy the approach. Now for the page on annotated bibliography, I have some experience with doing an annotated bibliography, maybe once or twice before. And the same rules and guidelines listed in the reading are close to or almost identical to what my previous professors have taught me when completing an annotated bibliography.

Ninth 100 Word Reflection: Mid-semester Course Progress Reflection

I completed both my Mid-semester report and Annotated Bibliography in which I focused on the Brooklyn Bridge between the 1869 to 1899 time period. It was difficult to obtain information, so whatever I was lucky enough to find went into both my annotated bibliography and mid-semester report. Right now I am thinking that focusing on the Brooklyn Bridge for my final report will be my best bet, but I would also like to do something a little more, and see if I can make my final project a bigger and better one, however, not something that will be too much to handle.

Project Plan

I may have to do a minimal amount of research, if any for my final project. Right now I believe I just need to digest, access, and organize all the information I have gathered, and find the correct categories to put them into for my final project. I have a rough idea of how I would like to categorize my information so hopefully all of that works out. I will be allowing my final project to live on the internet for as long as open lab or the internet may live. I will be focusing on the area near the Brooklyn Bridge once known as the Brooklyn Bridge Plaza, and just unloading as much information on this space as I have access to. My project has not really changed overtime, it did stem from my Mid-semester report when I was looking at maps of the Vinegar Hill area, and noticed it, and then I chose to take this little piece of information and just allow it to manifest itself and just go in any direction it leads me in.