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Saniya Vashist
IR-3/10 G/T
3 January 2018
Biweekly Journal

Week of 1/3

Goals/objectives:

- Set up third meeting with advisor

- Come up with meeting agenda
- Revise and edit outline
- Organize and plan out paper more thoroughly
- Call DJS regarding community centers (again)
- Start brainstorming new internet project with advisor
- Have conference with Mrs. Sasser
- Talk with Mrs. Mariano about computer lab projector (finance, feasibility)
- Update spreadsheet containing vocabulary words

The past two weeks has been filled with many obstacles, challenges, and barriers, as

many research projects are. I have been calling the DJS constantly, hoping that they have an

answer for me regarding the community centers. I still have yet to receive a response, but I am

patiently waiting. As of now, I have two plans (plan A and plan B). My research could take one

of two courses, and I am prepared to take the course that I end up with. My advisor has been

assisting me with plan A, as he has more experience with collecting data from juvenile

delinquents in terms of education. Plan B, researching WiFi access in facilities, and creating a

feasible plan that could potentially result in internet use for juvenile delinquent while they are

incarcerated, is the one I have been working on by myself. These experiences with research,

especially in terms of lack of predictability and overcoming obstacles, are in no doubt

challenging, but they have allowed me to become more resilient. I have noticed that many times I

get caught up with another unrelated idea of mine, and lose sight of this project. I know I have to
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work on focusing on this research, and not getting distracted by the other endeavours, activities,

and ideas of mine. It's a work in progress, just like everything else in life.

Saniya Vashist
IR-3/ 10 G/T
13 September 2017
Biweekly Journal
Week of 9/13

Goals/objectives:

● Start narrowing down research

○ Find more reliable sources related to topic (specifically female education in
Juvenile Facilities)
● Annotate and critically read at least 5 more sources
● Divide up research throughout the week (example: 1 article a day)
● Answer the following questions thoroughly with research:
○ What is the current state of the technology education being implemented in
Juvenile Detention Facilities?
○ What effect does quality education have on the future on Juvenile delinquents,
specifically females?
○ What potential benefits does educating female Juvenile delinquents about
computer science have?
○ In what ways can a gender divided learning environment positively and
negatively affect students, especially those within a Juvenile Detention Facility?
○ How does limited technology access impact the teenagers and children within the
Juvenile Detention Facilities?
● Brainstorm potential site visits to go to, finalize one

Over the course of the past week I have conducted preliminary research on my topic, and

read a total of three articles. I have created annotations for each article, and did a critical read on

one of them. I started creating a list of key vocabulary words found in my articles with their

definitions that I will use throughout my research.

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Writing the annotations and doing the critical read was relatively easy for me, as I

consider myself to be proficient at taking notes, summarizing, and analyzing information.

Although locating sources related to my topic was not difficult, finding quality sources that

would be beneficial to my research was. I encountered a plethora of scholarly articles and

journals, most of which varied from a length of twenty to fifty pages. Skimming through the

articles to see if they contained any pertinent information was taxing, as it was difficult to

evaluate if the article would be helpful. Therefore I had to take more time with each source, and

look through it more carefully, which was particularly challenging if the article was more than

thirty pages long. Additionally, finding up-to-date articles was difficult, as well as finding

articles that discussed Juvenile Detention Centers on a national scale, not just at the local or state

level. However once I found a good article, reading through it and analyzing the information was

easy.

I am looking forward to conducting more research on my topic, and discovering the

answers to my questions, such as 1. What is the current state of the technology education being

implemented in Juvenile Detention Facilities (if any)? 2. What effect does quality education have

on the future on Juvenile delinquents, specifically females,? 3. What potential benefits does

educating female Juvenile delinquents about computer science have? 4. In what ways can a

gender divided learning environment positively and negatively affect students, especially those

within a Juvenile Detention Facility, and 5. How does limited technology access impact the

teenagers and children within the Juvenile Detention Facilities? I am somewhat dreading reading

long and strenuous articles, and they take a lot of time and patience for me to get through. In
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order to resolve this issue, I will divide up my articles, and space them out throughout the week,

so that I do not have to read a fifty page article all in one day.

I consider myself good at public speaking, writing, critical reading, taking leadership

positions, allocating resources necessary for me to conduct my research, etc.

Emotionally, I am relatively satisfied and proud of the work I have accomplished so far. I

admit that reading through some of the longer articles was tiring and exhausting, but I know that

reading them will benefit me greatly in the future. I hope to use my research, and the lessons

learned in this class, to help me with my initiative to incorporate computer science education for

females in Juvenile Facilities through my nonprofit.

Saniya Vashist
IR-3/10 G/T
10 April 2018
Biweekly Journal

Week of 4/10

Goals/objectives:

- Present SLC to class

- Create script for presentation
- Set up time to meet with Joseph Leary and Dan Johnson from DJS
- Set up time to Skype with advisor
- Update research paper
- Present SLC to neighbors
- Organize interview notes and data collection
- Follow-up with Lisa Snuggs

With the SLC fast approaching, I have had to allocate most of my time and energy to the

presentation. After watching many research presentations on YouTube, I have learned that a
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great presentation has compelling content, strong structure, memorable stories, intellectual and

emotional connection with the audience, and specificity. It has to engage the audience, and truly

impact the viewers. It has to include emotions, however include data that the audience can make

sense of. The main thing I am working on right now is timing. My presentation is largely

audience dependent, so I have to make sure I do not let the audience hinder me from continuing

to speak. Also, I am not sure of the responses I will get when I ask the audience questions, I only

have answers I expect. I have to practice receiving a variety of responses, and knowing how to

deal with certain types of answers. Additionally, I have to make sure I balance research with

emotions and meaning. It is a work in progress, but I am driving through. I’m excited to present!

Saniya Vashist
IR-3/10 G/T
21 March 2018
Biweekly Journal

Week of 3/21

Goals/objectives:

- Skype with Professor Gagnon to discuss research project

- Continue editing SLC presentation
- Practice presenting SLC to family
- Interview Terri Sobus and Lisa Snuggs
- Incorporate more audience based aspects to the presentation
- Fix animations in Prezi

These past 2 weeks have been filled with a lot of work and obstacles, but conquering

tasks in my way have been nothing short of great encouragement and motivation for me.

Regarding the fundraising for my Morocco endeavour, my team and I have been able to develop

a plan to raise money and have begun acting on it. For my research project, I have noticed

several inconsistencies with my interviews. This, I have later learned, is actually vital
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information for me to use, and more reason for me to further interview more individuals. The

interview process has been filled with challenges, however it has been rewarding as well.

Scheduling times to talk with busy professionals has been difficult as many of our schedules

don’t align. But the value of the information gained from actually talking with them, and they

being a primary source, is greatly beneficial. I also presented my SLC presentation to my family

and received great feedback that I have begun to incorporate into my presentation. Overall, I am

excited to get a break from this busy time, and go hike around the Grand Canyon. I think that

some time off will help my mind recover and provide a relaxing period of time to replenish my

energy.

Saniya Vashist
IR-3/10 G/T
21 March 2018
Biweekly Journal

Week of 3/21

Goals/objectives:

- Skype with Professor Gagnon to discuss research project

- Continue editing SLC presentation
- Practice presenting SLC to family
- Interview Terri Sobus and Lisa Snuggs
- Incorporate more audience based aspects to the presentation
- Fix animations in Prezi

These past 2 weeks have been filled with a lot of work and obstacles, but conquering

tasks in my way have been nothing short of great encouragement and motivation for me.

Regarding the fundraising for my Morocco endeavour, my team and I have been able to develop

a plan to raise money and have begun acting on it. For my research project, I have noticed
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several inconsistencies with my interviews. This, I have later learned, is actually vital

information for me to use, and more reason for me to further interview more individuals. The

interview process has been filled with challenges, however it has been rewarding as well.

Scheduling times to talk with busy professionals has been difficult as many of our schedules

don’t align. But the value of the information gained from actually talking with them, and they

being a primary source, is greatly beneficial. I also presented my SLC presentation to my family

and received great feedback that I have begun to incorporate into my presentation. Overall, I am

excited to get a break from this busy time, and go hike around the Grand Canyon. I think that

some time off will help my mind recover and provide a relaxing period of time to replenish my

energy.