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After I narrowed the search, I started the pre-notetaking sheet to see what topics I needed to learn more about and where I should start my search for more information. This was helpful to organize my thoughts and visualize what I needed to look for. I am a visual learner, so I wrote everything down on paper and looked to see what jumped out at me, and then I transferred the things that hit me here into the electronic file. The process really provoked thoughts that I didn’t know I had. Also, it helped me address what things I knew so I didn’t duplicate it in my research. Then, I knew where to start my search: online, through the hospital, and in my community (friends/family/church). I began to compile my questions that I wanted to search on: What online resources are there? What help can I get in the community? What help is available through the hospital? First, I visited the bookstore and bought a book. Although it was helpful to read about support groups, the book didn’t really tell me what to do. It just gave me a little guidance about what to look for in a support group. Next, I talked to the coordinator for the support group at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Before I interviewed Ms. Martinesk from the hospital, I thought that the Kids at Heart group was really going to be a good group for me to join. Although I will still probably join the group, I am not as excited about it. I realized through talking to her that the hospital group won’t address what I want or need in a support group. My son has a very complex and pretty rare heart defect and I don’t feel like I will relate to the other parents. Finally, I visited the Internet. I searched for information on support groups and actual groups themselves. I am glad for the sake of the project that I went there last. If I had visited the Internet first, I would not have explored the other resources and I would not have had a well-rounded project. I was tempted, (as our students probably will be too) to go straight to the Internet for my research. I found what I was looking for on the Internet, but I would not have realized it without the other searches that I did. In order to find my answers, I needed to search through every other answer first. Please read on to find
out what I learned….
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