Reflection 1:
Based on our implementation plan we are creating a website for the residents of Cahokia Heights. Initially my plans for this semester consist of doing research to gather lists of business that support the basic needs of human and how far they are from the village of Cahokia Heights. My plan also consists of making a separate list of local businesses in Cahokia Heights that have either been shut down completely or moved for different reasons. Everyone has different parts for the website. My portion of the website includes two pages. For my first page of the website, I want half of the page to showcase the list of local businesses that support the basic needs of humans; while the other side of the page showcases the list of businesses that used to support the basic needs of humans but have since gone for several reasons. For the list of businesses that are no longer active/ there I am thinking about listing why those businesses are no longer active/there next to the names of the businesses. My second page will consist of a map showing where the businesses are located and what basic need, they can directly and indirectly support. I think on the map I want each type of basic need to obviously have an icon but also be color coded based on what it is. The map will showcase not only the active businesses but also the non-active businesses. Either both active and non-active businesses will have their own color based on the basic need or both lists will just all be one color. The website as a whole will showcase different resources for the residents of Cahokia Heights.
Reflection 2:
My plan for the project hasn’t changed drastically. The only thing regarding my plan that has really “changed” was that I need to do research on the Dollar Tree in Cahokia Heights. Doing research on the Dollar Tree in Cahokia Heights would be added onto the list of businesses that are either currently still in business or have gone out of business. Moving forward what I still need to do pertaining to my portion of the project would be to go through my already made list and pick out the businesses that do not exist. Because on the map, when looking for different businesses it might show a name but when you really want to look at the photos of the company, a lot of the time it is just photos of open field and those said businesses don’t have websites. Picking out the truly non-existent businesses, the businesses that have been shut down, and the current businesses will allow me not only to accurately draw out my two lists for the map, but also to ensure that I have the right information to then pass on to the residents of Cahokia Heights. So far what I am enjoying the most pertaining to my portion of the project would solely have to be where I have to go through different websites to see what businesses are in Cahokia. What I don’t enjoy about my portion of the project would have to be going street by street on Google Maps for the village of Cahokia Heights. I don’t necessarily enjoy going street by street because its really time consuming and just when you think that you’ve found a business that is there, it’s not.
Reflection 3:
Based on my self-presentation during our Teams meetings, I have felt both confident and nervous when talking about my portion aloud. I’ve been both confident and nervous because I know that this is how I want to do my portion and how I want it to look, just being able to talk about it aloud and explain the different parts is really what makes me nervous. So far, the process of data collection has been smooth for the most part. At first, I was just looking up different local businesses on Google Maps and started making my list. And because my list consisted of majority of businesses across state lines, Dr. Shea recommended that I go through the maps at a street view to get a better look at the different businesses. Even still, going through the maps at a street view a lot of businesses still weren’t coming up because I guess I wasn’t at a very close street view. Being that a lot of the businesses still weren’t fully showing up, I did a thorough look through at a very close street view and different businesses that weren’t showing up before were finally making an appearance. As I was making my list, a lot of the businesses that made an appearance that third time around, I definitely was thinking about them I just kept forgetting about them.