This document summarizes Ben O'Donnell's summative assessment on his research project about traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) in soldiers. Some of the key points discussed include: 1) TBIs are mainly caused by concussions and brain trauma from objects like metal penetrating the brain. O'Donnell questions why soldiers still get TBIs despite improvements in gear and medicine. 2) Finding relevant articles was a challenge that delayed O'Donnell's research. 3) Creating a Netvibes page and PLE for the project was difficult as it was a new experience, but he overcame obstacles by asking questions.

1. O’Donnell 1
Ben O’Donnell
Mrs. Lester
Honors 10th Lit.
October 24 2011
Summative Assessment
1. What I learned about TBI is that in some cases they can be fatal, but in most cases they
are cured or at least the soldier can live. My key insights and understanding of a TBI is
that they are mainly caused by a combination of a concussion and brain trauma, such as
a piece of metal going into it. My only question is; if we have made all of these
improvements in gear and medicine, how come soldiers are still getting diagnosed by a
TBI?
2. The main challenges that I came across is finding articles that related to my topic. This
challenge affected me by delaying finishing of my pre-search, and my research. Also I
had trouble making my narration make sense to the viewers. This was not a major
challenge but I was still an important factor.
3. Like I said above finding articles that related to my topic was probably the most difficult
thing to do. On the other hand, sending an Email to my expert (CAPT. William Watson,
USN) was pretty difficult in the sense that I did not know whether or not he was going to
respond to y request.
4. The books that I read did not mention TBI at all. The inspiration for my project came
from Ella’s book Purple Heart where the soldier suffered from a TBI and could not
remember the incident, and the soldier thought we killed a little child.

2. 5. Studying this issue has had somewhat of an impact on me because I did not really know
that TBI existed until a few months ago. Also I have been impacted on how little the
medical field knows about TBI, and how common the disorder is among soldiers.
6. What I am most proud of in this project is my presentation Zen because a lot of thought
and time went into the making of that project. I am also very proud of my Netvibes
page because of PLE and the theme that I had to create in order for the page to go along
with my project.
7. What was most challenging was the Netvibes and PLE portion because both were a new
experience to me. I overcame this obstacle by asking any questions I had and looking at
the sample PLEs that Ms. Hamilton had on our class lib guides page.
8. The research skill that I think I improved this semester are; 1.1.5, 1.1.8, 1.1.6, 1.3.1, and
1.3.3. The skill 1.1.5 as Evaluating information based on the bias of accuracy, validly and
appropriateness…, I demonstrated growth by looking for articles that said the same
thing. In 1.1.8, and 1.1.6 I demonstrated growth by going outside my normal search
engines and using ones like sweet search and gale. In 1.3.1 and 1.3.3 I mastered them
by only using Flickr for my pictures and citing all of my sources in easy bib.
9. Well, I did the Presentation Zen style presentation because I have already done one
before, so I did not have to take the time to learn how to do the project. However, I
have not narrated a presentation Zen style PowerPoint, usually I would stand up in the
front of the class and basically give a speech.
10. I used Netvibes for my PLE. I used it to get quick access to the Media 21 agenda for my
class. Also there was a search box for gale opposing viewpoints so I could quickly access
article pertaining to my subject. Finally I gave the whole thing a camouflage theme to
help give the PLE a military look and feel.

3. O’Donnell 3
11. I believe that I am best prepared for analytical reading and writing because of learning
how to do them for the past three years, also I took AP World History and every
weekend we had to do an essay, so those assignments helped me become a better
writer.