Technology and the Final Project

Now that our final project is coming to an end, it is clear that technology has played a huge role in making the group work run smoothly. The Blackboard page was updated frequently with meeting agendas, meeting minutes, and information on our project through every step of the process. This kept the whole group informed throughout the process of making our proposal. We also utilized email to keep in touch with each other before and after group meetings. We emailed each other regarding what times we were going to meet, and with completed tasks after group meetings. Email played a huge role in getting our group work done because often we would split up work at our meetings, then compile the work later. Email was also used to keep in touch with our client. We also used the internet to do research and help formulate our proposal. Technology had a huge part in making our final project a success.

Ethical Principles

While looking through the examples of unethical conduct in class and on my own, I found it shocking how many ethical issues arise in different aspects of our lives. From going through these examples, I have learned the importance of having a personal code of ethics and standing by it. I have also learned that you cannot expect others to act ethically, and that trust should not come easily. I would say that my ethical code would consist of being true to myself, always working hard to reach my goals instead of taking the easy way out, and helping others along the way. It would be so easy to cheat your way through life, but ethically, this is not the way to get ahead. Also, many people "step on" those around them to make themselves look better or move higher up in the workforce. This is also unethical, and in the end will come back to haunt them.

Miscommunication

I have been in many situations where there have been lapses in communication. Often this will happen when I am working on a group project with people I otherwise would not know. In this type of situation, people are worried about being portrayed as overly aggressive if they assign roles and tasks for others in the group. Unfortunately, this is often what is needed in a group setting. I remember working on a group project where we decided what needed to be done before the next meeting, but it was unclear as to who was going to do what task. Fortunately, we worked out the problem and got our work done, but it did take several emails between group members to sort it all out. The aftermath of this miscommunication was that it took way longer to complete the task than it would have taken if we took the time to go over our individual responsibilities. A miscommunication like this can be avoided by being organized from the start of the project and delegating who would do what task.

Presentations and Online Portfolio

My favorite presentation from this week was Jeremy's. Jeremy gave a presentation on tattoos, and it was really interesting. I've always been interested in tattoos and the reasons behind why people get them. It was really cool that he shared his personal experiences with the class and told us some stories behind some of the tattoos that he has gotten.

I don't really know anything about online portfolios and haven't even really looked at the E-Portfolio that we need to do for graduation. I think that the portfolio for this class will be a good experience, and I think we have been given most of the information that is needed for it. As for now, I have no questions.

Presentations

Watching the presentations in class this past week was a lot of fun. The topics were diverse and all very interesting. I think my favorite presentations were Brandon's on sugar gliders, Keegan's on soccer celebrations, and Bryson's on the Real Men of Genius commercials. I think I liked these ones in particular because they all involved some active visual aids. Brandon had a very interesting prop and kept the class engaged in his presentation while surprising us at the end by showing a sugar glider. Keegan and Bryson both used videos to keep us engaged in their presentations, and both had funny and entertaining clips that allowed the audience to interact and give feedback. Overall, these three presentors did a good job keeping the audience interested through using different forms of entertaining visuals.

Cover Letter Tutorial

Although I found some of the information in this tutorial surprising, I did agree with most of the information it gave. Most of the hints it gave were pretty straight-forward and were things that we have already talked about in class, like to make sure you do research on the company and make the cover letter personal to the business you will be sending it to. I was surprised when the tutorial said that it is appropriate to include a "P.S." in the cover letter. I was surprised because this seems a little informal and seemed like it was only there to brag about certain characteristics or skills that one holds, which I thought was supposed to be left up to the resume. I was also surprised to hear that most employers only look at the cover letter if they are interested in the resume. I thought the purpose of the cover letter was to be an introduction to the resume, but clearly this is not the case.

I found the sample cover letters to be the most helpful tool while looking at this tutorial. Sometimes it is easiest to look at an example to fully understand what a cover letter is supposed to look like, and this was certainly the case for me.

Client Visit

This week we had the client visit for our group project. Overall, I think it went well and we got a lot accomplished. During the meeting, we threw around a few ideas, including making a poster campaign across campus and making books that included healthier options for eating. I also think that making a site where students could post workout options and recipes for other students to use would be a fun and interactive way to get the campus on board with the Healthy Campus Initiative.

My group is working very well together, and I am looking forward to working with them throughout the semester. As of now, I do not have any questions about the project. Most of the things I am unsure about are things that I will become clear as we work more on the project.