george

Final Reflections

2005-07-15T22:40:00.000-07:00

As usual, I am down to the wire with my final assignment which is to reflect back on this rather short but engaging semester. Initially, I found it difficult to adjust to this "virtual" class format after years in the classroom. Spending class time in front of my PC and not an instructor required discipline as well diplomacy when my wife and son were requesting computer time. Overall, I think I was able to adjust quite well, but it wasn't easy.

Setting up my IM account was a challenge to say the least. It seemed like no matter what AIM name I chose, someone else already had it. Once I finally did come up with a name, thanks to my dog and cat, I found that I was the only one in my class that was on-line ready to IM at midnight. Needless to say, I did not get to take full advantage of this technology, however; my son is now using it to IM all his friends, so I guess it wasn't a total loss.

Creating my blog was much easier, although; I never did get it to look very exciting. Having never kept a diary before, I was a little intimidated when I started posting to my blog, but as time went on, my comfort level increased. As a matter of fact, I've been referring to my previous postings while writing this reflection piece. The blog is a handy reference to use for reflecting back on the semester which I guess is the whole idea.

For me, the most effective tool that we have used for this class has been the class wiki. There is something about researching a topic and posting your findings to a public forum like a wiki that gives them more credibility than a paper would have. I think that this is due to the fact that others can review, dispute and even edit your findings if they choose to do so. In addition, having the ability to collaborate with others in a virtual setting is much more efficient than trying to do so in person, although; there is something to be said for dinner meetings.

Over the past five weeks, I have been exposed to several methods of on-line communication that were foreign to me prior to taking this class. I now have a basic understanding of their potential uses and plan to take full advantage of them. By doing so, I hope to be able to communicate more effectively and also make more informed decisions.

2005-07-01T18:00:00.000-07:00

I'm back from camping and working on my next assignment for which I am able to draw on the knowledge I have gained working in the University's Procurement department. I really like the idea of developing a Wikipedia having used a similar venue as a resource for a paper that I did last semester. I also remember reading some discussion around the validity of citing a Wikipedia for scholarly writings and tend to agree with those who argued that the fact that everyone has input is what makes it valid.

2005-06-22T22:52:00.000-07:00

Well, it's Wednesday of week three and I've started my assignment, so I should have enough time to work on it before leaving for a four day camping trip this weekend.

2005-06-19T20:25:00.000-07:00

I finally have my rough draft started. As Pat had indicated in class, waiting until Sunday evening to do so was not the best approach.

2005-06-14T22:36:00.000-07:00

I've received imput about my technical question from quite of few of my classmates, but I have not been able to offer much to them due to my lack of knowledge.

2005-06-13T23:11:00.000-07:00

I can now see that one of the challenges that I will face during this course is competing for computer time along with my wife and son.

2005-06-11T23:21:00.000-07:00

I've been having a little trouble setting up my IM and Blog but it appears that I'm finally making some progress.