The whole working with a partner I thought would hinder me in this course but I actually liked it in the end. My partner helped me finish a lot of task and get done faster. It was good to have two minds working rather than me trying to figure it out on my own.  The biggest problem for me and my partner as well was how this course is presented. I think it would be so much more effective if it was more straightforward. Clients are a good idea but if they could be more clear about what they watned it would be good. I don’t understand the last question but I’m glad I’m done with this class!

1. What did you think was most difficult about the course?

I thought the most difficult thing about this course was how it was set up. The story line we were supposed to follow during each task made it more complicated than usual. If the material was presented in a more simplistic fashion rather than in a puzzling story we had to solve I think we’d get more out of this course. Each problem that was given didn’t have clear instructions so it was hard to get along in the task fast enough. I feel overwhelmed by how much I had to do for this class during these past few weeks.

2. What do you think was easiest?

The easiest part of the this course was after figuring out what each task asked of us, we were able to finish it and complete it pretty fast. Doing the task wasn’t a struggle just finding exactly what were supposed to do was kind of hard. After figuring that out we were able to go on to the task and used different methods and means by which to finish them. We used Microsoft Word, Clip art and images from Google (which we cited!) and used Power point, and also created a website. The first 6 tasks were pretty do-able but the last task was a bit difficult. The first few task used things I was used to working with and have worked with in high school and throughout my first few college years.

3. What did you learn about working in teams with peers?

I work well in teams, however having a partner that I rarely saw and had to communicate online for certain things made it hard to effectively say what I wanted changed in a task. However, being in a team with peers did help in the fact that sometimes my partner was more creative than I was in some areas and I was more creative in others. We were both able to give the most we both had together and the each task showed the good sides of our ideas. Working with peers has also given me good experience for working the real world. Many of my older cousins, who work for businesses, told me that they do a lot of their work using the same tools that

4. What was most challenging about working with peers at a distance?

The most challenging thing about working abroad and away from an actual classroom setting and without actually always seeing my partner was starting tasks. It was hard to find a time that both of us could meet up and work on one thing and finish a task. Not being able to see the person but having to communicate through emails/facebook/aim made it hard to describe in detail what should be done in each task. At first getting a hold of my partner and communicating was really tough. I’m not sure she checked the email that she gave to the online instructor and I tried for the first few weeks to get a hold of her. Since this class would not allow me to begin a task without a partner I was really frustrated at first. After talking to the instructor and several emails and days later I was finally able to get hold of her. Meeting up, like I said before was hard because our schedules were so difficult to adjust and meet around.

5. What was helpful about working with a team?
Working in a team, although it was frustrating and difficult at first, once we got in touch and were able to communicate it was good to have someone to share frustrations about this class. There were things we both didn’t understand but then if one of us understood then it helped the other person immensely and we were able to move slowly but forward and were able to finish tasks. There were times working in a team I felt slowed me down in the beginning but after we were able to work together and met up, I was surprised how much faster things got done.

6. What was most challenging about working for a client?

The most challenging thing was not knowing every detail of what they wanted done. Especially working with a different client for each task made it even more difficult because the requirements kept changing. Once we finished a task for one client and received their feedback we were able to get a clearer picture of what they wanted or would have liked. Also, the clients seemed to have peculiar tastes and different types of knowledge of cults and mythical gods. Not sure I am going to ever work for clients like that again. It was an experience that I will never forget. The clients had problems with other people and problems that were realistic

7. What did you learn about communication using technology tools?

I learned that in communicating through the internet/online, one must be detailed about what you are trying to say. It’s easy to get confused about what someone is trying to tell you especially on something you have no idea about. Communicating online may take half the time it takes to talk but when you’re communicating an idea or trying to explain something to a client or your partner it may take a bit longer.  I did learn how to use it better and if my partner presented or showed anything new than something I used before, I was able to learn something that usually made next tasks easier and faster.
8. What were your favorite technology tools to use? Least favorite? Why?

My favorite technology tools to use were Moodle, and this WordPress blog. It helped me focus and concentrate better on the class. My undivided attention was given to the tasks I was supposed to do because I had to work on them using these tools.I was able to discuss with others in my class about different solutions to these problems and tasks and also was able to convey my ideas to a vast number rather than one person at a time.

My least favorite tool to use was online word processors or websites that had to do with helping with html codes. These tools were really confusing and didn’t help much. Those websites need to learn how to communicate!

9. What do you feel you learned in this course about solving problems?

I feel like I learned how to step by step look at a problem and not just look at the whole picture and try to solve it. It’s also helped me on my life problems as well. I also learned about working with clients and how to help solve other people’s problems while making sure I met all their requirements doing the things I was able to do. I also learned to compromise. Working with a few clients taught me how to compromise well and also working with a partner taught me how to do that.

10. What would you do differently if you could take the course again?

I would try not to get overwhelmed by it all at first. I kind of skimmed through the material we were to go over and I didn’t understand but as I slowly looked at each thing and did each task I realized it wasn’t that bad. I still think they should change the approach to this class and make it less confusing. I feel as if I didn’t learn as much as I would have liked because of this confusing approach. It took awhile to learn and get used to.  I would also make sure to get things done earlier if I could take this course again. Overall, it was certainly an experience.

What are the most important tools you have used up until now and why?

My experiences these past few weeks have been good. My partner and I are good at splitting up the work for each task. Using the software has been okay. I’ve worked with it before so I haven’t had much trouble. The most important tool I have used up until now is spell check in Word and Power Point because it has prevented me from making mistakes on my tasks. For example, the spell check feature has allowed me to make any corrections in my spelling. Also, these tools are ones I’ve worked with for awhile and I know how to embed texts and images in so it makes for doing these tasks easier and more simple. I’ve also used tools in the resource pages of moodle that are offered to us to help us with tasks. These tools have been important because it has saved me time in trying to find the information and different tools needed to complete tasks.

Working on Ray’s task wasn’t so bad. We had to make a power point. We both came together and tried to get information from all the people grading the task. We emailed the teacher, and Athena about information. It took us a little while to figure out what exactly we were doing but we finished. Once we edited the power point, we worked on adding images and making sure to copyright it. We also changed up the background and design and made sure it fit with the rest of the theme of the power point. It was different in the fact that we both met up (we’ve always done that) and worked on trying to talk out solutions rather than just guessing and asking each other to edit.

Computers play such a huge role in my life. I have become dependent on it as a means of communications with many friends. It’s hard to keep up with people through telephone and snail mail. It’s become more convenient to just send a message through facebook or chat on aim. As a matter of fact, some of the tasks in this class were completed through these means of communications. Computers made things better for me in the way that I got information and also how fast I recieved information. It’s changed things for the worse in that I wish I wasn’t so dependent on it for finding information. I rarely watch the news now and I always find out things as soon as they happen but it may be a good thing but it can also be a nuisance.  I really don’t like using computers as a means of learning.  I like having a teacher and being with them face to face to learn materials. I think this will be the last online class I will ever take. I really don’t think I’m cut out of learning online yet.  The thing with technology is that, it feeds information to us faster and more clearly now than humans are/were capable and there is so many different ways to help learning on line.

Finally, how important is communication with your Team and your Client in creating a product and coming up with a solution?

In Leto’s predicament most everything went well. We worked together pretty well so there were no problems. The only thing was that the instructions were unclear and it took a little while to figure out. I had enough knowledge of the programs to do the work and if I had a question I used the resources that were available on Moodle. My and partner worked really well together. I was the Leader and helped edit a few parts. The solution was good, and we got good feedback. I don’t think we’ll do anything differently because it worked out with time pretty well.

Completing Hester and Leto’s Task was not a great experience. The instructions on how to accomplish these missions were rather confusing. This class doesn’t have to be so confusing. I think I would’ve learned more if there were less distractions like all these stories. As I said in the previous posts, Kaitlin and I switched of roles being scribe and leader. We would get together at the library to try to figure out what we were supposed to do. Sometimes during these task we’d just do things on our own because it was too confusing to work with someone on tasks like this, but if we did things on our own we’d send files to each other to see if there was anything the other person wanted to edit or change. We recieved pretty good feeback. We did pretty good on these tasks. In general, I felt the process was too confusing. Having these stories also in the task were a good idea but the instructions were poor and confusing at times. No one has time to read all the random stories about people and figure out the tasks. For the next task, we are going to work on things more on our own but ask each other to edit.

We both worked together by getting the information for what we had to do for the task and giving the information to each other. After working together, I took the role as Scribe and finished putting the entire solution.

What worked?

Well,  when we did most of the things on our own it worked better and then the other person edited it.

What didn’t?

When we both tried to come up with solutions together. It was better to give suggestions and let the other person decide.

What will you do differently in the future?

Try to give each other enough information but at the same take responsibility and do the work on our on.

What are some of the difficulties of group work?

Since it’s two completely different people, the ideas I give aren’t always understood and vice versa.  It’s been a struggle to convey my ideas but I’ve been working on being more detailed.

They are a vital role in my life. Without them I would not survive. They help me check my bank account and let me keep in touch with all my millions and millions of friends. Computers hinder me by helping me in a way in that they help me become more lazy.

2. How competent do you feel you are with word processors like Word Perfect or MS Word?

I’ve used such word processors all my life. I feel like I can manage my way around them pretty well.

1. What role have computers played in your life until now? How do they help and hinder you?

Computers have helped me keep in touch with friends & family all over the world and have helped me share information with others faster.  Computers help by getting things done faster that would’ve taken longer and hinder me by making me lazier.

2. How competent do you feel you are with word processors like Word Perfect or MS Word?

I feel like I can get by and do okay on word processors like Word Perfect and MS Word but I don’t know every little thing. It wouldn’t hurt to learn more.