technology in the classroom

Technology has definitely benefited our group's communication throughout the year. With so many members in a group, its very hard to keep everyone updated on the latest progress. Email has been the answer. When there are days we all aren't in class, one of us will just email the group what happened, and what needs to be done. 

Since our group in particular needed to speak with Jennifer and the HEHD committee, email also was the perfect communication tool. Instead of trading phone messages for a week about meetings, we could establish a time we were free by just a few clicks of the mouse. 

Blackboard also benefited us with being able to access files by attaching them over email or printing them out. We were able to get to them anywhere there was a computer and internet. 

Ethical Lapses

Some of the examples given in class today about historical instances of ethical lapses surely gave me a reality check on the motives of a lot of people in this world. I've tried to surround myself with trustworthy people and I sometimes forget to be mindful that not everyone in society has the same ethical mindset as I do. The fact that a group of executives at Ford chose to let people die in order to save money blows my mind. 

Preparing to enter graduate school, I don't really plan to change anything from the ethical principles I try to live by today. When I first got to Clemson, it was a priority for the University to let the students know the type of ethical standards they expect from us. Coming from a Catholic private school background, it is no different than what was expected of me growing up. I expect to hold that same standard for myself in the future. 

Miscommunication

In high school, the biggest example of miscommunication I remember was in the state championship game in football. My friend was the receiver running in the play from the coach to the quarterback. Between the 15 seconds it took him to hear the play and dictate it to the quarterback, he forgot. Instead of admitting his mistake and going back to the coach to fix it, he decided to make it up. Well, as you could imagine, the play went horribly wrong. I've never seen a grown man so upset in my life. My friend didn't see the field the rest of the game. It could have been easily prevented had he just admitted that he forgot the play. Lesson learned. 

Online Portfolios

Our group missed the last class of presentations due to a meeting with the HEHD/LLC group in Mauldin Hall concerning the design opportunities for a new space. 

I haven't had much experience with online portfolios. The biggest issues I faced were when we were required to upload a portfolio to a website at the end of our semester in Barcelona. It became a really stressful process because we struggling to get everything in on time before our flight home. The internet is Spain was much slower, and it was a struggle to understand how to condense the size of our documents. It was also scary to think about my work being displayed on the internet. It was like I was opening my creative skills up for scrutiny. 

The only thing I need to know before the deadline for this class is just what is required. With all this craziness for classes the past few weeks, I feel like I'm a little out of the loop on what exactly is expected out of us anymore. I understand we have to roll with the punches, I just would like a little update on everything, especially since our group taking on this unique project. 

Presentations

My three favorite presentations over the course of the past week were on the sport of lacrosse, the best active athlete, and Coors Light being the best light beer. I enjoyed learning more about lacrosse because I have never understood the rules of the game. I have some friends from Maryland who have always talked very highly about it, and it is slowly catching on near my home area of Ohio. He did a good job with his presentation of understanding his audience, and starting with the assumption that most of us didn't know much about it. Brett's presentation on Coors Light was done very professionally. His arguments may not sway my opinion, but I definitely now have more respect for the beer. I especially enjoyed the explanation of the best active athlete. The way he presented was successful in how he interacted with his audience. He was also able to bring some comedy to his presentation. I thought the presentations were a great way to not only learn about random things, but also to gain a little bit more understanding of our classmates. 

Cover Letter Tutorial

One of the first things that struck me about the cover letters were they aren't actually ready until after your resume has been looked at first. I was always under the assumption that your cover letter always was read before anything else. When I was writing previous cover letters, I concentrated more upon myself then the company in which I was interested in. I will definitely need to change this in the future. I had never put much thought into the cover letter, and was not aware of all the important purposes it holds. 

Its important to focus on the company you are applying to. It should be personalized and time should be spent learning about the individual company. The best part of this cover letter tutorial for me was the example. I hadn't had much experience in the past on applying for jobs, so I didn't find anything that I strongly disagreed with. I think the tutorial was a great introduction to me starting to write my cover letter. 

Client Visit

Jennifer Goree, our client from Redfern, came in and began to explain our group project for the semester on Monday. I think our group wants to take advantage of our creativity and computer skills and make an entertaining video. With a few architecture majors and a graphic design major, I think we will be able to think of some clever ideas. 

I'm pretty confident with how our group has been interacting with one another so far, and don't see any problems as we move into the beginning phases of the project. We have all been getting along great, and our first meeting at Bojangles last week went smoothly. Everyone has agreed to take on a specific role in the group. I'll make sure to inquire if I have any questions in the upcoming weeks.