Teams and Overcoming Doubts

The presentations by Dr. Haycock and Enid Irwin were both very insightful. 

I really enjoyed learning about the different types of teams, such as temporary, permanent, horizontal, and vertical, from Dr. Haycock.  These definitions allowed me to think further about where I want to work and what kind of team I want to be part of.  I also had not realized that so many people working in teams shared common fears such as lack of trust, conflict, lack of commitment, and inattention to results.  Now that I am aware of these fears, I can work to overcome them myself as well as help others to do the same.

Like many people, I do not prefer working in a team.  But Professor Irwin helped me understand the benefits of teams and their characteristics as they relate to real world team environments within jobs and other professional settings outside the classroom.    

Two of my classes require a team project.  As selected Team Leader in one class, I am now more informed and prepared about how to proceed with my teammates to complete the assignment.  My team and I have already had our first meeting (using Google Docs), but I am already planning activities for the next meeting.  Taking both instructors’ advice, I plan to discover each team member’s strengths and weaknesses.  For example, some of my strengths are organization and time management.  I enjoy using calendars to map out assignments and due dates to see how much time is available to accomplish a task.  I also enjoy creating separate folders for each class.  For instance, I have folders for each of my classes this semester: 200, 202, 203, and 204.  Furthermore, these classes are in a single folder titled ‘Fall 2011’ which lies in an even larger folder called ‘SJSU’.

After listening to Dr. Haycock’s and Professor Enid Irwin’s presentations, and reading the Tips for Success and Tools for online teamwork, I feel that I have sufficient qualities to not only participate in a team, but to be an effective team leader as well.

Introduction: Feelings toward blogging and social networking

Hello and welcome to my blog.  I am not new to blogging, however it is NOT my favorite thing to do.  In fact, I do not like blogging at all.  About two years ago, one of my classes (like this one) required a blog account where assignments could be submitted.  This class was a rhetoric class titled: Literacy, Rhetoric, and Technology.  So, I was introduced to blogging.  That isn't to say that this class was not interesting - it was and I learned many things about how literacy and technology were incorporated into each other, and also learned more about my own personal interests.

Additionally, that also isn't to say that I do not enjoy writing, for blogging requires writing.  Quite the contrary.  I love to write.  I'm probably one of the few who enjoys writing essays (once I have my brilliant epiphany, of course).  In fact, I have written an essay about social networking that is in progress for publication in a college textbook.  My experience in writing this essay was enough to put me off social networking for a while. 

Story:  I had an opportunity to intern in the editorial development department at Bedford/St. Martin's publishing company in Boston, MA for a couple of months during Summer 2010.  After my internship ended, I was asked to write an essay about social networking and its benefits.  At first, I was not given strict directions for specific topics, so I chose to write about the three social networks I thought were most commonly used by all ages of the public: Facebook, LinkedIn, and World of Warcraft.  One week of researching and writing (in addition to working and keeping up with my school work, for school had resumed) and eight pages later... I learned the authors of the book were looking for an essay strictly about Facebook.  Needless to say, I had to overhaul my essay.  Another week of research and another eight pages later...
Good for printing. 

My experience in writing these essays gave me a different view of Facebook, such that I though about deactivating my account.  But I did not.  So I have a Facebook account and a LinkedIn account.  Both are used for different purposes.  I used to have a MySpace account, but deactivated it when I switched to Facebook.  I am also signed up with Twitter, but am never on it.   Personally, I think it's pointless.  Like blogging.  While blogging can be fun and informative, I don't like the idea of putting thoughts on a site that I can't control who views it.  One person or two people might follow my blog, but so can billions of other people if they wish to.

All in all, I am not big on social networking.  Although I do agree it is handy at times in making contacts, I still prefer phone and face-to-face interaction. 

But I do what I must to meet requirements.