NCLC 130

    The primary competence that I have improved on was group interactions. In high school, I was in the IB program so everything was a violation of the honor code. So I stood clear of talking to anyone about my work, working in study groups, or anything of that nature.
 In the beginning of NCLC 110, I did not understand the seriousness of our small groups. First off I did not know that we were in them for a reason, I just thought that it was just in case we needed someone to study with, there they were. Second, I did not know these girl, we were so different from each other and I could not see how our group could be functional. But, I was stuck with these girls for six weeks and had to do a project that was really important to my grade and another group for the next six weeks. Group work was about communication, and because we were never talking to each other as a group we could not communicate effectively with everybody. 

    As the project became closer to being due, I finally began to realize how important it was to all come together and do the project. A key turning point in my ideology of group work happened when I was sitting in seminar one day.  It was 10:00 o’clock, and only six people were in the classroom. I reminded of the seminar contract that we had made in the first few classes, and saw how it was dishonored.  Then I began to think about our own group contract, it was not yet violated, but it had not been followed either. Finally I took initiative and set a day for us to meet as a whole group, although this meeting did not work out the way that I wanted to, but it was a start.  There was always one group member that did not show up or did not complete their assignments; however we survived and completed our presentation. 

    In the end I learned something about group dynamics. They are never going to work out the way that you want them to, but you have to still complete the designated task. And sometimes that means that you and your other group members are going to have to do extra work. With this section of NCLC 130 I was grateful for my group full of hard workers.  We had all learned from our past experiences and figured out that communication was the key to successfully completing our website. Of course it did not work out perfectly, but we were able to express our ideas until we came to an agreement as to how we wanted our project to be.

    Starting off this semester I had the notion that there was nothing that I could not do with technology, but clearly I was mistaken. It’s always surprising to find out how much you do not know once you think that you know everything. The first session we in Information Technology I was so confused that I felt that the computer was a new enemy. I did not sign up for looking technologically incapable, and risk failing all over a website. I knew how to fix a computer and telephone, and I could set up an internet service no problem, why could I not set up a simple webpage?

    By the end of the first session I had created my entire index page for my “personal” website, and did not even know it. I felt like there was so much left to do on it because it was so plain.  It did not seem personalized because I had just a plain background with the basics of what was on the grading criteria. I wanted to add pictures, music and videos, but then realized that I did not have enough time to gain permission from the original creators.  By the time of our second workshop I had overcome this fear of going to jail because of illegally using a picture or music file. And thank goodness, because this session was all about uploading music for our annotated playlist and I had no idea how I was going to do that with my conflict with my morals.

    In the end, I am extremely proud of my NCLC 110 website, but due to the personal changes I have made I felt that I could not continue with the same theme. Don’t get me wrong, I feel that it represents me as a person. The polka dot background is symbolic of all of the random things that I do and happen to me. The annotated playlist is an expression of the one thing that means the most to me in the world, love. I don’t know where I would be without the people in my life that love me the most. With the NCLC 130 page I am able to show how much I have grown as not only a thinker but a person. The butterfly is to show that I have evolved, whereas the small amount of bubbles shows that life happens, and there is nothing that you can do to prevent it. Now I have learned so much about technology that I would not have ever dreamed about, and have a new respect for IT majors.