This semester has been the first time that I have ever written a blog. It turned out to be a very interesting tool, and a nice addition to the class. We are able to read our classmates thoughts, and we can comment on each others blogs as well. Through the blogs we also learn about each other and it may help when getting to know one another.
The blog has definitely been a unique and creative way to work with management ideas and concepts. It was effective, among other ways, that we had a class activity which we later discussed in the blog, and could get feedback from each other. Some people may write something we initially didn't notice or think of, which may spark even more ideas within ourselves. It's been interesting and motivating to read other people's blogs.
Did we learn about each other through these blogs? Yes, I think we definitely did. It also depends how much time and thought each person put into their own blog and blog comments. I've seen various lengths and various levels of writing, so there is definitely a big variety as well. We also learned what others thought of the class activities and management in general. It also started some conversations in class, and I think that the internet can be a valuable tool in meeting and interacting with people.
Writing a blog about our class activities made us think of them even more and in more details. It helps in the learning process and it is also fun to read what others thought of the activities. We think in different ways so it is interesting to see how the same activity can output into many different thoughts and ideas. I shared my ideas and perceptions, and I tried to write it as well as I could. I spent a lot of time on blogs and made sure to evaluate each detail. My DiSC profile was a Ci, which probably also reflected in my blogs, especially in regards to details.
The professor's blogs were also very interesting to read. It also led me to read other articles and information online. A suggestion I have for reading material (and possibly making it into an assignment), would be to distribute interesting management articles and such, as class material to read in paper form (hard copy). Sometimes having it in front of us on paper makes us receive the information in a different way. Maybe students could have an assignment where they read an article picked by the professor, then be divided into groups of 2 (yes, two people only) where they could discuss the article for, let's say, 20 minutes. Then, we could open it up for class discussion. Why I said two people was that sometimes it may be easier to discuss ideas when there is only one more person listening. Sometimes bigger groups may feel intimidating, so it would be interesting to see how this kind of an exercise would work. The professor's blogs have been interesting, and it would be great to see even more of that as a part of class assignments.
I realize how the blog can help in our exams. Talking about a topic, or in this situation writing about it, helps us remember things in a different way. I have noticed many times that I learn more by talking about topics with other people. Somehow it strengthens our memory and can help us remember things by associating it with the conversation or other aspects that were going on while talking about it. In general, our memory and how it works is very interesting. Sometimes a scent or a sound can trigger a memory we haven't thought of in years. Similarly, if we can learn class information in these strong ways, it may last us many years. Doing creative class activities and later blogging about them can help in remembering the information better, and later on recalling it for exams and future needs.
I plan on writing more blogs in the future. I am not sure how often I will post blogs, but I intend to do so, once in a while. Also, reading our blogs years later will be very interesting and we can recall what we wrote a few years prior! The blog can also be a good tool to keep in touch with our management classmates, and to see where everyone is going, what they're doing, and if they are still following the vision they specified in the class blog, or if their vision and plan has changed.
I think that the blog should remain a part of the class requirement. We have probably learned a lot by doing the blog. Some people may not even realize how much we have learned. It creates an opportunity to communicate in other ways than in class, and as we have seen with some classmates, even a possibility for other opportunities outside of the class!
This hasn't been my first time at trying to keep a consistent blog, but it is my first to be assigned one. Yet, it doesn't seem forced in any way. The blog due dates just kept me expressing myself consistently -a valuable skill to keep.
ReplyDeleteYou reap what you sow - at the beginning of the semester, I went through almost everyone's blog. Everyone writes either more or less, but it is the effort they put into expressing their thoughts that reflects the quality of the blog. Thanks for reading mine, btw!
Your blog posts are always beautifully written. Like you said, you seem to pay very much attention to detail. Especially in this post, you were very thorough when it came to analyzing the positive features of the blog assignment. You seem very studious and like you spend time thinking about what you are going to say and how you will precisely meet the criteria of the assignment. I wish I could have that much dedication. Props to you.
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