Mission Impossible????

Although I have been attending class at UMUC since 2004, I still become anxious at the start of the semester.  Once the class is opened, I immediately go to the syllabus and reading the course expectation, projects descriptions, and other items.  Then I become even more panic sets in when I think that I have 12 weeks to go!  Invariably, I find ways to manage the challenge each course entails with an action plan.  Once I submit and receive feedback, then I get a sense of what the professor is like.  Does she/he provide quality feedback, does he/she grade fairly, or does he/she respond to questions and concerns in a timely manner.  As soon as I know the aforementioned information, I start to develop the confidence to tackle the challenges the course requires.

In the particular course, I found the mini-projects challenging. Yet, in an odd way the mini-projects were enjoyable, especially when I involved my children.  Each Monday, I imagined I was a secret agent in the same vein as the agents on the late 1960’s TV show, Mission Impossible.  While most of my classmates probably have no idea about this show, the agents would receive instructions via tape recorder and when the message was finished the tape unit would self-destruct.

Fortunately, nothing self-destructed as I received my assignments, but I almost had a melt-down when the audio did not work for my Podomatic assignment.  Podomatic was problematic, so I attempted to submit my using YouTube.  My children are huge YouTube fans, so when they learned I was going to submit an assignment at this site, they were a bit horrified. Imagine their Dad on a medium where all their friends could watch my, “Holographic Episode”   My daughter gave me feedback on my script (it was lame), and my son starred in holographic form. After the video was completed they were a bit disappointed it did not work entirely.  This is one of many “take-a-ways” I benefitted from this course, receiving input and involvement from my children.

Therefore, Professor Pang, I thank you for the challenging assignments and the quality and timely feedback I received on the assignments.  I bid you the best as you continue to inspire other students seeking to be enlighten in the information technology world. This mission was possible.

Adrian

Thanks Team Trail Blazers

The bulk of this week’s focus was on the Group Assignment.  In all honesty, I detest group assignments primarily due to previous unpleasant experiences. I completed my individual contribution at 2am on Sunday morning and planned to submit my portion to Goggle Docs later in the day.  When I attempted to access my draft, to my extreme displeasure, my document was corrupted.  Not other file was affected other than this crucial file.  At this discovery, it felt as if all the air had been sucked from my body.  Not only was I disappointment, but my group members were waiting for my contribution.  After I was resuscitated by my daughter (just kidding, but did feign fainting) and a long walk, I located an earlier draft.  I immediately contacted my group mates of the situation and to my surprise they understood.

Group assignments can be risky propositions: there is a 50/50 chance of getting a good or bad group. This is especially uncertain with the online format, since it is hard to measure dispositions and personalities. This is where the value of video technology can play a role.  In the real world working in teams could be accomplished using the many video conferencing technologies which bring groups of people from around the world to work collaboratively.  Still, drafting a seamless document is a challenge.  However, this exercise is important to development interpersonal skills, critical thinking, respecting the opinions of others, and dealing with deadlines.

Thanks team Trailblazers for all your efforts.

Adrian