Blog about class last week

1. Why did class devolve into chaos???
I think class wnet into to chaos last week because of a couple of reasons. One was because everybody thought at first the only thing we could do was just the cards, but once you threw in the possibility of a video getting done, that kind of made everybody think that we had a choice on what we could do. The second reason why things broke down was because everybody became split on what we should do even though the only thing we were suppose to do originally was just the cards.

2. What could you have done to keep that from happening?
If I would have spoke up more, I probably could have told the class during the discussion that really the only thing we can do right now are just the cards, if people want to work on a video for a commercial or something, do that for the final, bur right now, just focus on the task at hand.

3. Regurgitating ideas you have read is all well and good, but if you cannot apply them, then what is the point?
What I think you're asking is that why did people do this? I'm thinking that people weren't really thinking about it when they were doing it. It's all fine and dandy if you can recite things, but if you can't actually use them in situations where you need to, then what's the point.

4. What can you do to be more mindful of your team buidling decisions and how to actually implement the techniques we have been learning all semester?
I can listen to everybody's ideas, then break all of them down to see what we can do and when the team is done listening to what everybody has to offer, we can take one last look at them and then start the decision process on to which ones that we will all use.

5. Is always sticking with people you already know the best solution to forming a good team? Working with people you already know may be human nature and the easiest way to make sure you get a good grade on a project, but remember that you are being assessed in this course not only on the product you create but how you work with your team and apply the techniques we have been covering in class... Unlike other classes, the product in this class is secondary to the process of creating the product.
Sticking with people you already know is a double-edged sword, it can be handy in a pinch when you need somebody to have in a group, but you don't know how they'll act with different people. In my team, I've only worked with one other person before and that was when we worked on kite project. That was a great working experience because both of us worked hard and made sure that we gave equal work to each other to help the other out and we were successful. With the team now everybody has contributed equally and we are always trying to help each other out to make sure everybody is on the same page.

6. What did you learn about yourself and team building as a result of what happened in class today?
I learned that I speak up sometimes, but I have habits of falling into the back of discussions after a while. I learned that I need to stay vocal and stop falling into complacency when things stand still for a while.

7. How should the potential conflict that could erupt based on discussion today be handled in a way that allows for the best teams and personal satisfaction for all people?
If anything like this happens again, we need to let everybody know from the start that the goal needs to be that we get what we were assigned done first and foremost. If everybody likes another idea and still wants to work on it, then everybody can do it when the main assignment is done.

8. Instead of just backing down and saying, "Whatever..." what might be a better way to incorporate and include all ideas and styles?
We can listen to everybody's ideas and see how they fit with the main theme. If they work and fit the main theme, then we can try to incorporate them into the project. If they don't work, we won't just throw them out because you never know if they might work for a future project.

Group Management

Today in class we as a team had to do the simple job of making scrambled eggs and serving them to the class as a team. Sounds easy enough, but Beth decides to throw a little wrench into it, we're broken into teams and the person who is doing anything with the eggs will be blindfolded. I was assigned on the team whose job was to go and gather plates and then we had to set the table doing our job was easy enough. We found containers to put the food in, but when we got back, we were thrown into different teams to do different jobs some more. I had to help direct the person cooking which was hard because I'm so used to being hands on when I help, but now, I can only talk them threw it which was tough. It was successful, but not because of me, it was due more to the team I was put into did a great job. After a while, I was then selected to plate all the food up. It was kinda hard to do because I couldn't really hear my team, but once the noise died down a bit, I was able to follow my team's instructions clearly. The project today was fun, it was difficult at first, but after a while, everybody got into the swing of things. We all tried to make things as easy as could be for the person who was blindfolded and we succeeded. The only bad part was trying the food that we made. Gross stuff. How this relates to working in the real world is that you're gonna be thrown into groups with people you really don't know, so you'll learn on the fly how to get along with your coworkers on any job. In the real world, you'll have to learn to adapt to changes that are going to take place as you work. Personalities will clash, people will have no idea what they are doing, so you are going to have to switch roles constantly to maintain balance and to ensure that everything will be done on time.

Clarification:
My group's first job was to find something to put the eggs on when they were ready to eat. When we were together we talked for a bit to figure out where we could find things we can use for plates. One of the group members remembered that the Law building has plates we can use, so we went over there and grabbed a couple.

The Mouse:
When I was assigned to the directing the cooking team, I became the mouse a bit because I couldn't really figure out how to direct the person who was suppose to be cooking. After a while I kind of figured it out and was able to help out somewhat.

The Loud - Mouth:
I couldn't really recall someone being the loud - mouth whenever I was in a group, but there were probably a time when everybody was talking and it seemed like everybody was being the loud - mouth.

The Written Record:
There was no written record because we were all in the kitchen trying to figure out how to get everything done within the time that we had.

Feedback (Negative):
When the blindfolded person did something wrong, we told them what happened and then we would work as a team to try and fix it, sometimes it worked and sometimes we had to keep trying over and over. The real negative feedback that was consistent was when a half stick of butter was used for the eggs.

Feedback (Positive):
Every time the blindfolded was able to do something right, everybody made sure to give them props for getting the job done, like when I was putting everything on a plate, people said I was doing a good job and telling me to keep going.

Team Building Eggs

Today in class we as a team had to do the simple job of making scrambled eggs and serving them to the class as a team. Sounds easy enough, but Beth decides to throw a little wrench into it, we're broken into teams and the person who is doing anything with the eggs will be blindfolded. I was assigned on the team whose job was to go and gather plates and then we had to set the table doing our job was easy enough. We found containers to put the food in, but when we got back, we were thrown into different teams to do different jobs some more. I had to help direct the person cooking which was hard because I'm so used to being hands on when I help, but now, I can only talk them threw it which was tough. It was successful, but not because of me, it was due more to the team I was put into did a great job. After a while, I was then selected to plate all the food up. It was kinda hard to do because I couldn't really hear my team, but once the noise died down a bit, I was able to follow my team's instructions clearly. The project today was fun, it was difficult at first, but after a while, everybody got into the swing of things. We all tried to make things as easy as could be for the person who was blindfolded and we succeeded. The only bad part was trying the food that we made. Gross stuff. How this relates to working in the real world is that you're gonna be thrown into groups with people you really don't know, so you'll learn on the fly how to get along with your coworkers on any job. In the real world, you'll have to learn to adapt to changes that are going to take place as you work. Personalities will clash, people will have no idea what they are doing, so you are going to have to switch roles constantly to maintain balance and to ensure that everything will be done on time.

Let's Go Fly a Kite!!!

I was partnered up with Sharayah Dawn for the assignment. Today was the day that we actually flied out kites. It was fun seeing everybody run around trying to get their kite to actually fly. Our kite kinda sorta flew around, but couldn't really go that high into the air. This was an actual fun assignment that really worked out for working in a team. Other than getting hit in the head with a kite, today was pretty fun.