Coming into this class I had not realized how extensive the study of the economy of organizations can be. I had an interest in the topic so I had high hopes that it would be an interesting course. I definitely feel that this project we are working on has helped make this class what I expecting coming in. I enjoy learning new terms and the different approaches that organizations take to advance themselves, so I feel like incorporating more of that into the class would have made it more effective for me.
I mostly enjoyed the online and offline structure of the class but sometimes I feel like it had some flaws. For example, I never felt that I really learned about excel homeworks, which made it very difficult to do on my own with the occasional video to help guide me. I wish we would have spent more time reviewing excel homework on Wednesdays like we do on Mondays with our blog posts. The blog posts were a fun part of the class. I never had the opportunity to do something like this in a college course and to be able to write on my own experiences was pleasurable. I also frequently would read my classmates posts and seeing all these different perspectives was a really cool way to see how different people react to different things. I appreciate that blog posts are a large part of our grade because I feel that it reflects what the class was built around. Blog posts seemed to always play a large part in our discussions and relate to our topics.
I sometimes had difficulty completing the blogs before the due date because I am really only able to write quality posts when I am alone with little distractions. I like to be able to put a lot of thought into my posts so I make sure that I cover everything I need to. The commenting aspect of the blogging process is nice because I often forget to include things in my initial post and am able to include it in my response to other comments. The blogs usually take me about 30 to 45 minutes once I start writing. Excel homework takes much longer as I usually do not really know what steps I should be taking, and with my busy schedule this semester I sometimes can't complete it by the deadline. I have been able to complete some within an hour, while others I spend a couple hours on and never figure it out.
Some improvements I would suggest were outlined above, such as spending time in class on excel homework. I also think it can be hard to pay attention for a full 1hr 20min lecture without any visuals or interactive lessons. While listening to somebody speak is a lot more effective to me than simply reading, a combination of the two allows the audience to take better notes and stay more attentive. I would also suggest implementing a hard deadline. Having a flexible deadline was very nice, but sometimes I would feel like I could slack off for a night and then I ended up stressed out on a Saturday morning making sure I get my blog post in before they were considered late.
This is the fourth time I'm teaching this class. You are the first students to ask for a hard deadline on the blogging. I'm sympathetic to your request, but let's game theory it out. Supposed I had the a hard deadline and a student missed it but then asked me to waive the deadline in this particular case. Would I stick to the rule in the syllabus or cave into the request? If I cave in, what does it mean if I say there is a hard deadline?
ReplyDeleteAs a matter of practicality, students are adding the course throughout the first two weeks, so it is hard to start in on the blogging right away. And some students are nervous about it at the beginning, which might encourage them to procrastinate. They should have one get out of jail free card to start the semester with. Alas, some students were late throughout the course.
I didn't fully understand your comment about being alone. Do you find it difficult to go off to a quiet place away from your friends to get school work done? I believe that to be a general issue for first year students, because it seems doing that is anti-social. But by the junior year I'd hope most students figure out some balance on this.
Incidentally, for me sometimes I can listen to music that I'm familiar with (melodious stuff, not hard rock) with my headphones on and block out other sounds in the house. I can write without the music itself being a source of distraction. But I agree, you need to be alone with your thoughts to write and you need the flow of your own thinking to be uninterrupted when you do so.
On reading your classmates posts, I wish you had on occasion also commented on them. It would have been the start of turning the class into a community. But I am glad that you read them. It's part of the idea in having us all blog out in the open.