mil palabras ~ one thousand words

Being in a groupwork heavy class you obviously want to always be there and be dependable. The entire main idea of this class was to learn how to get out of your comfort zone and depend on others to help you.

Image available via Wikimedia Commons

I actually enjoy working in groups because of how you are able to learn about other people and their work ethic. I am one to be very dependable, but of course things do happen that are unforeseen. I loved the group of girls I sat with for the semester of the class because since we did work together for two projects we were able to be comfortable with each other. We basically decided who the leader of the group was without really speaking of it, she did take charge as being "in charge" of things which was very easy because we never argued or had different opinions of who should be head of things.

We were given many articles to read and many videos to watch throughout class and in the beginning we of course went over how groups work together without us really knowing. It is a thing that happens when you do not realize it. It is like how I spoke about my group for the semester choosing who the leader is without speaking much of it. It simply happens.

Image available via Pixabay

Although I do enjoy working with people in person I do think it might be easier to work with everyone online only because you are for free to work in the comfort of your home rather than setting up a time when everyone can meet. It is definitely easier to set a page up where everyone can post from and add to when they need. 

Since we did have many readings this semester, the one I enjoyed a lot was in the beginning of the semester that was titled, "What is Collaboration Anyway?". I just feel that this short chapter was a nice start in heading into the groupwork that this class was about. 

Collaborating in anything consists of so much dedication and being new to the Information Science and eSociety major was very fun and exciting because of the classes I was taking and how much information I was taking in. It was all so fun, but I did have times where I slipped up with assignments and although it does happen to many students you always wish it wasn't you it was happening to. 

Working in groups is not always fun for everybody and that why it is so important to establish who is doing what work before everything officially takes off. You also cannot be so sensitive when it comes to what you are left to work with because you just need to make the best of it. Many groups fail because they do not make roles, they run before they walk and rush into things and end up with a failing grade. 

I feel that if you are not a sociable person then it helps to watch videos on how to work well with others, or if you want to be a successful leader then watching videos or reading actors would really help anybody in general. 

Image available via Pexels

Everybody should be informing themselves on many different subjects that they even find boring because they are only adding experience under their sleeves. With having a successful group, you find yourself in different stages within the entire 'Tuckman's 5 Stages' is a great way to learn about what exactly you are going through as a group. His way of describing how working a group goes is very intriguing because before reading this, I just knew that groupwork was groupwork and either we finished it successfully or not. Tuckman goes in and explains the 'Forming' stage which is learning about others and building the co-dependency that every group needs. After explaining a few more, we finally reach the 'Adjourning' stage that is reflecting on how things went.

Tina Fey also spoke about being successful in situations that might make you uncomfortable (groupwork). In shorter terms, you need to simply say "YES"  to any situation. It will only help you grow as a person in the end. You have to keep things flowing constantly when in a group because once things come to a weird stop and you do not have established roles then things get messy. 

Again, reading short essays or excerpts always helps.

Overall, working in groups is probably not everybody's favorite scene but in the end you leave with a new perspective of how groupwork actually is. Maybe you left with an entire different view or you hate it even more. I feel that everyone should always go into it with an open mind. I think that if it weren't for this class then I would be still more of a quiet person. Being in this new major has definitely helped me grow as a person and has helped me become more open. 

Image available via Pixabay

You should always have a plan if worse comes to worse. If your group is not the best then you just need to be honest and lay things out on the table. Maybe switch roles or talk about the subject of the project itself and go another route. I have my own views of groupwork and I'm sure I've either made people's views of groupwork either worse or better. Everyone is different and so is their work ethic. If you put in your 100 then hopefully everything should work out. Even if you need to put in a little extra work and you have no problem doing that then it helps better your group because they are seeing that you are a leader and you are taking initiative of the problem and fixing it. It is better to finish or leave something knowing you did your part in helping the group rather than not doing anything and expecting something so great out of the things you did not do. 

one last post

While the semester is coming to its end, I always look back to see if I improved/ didn't improve on what I said I would the previous semester. If I'm being honest I did let some things slip through my hands which is never the best thing to let happen.

Taking this class has opened up my mind even more to see between the cracks of what is actually going on behind the scenes. I always enjoy hearing the thoughts and opinions of others, so that was one of my favorite things about this class because people were vocal for the most part. This class has definitely helped me improve my writing along with getting to know those who I worked with and be comfortable around them since it was a group work heavy class.

I really enjoyed my blog post, "Yes" because I looked back on taking drama class in high school and doing improv was one of my favorite things to do. Overall, it was nice to simply remember something that made me happy! My second favorite was titled "move·ment /ˈmo͞ovmənt/" and I loved getting into this blog because writing about things that I am passionate about is always a great time and it didn't feel as if I was doing "homework" which was another plus. One of my favorite responses was to this post in Beau's blog. It was the first blog we were supposed to write which was fun and I enjoyed reading about his photography. The second response was to Bria's post on improv because of how much I really enjoy improv itself and it was cool to read about how she likes it as well!

Image available via Pixabay

Both Leah and Hannah have been a nice influence in the class because they're so helpful and easy to talk with! It was nice to work with Leah for both of our projects in class and getting to know her a bit was nice since we did work together for awhile. Although I didn't work with Hannah in this class specifically, I have her for a class right after where we did work together and she's always so happy to do anything and always has ideas to share so it's nice to work with someone who meets your same energy!

I feel that Hannah should win the award for Best Student Blog because after working with her you know that she puts her time into her work rather than rushing it. Reading her posts has always been enjoyable because you know she's being real and not jumbling things together.

move·ment /ˈmo͞ovmənt/

As the year is coming to a conclusion, it still amazes me that we are still fighting the same fight that has been pushing and tugging itself for years and years now. With many fallen leaders and people that have made things harder for those fighting, the topic is still around these days. It is important to not give up in really anything you believe in. I've felt strongly towards the idea that if you want something to happen then you will get to that finish line by any means possible.

Image available  via Active Response Security

In recent news, a Judge had overthrown a case that was filed to SUE 'Black Lives Matter'. Of course, there were many different feelings towards this from everyone. A baton rouge officer had been hurt to the point where he'd had enough of the movement, but the Judge was not having it because BLM is not a real-living person. With this going on, it lead people to think that maybe BLM does not have any kind of leader(s). Karpf's first claim in his first chapter in "The MoveOn Effect" is mainly about "organizing without organizations", this ties in with the BLM movement not having any leaders to pinpoint anything to.

I feel that many people are still naive to the idea that BLM was not started because a few kids felt that police were picking on them just because it happens on TV. Black Lives Matter and is still going on today because they stand for something so much bigger than people of color are deserving of equal respect from everyone. Dream Defenders is another organization that resulted from the unfair death of Michael Brown nearly 4 years ago in 2013. His unfortunate death led to two important already existing organizations, Working Families Party and Occupy Wall Street, coming together to create the Dream Defenders. The organizers of these two groups also created the widely popular phrase and hashtag used by BLM, "Hands Up - Don't Shoot!" Not many people really understand this phrase or where it is based from, but there are so many videos to watch that can help really without needing to read articles or needing to go deep into the web to find information on.

Image available via Wikipedia Commons

At this point, if you are not angered by what happens to so many people of color then you are not informed enough. I understand that if it's not happening to you then why try to make a difference, but what some people don't see is that the ones who are being treated unfairly would greatly appreciate any kind of support.

Toxic

No, not the Britney Spears song. There is plenty of reasoning as to why people say that online gaming or any kind of gaming where you are able to talk to one another whether you are showing your face or not could be pretty harsh at times. Bullying is nothing new and it's so easy to say whatever you want when you are behind the screen since you are anonymous... for the most part.

Image available via Wikipedia Commons

At this point, we have ALL either experienced or heard stories of people who are bullied through social media or through gaming. After so many instances of certain cases turning horrible, social medias and many companies for that are beginning to take bullying even more seriously. They are all becoming creative in their own ways when it comes to cracking down on those who unfortunately do it. With companies becoming more creative in finding bullies on their sites/ games, the bullies themselves are also getting more creative. 

Riot Games hired Jeffery Lin, who is the lead designer for the company and the face of the research done for bullying in their own games. League of Legends is a widely popular game bringing in 27 million users more or less every year and even hosts worldwide championships. Lin always wondered why people felt the need to be so harsh online. With Riot Games bringing Lin into the loop of what they had planned for finding all of these people who were being reckless and rude online, they created 'The Tribunal" which was basically a group of people who were gamers that became the judge and jury and people who were found to be rude online would go through them and instead of the company itself banning them, they let the gamers decide. Doing this made things go by faster and be more fair. Riot Games of course had other ways of finding these people online, but it was a much slower process. 

Other companies have obviously began to find ways to make being on their sites and games more of a community and more inviting. Twitter recently started giving people the option to "mute" certain words or phrases to mute off of their timelines and you are also able to mute accounts so you don't see any of their posts at all. Facebook allows you to be in your own "personal bubble" and a lot of social media sites like asking follow up questions when you decide to report an account. People do find this annoying at times because they wonder why they should have to explain every single thing, but they also understand that with more explanation and proof they are able to suspend the account faster. 

Image available via Pixabay

Bullying is a much bigger problem than most people think and it all branches out to racism and sexism. It is such a horrible thing that so many people face all day and everyday and it ultimately does not fix anybody's life or problems they are facing. If you see something, say something. 

YES

Can you make something out of nothing???

Image by WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Improvisation itself is going with the flow of any situation and always saying YES. Tina Fey goes more into context about the "to-do's" and "not to-dos" of improv in a small portion of her book, Bossypants. Although it may come off as lame to some of you, I was a total geek in high school when it came to taking drama classes, so needless to say... I actually find improv super fun. I totally understood the reasoning behind how acknowledging the basics of improv can really help gear towards bettering any kind of group. 

Image by WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Michael Scott himself began doing improv after he said a guy in a race car drove up as he was walking and pronounced him the "funniest guy ever", but the real story was that he found a flyer and went to an improv class. Ladies and gentlemen, if Michael Scott can do improv and use it towards managing his office then we all can master the art of improvisation and use it towards our daily lives. 

With improv, you really have no choice but to say YES. I mean don't necessarily yell it out unless you need to.. It also helps greatly if you suggest something after agreeing because then you will be putting in your own effort into the conversation rather than letting somebody else completely take over or figure everything out for the both of you. For the most part, saying no in any conversation will put things in an awkward position and it simply doesn't help anybody when you are close-minded. 

When it comes to a work environment, you always need to hear out your peers and add-on to what they are suggesting even if it may be a little shh.. stupid to you. Who knows, they might think the same thing about what you are saying, but at least you put in your thoughts and suggestions rather than shutting your peer down completely.

Image by Kaz via Pixabay

Doing improv for fun is great if you are actually up for making something out of nothing and I feel that once people have the hang of it, they open up more since you have to sometimes make yourself look funny to others. It really helps with becoming comfortable in being yourself in literally any situation. Improv also helps with thinking of and sharing the first thing that comes to mind, when you are in a group you of course want things to go smoothly and efficiently, so rather than overthinking things it's probably better to just go with your gut. Although, I would suggest maybe thinking about what you say just a little bit before you actually say it because say for example you are at the gym with your friends and you all made a pact to go on diets, buuut you burst out that you caved and ate anything sugary and unhealthy in your sight then I'm sure you'll find you and your friends at the nearest place serving carne asada fries messing up your diets. Next time, maybe keep that little accident to yourself and they'll keep pushing you to eat healthy even though they may also be doing the same thing. Again, we are all improvising the idea that we want to be healthy and go to the gym when we are really sitting back and watching the new season of Narcos while eating chicken alfredo. 

Here's a link to one of my favorite shows, Whose Line is it Anyway?, which I'm sure some of you watch/ may have watched already and it's some pretty light-hearted comedy that really gets down to how other improv games go! Enjoy! :)

Image by Sean Davis / Improv Louisville via Flickr

Are you "In"?

Collaborating will always take me back to how a village works. They say "it takes a village to raise a child", and I believe that is how a group works towards their initial goal.

Everyone will always bring something to the table even if it's something different than what their peers have seen because a new set of eyes is always great. When it comes down to wanting something to work, you will make it work and just having one serious goal you want to pursue is enough to successfully collaborate on anything.

(Image by Chad McDonald via flickr)

Specifically speaking, if you want something you are working on to succeed in great matters then you not only need your peers to be cohesive on what everyone will do, but you also need to care about who will see it and how they will react. You need to make it open to everybody since everybody loves to know what is going on and what is "in". You need to learn what is the current fashion or what everyone is talking about because there is nothing worse than creating something that people have JUST moved on from. What people will also greatly enjoy is fabricating their own style off of what they see on others online. Creating something that hasn't been seen yet will definitely attract attention (watch: Collaborating for Success). It sounds sad, but a lot of people want to be like others so they will be interested in looking for what they want to focus their time onto next and your new ideas will be as successful as you want them to be so put in what you want out of it!