MJ 2 Post

During this week of activities, we learned about many things. Of those things we learned about cultivating communities, group development and in a way teamwork. Through cultivating communities, we learned what it is like to have people who are interested in the same likeminded thing share their ideas and make efforts of advancement on a topic. This is important because it allows for an understanding that everyone has a voice and ideas that can’t hurt a group but can only add value. Also the ability to manage multiple ideas and knowledge play a role in every group. The next part took many of these same ideas into group development. The 5 stages of group development are very important. I plan on using all of the stages for all the group activities we have remaining. Each step from forming to adjourning lead to goal of a final answer or goal and by using the steps make the it easier to obtain. Performing is the most important in my opinion and is also not always reached. However, if the steps are done correctly than it is ever so obtainable. Finally, in what really makes teams work, I got a perspective of what goes on inside big companies such as Disney. Collaboration is very important but being face to face with a person provides more value than just over the phone or at a distance. The company believes in it so much that they design their building to force people to interact with each other. We are learning a lot in class and I hope that continues.

MJ 1 Post

Hello! My name is Miroslav Jocz and I am an ISTA major. ESOC 211 is a course that I know will be fun but also rewarding!

Looking at the collaboration portion of the class so far, I found it interesting how when we expanded on the reading from the subject, the idea of tags and hashtags were brought up. I had never thought about collaboration through hashtags. This, however, can create a common topic which then can be focused on by users who are familiar or interested in the topic. The commenting and opinions that are shared through these methods have created a new form of collaboration which can be seen as part of a modern era.

What really stood out to me was CI or collective intelligence. How it is being used now without use really knowing is crazy. The reCAPTCHA program has shown me that there are ways for ordinary people like me to help improve the internet. I had no idea that I was in a way helping determine words for actual texts that can eventually help put a full page to even a full book online. To see how far technology has come can be seen through how much improved CI is. Next time I am using a CAPTCHA I will feel as if my time was well spent.

The improvisation article was also interesting. This idea of always agreeing to allow the situation to continue seems something fun to do. Seeing it applied to our drawings we did in class allowed for an understand that everyone sees things differently but can still come to some sort of agreement. It is a message that can be seen outside of the idea of the article.

As the weeks go on I am excited for this course!