Final Prompt


There were some of the stuff I did not know going in before this class. For example, I did not necessarily know what the specific dynamics and power structures of organizations and how they may function are (like in the teamwork blogpost) which I learned through the reading the text and slides. 

            The online blogging was quite an interesting concept, especially for a class. Personally, I have never blogged before in my life, so it was quite an intriguing way to interact with the course material. I liked it better than have in class exams based on the material as it was more interactive way to learn the topics rather than the pressure of cramming for an exam and simply forgetting about the material. I think this way, with the blogging, I retained more information than I would have previously with a more traditional approach, which I consider a good thing. 

            When starting the blogging, I would write notes first on first how I wanted to approach the topic, and then I proceeded to write down whatever came to mind. After that I would check the word count in a word document to make sure I'm on the track and if I was not, then I would write more. After the initially writing was finished I went back and proofread and check for any spelling and grammatical mistakes, and also to make sure there was a nice flow to what I was saying and see if it made sense or not. To be honest there were some topics that I felt were challenging to talk about and some that came rather naturally. For example, the one conflict was one that I felt like I could write a decent amount about, but the one about transaction costs I found was a little difficult to talk about. On occasion I would start a blog post but get writer's block and found that I could not write anymore. So, over the course of a few days or so I just took some time to gather more thoughts and ideas for the prompts. I would say the blogging took me around one to two hours total to complete, with additional touch ups to be another 10 minutes or so. 

            For the excel homework, I read the articles and videos that you had posted to prepare for it and get myself more familiar with the subject material.  The excel homework took me some time to be quite honest; trying to figure out the right way to solve each problem, and I often found myself over complicating things when there was an easier solution at hand. For example, I noticed that I retyped numbers given to us to calculate something, instead of just getting from the cell number. I found this to make it quite easier to trudge through problems. When I could not seem to get a question after quite some time, I would give myself a break and reopen it at a later time with a clear   and fresh mind to tackle it again. When it clicked in my head, I found it rewarding to having figured it out and know what to do and how to study for the quizzes. Overall, I'd say the excel homework took me roughly to 20 minutes. to an hour each week. 

            I think I would have liked to see more contemporary and relevant issues interwoven with the course material so it might make the blogging a little more interesting. Nonetheless I think the course did a good job of presenting the material in a clear and concise manner that was engaging to learn. 

Comments

  1. Professor ArvanDecember 9, 2019 at 6:45 AM

    You gave a time measure for doing your Excel homework. I wonder if you could come up with an overall number. Then, I'd be interested in knowing how that compares with the time you put into your other classes. You mentioned cramming for exams, which I gather other students do as well. But it is conceivable that instead students would put in more effort each week until the exam, be better prepared as a consequence, and then not need to cram. In this alternative, would it be more likely to retain the knowledge after the exam is over? If so, why doesn't the alternative happen? So there are some puzzles for you to work through.

    You didn't mention the live class session in your post. I believe you added the class late, then came a few times but stopped attending after that. I'd be interested to learn why that was. Many other students stopped coming as well. That much I know. What I don't know is whether the reason for not coming was pretty consistent among all these students or if it varied. What explains your situation that way?

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    Replies
    1. Paul MilgromDecember 11, 2019 at 3:38 PM

      I guess an over all number would maybe around 5 hours for all of the excel homework? It's a little less than the time that I put into other classes but some of the excel homework were a little challenging. I think you would be more likely to retain the knowledge after the exam is over if you prepared over a few weeks rather than a night or two. I think it's because we allow some time for the information to get absorbed.

      I am not sure if I have a good answer to your last question but I think it was maybe due to the early time of the class potentially. I still did read the material however though as some aspects I found intriguing.

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