Week 12 Learnings

This week I learned there is just no rest for the weary. Here I am on Thanksgiving break, and there is still homework to be done. Do people not believe in breaks anymore? BYU is already notorious for their lack of breaks, but now they assign homework and blog posts on Thanksgiving! I don’t understand it! The holidays are a time for getting together with family and enjoying a rest from the business of the year, not a time to be even busier! I’m sure that there is a good lesson in here somewhere...like there is no rest for the weary. Anyways, I’m sure it is making me into a better person or whatever, but I’m getting sick of it! I just want a real break! At least I have Christmas break to look forward to. Class are over by then and  it will be impossible for my professors to try and reach me then. Yay!

Week 11 Learnings

This week I learned how everyone looooves to fight on Facebook. Nobody really wants to discuss the issues, they just want to show everyone how much more compassionate or loving they are then everyone else. This has been a tough week for social media! Anyone else feeling the same way? If I see one more fight about the Syrian refugees...I don’t know what I’ll do. I really do believe that we need to talk about these issues, but I don’t think Facebook is the right medium. It is so easy to misunderstand what others are saying and so easy to be unnecessarily cruel, with the added buffer of the internet between us.  The biggest lesson I’ve learned this week is to be aware of the issues and to understand exactly what you’re talking about before going on Facebook and spouting an opinion. It is too easy to start a giant fight and hurt a lot of people you care about in the process, only to turn out to be wrong. Hopefully I don’t sound too mean writing this. Social media is just too much!

Week 10 Learnings

Prepare yourself. This post is going to blow your mind. This week in my computer security class, we learned about Edward Snowden and information privacy. Now, I have always considered myself pretty savvy when it comes to the tech world and I try to keep my friends up to date on what I read in the news. But every time I tell them about how the government and corporations are collecting endless data on us and can basically watch our every move, no one seems to care. They always say “I’ve got nothing to hide. Doesn’t bother me.” This argument has always irritated me so much, but I’ve never been able to find the right words to express why this is such a poor argument. Well, in class, my professor gave me exactly the words I have been looking for. Quoting Edward Snowden, he said “Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say. Rights = power.” This is such a great way to express it. This isn’t an issue about what we have to hide, it’s about what we have to lose. It’s saying that we don’t matter as individuals, and that our rights don’t matter. Information privacy is a huge issue and more people should care about it, regardless of how interesting they think their lives are. 

eMeeting

We had our eMeeting the other day to discuss our strategy moving forward for our big group project. We met over Google hangouts, and we had a surprisingly difficult time getting the ball rolling. I originally sent out the invitation to the three members of our group. Only Sarah got the invitation and answered, and we didn't have any sound. We were trying to communicate but couldn't hear each other. It was pretty funny. So, I sent out another invitation. This time Kimmy and Sarah both got it and we were able to hear each other and start talking. But Clancy wasn't able to join! She was receiving the invitation but it was putting her in her own video call without the rest of us. So, she tried sending out an invitation of her own and we all joined in from there. Finally we were able to have our meeting and get down to business, and it only took us 30 minutes! From there, we had a really good meeting. We could our schedule lined out and made plans for the next time we were going to meet. It was nice to be able to meet from the comfort of our own homes. Half the battle with group work is coordinating everyone's schedule, and this makes it a lot easier. We don't have to factor in travel time, and we could just have a quick meeting. We did get a bit distracted by all the fun things google hangouts has, like funny hats and beards that attach to your face. Overall, I liked meeting online, even if we did have some technical issues.

Week 9 Learnings

This week I learned the importance of taking care of yourself.  School has really been pushing me to my limits lately. There have been labs due every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, with group projects due Saturdays. I had been doing fine, but this past weekend I think I hit my limit. It was one of those weekends where your roommates were crazier than normal and the school load was heavier than normal. Saturday was a really rough day, to say the least. 

I never really sleep in, but Sunday I slept straight through my alarm and through all of church. As bummed as I was to have slept through church, it was a blessing in disguise. I really needed the sleep and the rest. I had been pushing myself to the limit, and this was a good lesson to me to take a break every now and then. It’s important to stop and smell the roses before you’re so exhausted you pass out. So when Monday came, I did a wild and crazy thing and skipped my master’s classes. It was awesome. 

Online Interview Experience

Yesterday I had the opportunity to do a mock interview with my partner Leanne over google hangouts. I thought it was a good experience, if a bit on the redundant side. We had just done mock interviews the day before in class and so I felt that Leanne and I were asking each other the same questions. It was nice because I had good answers prepared for her, but I also felt that it didn’t challenge me to become a better interviewee.  Leanne and I had a good chat and it was definitely a comfortable environment and we didn’t feel awkward. We were able to take the mock interview seriously. I felt we both gave good answers. It was good practice to interview someone in a safe environment, but I also feel it would be beneficial to have a list of really challenging questions. This would help people not to be caught so off-guard when they are asked tough interview questions in real life. This assignment was a good foray into the interviewing world, and overall I thought it was a good experience.