Reflective Post

So here I am, more than a month from my previous reflective blog post. How have I fared?

Looking back, I got really bogged down with the birth of my daughter. I thought that after a couple weeks I would get back into the swing of things, but boy was I wrong!

Not only have I been behind because of a lack of sleep...but I have done job interviews (local and on-site), received job offers, worried about my family's future, worked on other class projects, read a required book about Altruism, began a final project for this class, planned multiple ward activities (as activities committee chair) and successfully fallen behind in all my classes.

Now, I'm not saying this to justify, only to inform. I thought life would get slower, but it has only picked up pace!

Even all that being said, once I made the commitment to write in my blog everyday, I have noticed a significant change. I feel like I am getting more out of my posts, research, and class. I know I know, its taken me long enough, right? I feel that this class is a learning experience even for me.

When we talked about the missionaries who blog from the MTC as their mission, I felt an understanding. Bro Burton talked about how the missionaries take some time to grow into their blogging abilities. It isn't something that most people can just do naturally...it takes work and it takes time. Maybe one of these reflective posts I can claim that I am perfect in this class, blogging, and researching on my own....maybe...

So, here's my criteria for grading myself:

1. understand western civilization in terms of themes, ideas, events, people, and works.

Well...I would say I do this pretty well. I tend to learn a lot from the readings and self directed learning due to my lack of knowledge in the area...and my general distaste for the subject.

2. understand basic computing concepts and digital culture and relate them to history

This is where I rock (at least I think so). I really grasp the computing concepts because its what I do for a living, and I really enjoy it. AND, I seem to notice trends in how they are presented such that I can make correlations to the past from the present.

3. take control of and manage my own learning in three areas: Create(independently seek out information), Consume(generate varied types of content), Connect (share both in person and online)

This is the tough one, at least for me. It is difficult sometimes to find quality information on the internet, because of its broad nature. You tell me to catch a teaspoon of information while turning the fire hose on full blast and pointing it directly at me. I feel that once I am able to find the information and process it, that I have to write a coherent post on everything I learned.

That was my mentality----but it has changed. That mentality got me 10 blog posts behind and uber stressed. What I realized was that I need to know everything! Nor do I have to write everything! I learned about micro blogging. Now most peoples micro blogging are twitter-length blog posts. For me, telling myself I need to micro blog keeps my thought process down and allows to write a good blog post that I don't stress about. Granted, the post is usually longer than a normal micro-blog, but the idea of restricting my mind has helped me to focus the fire hose and get some quality information out of it.

All in all...I feel that I am progressing. I know that was a long explanation to a short question, but I feel that I am getting better with every passing blog post. It is a work in progress and I am far from perfect, but I feel good....although maybe I'll be editing this after the interview and taking my positive words back...