Last Thursday my group, the B&G Clubbers, successfully completed our Service Learning Project at the Boys and Girls Club of Lafayette. Our event did not go quite as we planned, but it was still a success. We had planned pumpkin carving, musical chairs, and balloon popping as well as handing out gift bags of candy. However, the only event we were able to do was the pumpkin carving. We did not expect all of the children to want to participate in that event so we had the other ones lined up just in case, but the kids loved working with the pumpkins. We ended up handing out the balloons with strings on them so the kids could carry them around instead of having the children pop them. We did, however, hand out the goody bags with candy.
The children cooperated very well with our instructions in pumpkin carving. They were to clean the pumpkins out, draw faces on them, and then give the pumpkin to a volunteer so he could carve it. The kids caught on to it and were really excited about the activity. This was a pleasant surprise for our group since we had predicted that only the boys would like the activity and that very few would want to participate. We ended up using all 30 pumpkins in our activity. Also, the children were very creative with their designs. I was impressed with how well the night went.
We ran into some problems during our activity though. We were supposed to bake the pumpkin seeds and bring them back for the kids, but we did not have enough time for that. Plus, we had to keep the kids moving and speed up the carving process because some of the children left earlier than we thought they would. A couple of parents had to wait for the volunteers to finish carving pumpkins before they could take their children home, which the parents did not like too much. Most of them were patient and understanding, however.
Even though our group was a little disorganized with this project over the semester, everything seemed to fall into place on the night of our project's execution. I was very happy with the results. And thank you, Jasmine, for helping us out at the event!
Katie Spalding
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Nonverbal
Recently I have begun to notice more and more people expressing themselves through nonverbal communication. For example, this weekend I went to see Dethklok in Illinois. At the show, there were people who gave off vibes of anger while we passed through the crowd to get closer to the stage. Some of the people would try to stay in their spot and not let you pass, while others would jab you with their elbows while you tried to pass behind them hoping that you would eventually give up. By acting in that manner towards me and my friends I was able to understand that they wanted us to go away because they didn't want to lose their spot close to the stage.
Mitch Stamper (hopefully it doesnt say this is late, i had to edit it to add my name.)
Its the Final Countdown...doo doo doo doooo
We are slowly approaching our Service Learning Project Date and we still have quite a bit to do. I think it came up pretty quick for all of us but at least we are ready to going on preparing. Sadly we found out that we will be unable to get the pumpkins from the church that Dave was in contact with. I guess they wont be getting all of their pumpkins till the week after our project, so that isn't going to work. Keeping that in mind we are going to have to find a way to get roughly 30 pumpkins by Thursday for pretty cheap considering we are all having to pay now. On Monday we are all going to go shopping to get all of our supplies that we need, like candy and bags and carving tools. We will then try to go to where Mitch works and get pumpkins their, they do sell them and he gets a discount so hopefully that will be the best option. Other than the whole pumpkin problem everything is going well and after Thursday comes and passes we will all be essentially home free.
On a minor side note, the whole NASA worksheet thing was pretty fun to work on but I dont think that that sort of activity should have a "correct" answer. Oh well, I just wanted to mention that activity.
Brandon Nelson
On a minor side note, the whole NASA worksheet thing was pretty fun to work on but I dont think that that sort of activity should have a "correct" answer. Oh well, I just wanted to mention that activity.
Brandon Nelson
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Final Preparations
It's crunch time for COM320. Next Thursday is when the B&G Clubbers are going to the Boys and Girls Club of greater Lafayette and completing our Service Learning Project. All of our work so far in the semester is boiling down to one day. It's stressful but also exciting. I have never worked with the Boys and Girls Club before, so this will be a new experience for me. The final preparations are coming along just fine. I'm nervous about how things will pan out on Thursday, though. The kids at the Boys and Girls Club are known for not wanting to go along with specific events that are planned for them. They usually pick up a basketball, head to the court, and spend all of their time there. I'm hoping we can motivate them to follow along with what we have planned for them because if they do, I think they'd really enjoy it. Being the only girl in the group, as well as the entire volunteer crew we're taking to the Boys and Girls Club, I feel like I might have to take on some sort of motherly role to motivate the kids to follow our lead.
Our group is planning on meeting at least one more time before Thursday to gather all supplies and finalize plans so we're fully prepared. I'm hoping everything keeps going as well as it has been. If it does, then this project should be fool proof.
Katie Spalding
Our group is planning on meeting at least one more time before Thursday to gather all supplies and finalize plans so we're fully prepared. I'm hoping everything keeps going as well as it has been. If it does, then this project should be fool proof.
Katie Spalding
Sunday, October 11, 2009
weight off the chest...
Well it's finally October break which constitutes that's it's about halfway through the semester and I feel that our service learning project is coming along a lot better than I was anticipating. I'm not implying that I have no faith in myself or in our group but I feel confident that our pumpkin carving event with the boys & girls club will be a huge success and something we can all appreciate in taking part of. I believe this will be the case because we achieved a big chunk of our goals these past couple of weeks and we were able to finalize a lot of "grey" areas that we had in our initial proposal. From where we stand now, we only have to sort out where we are getting some supplies and gather up those materials and then let the festivities start on October 22....and hope all goes smoothly.
Chris Wall
Chris Wall
Just another week...
This week nothing new really happened in COM but what did happen is we as a group met with the boys and girls club and even arranged a date and time for our event. That was extremely helpful because we had quite a few holes in our proposal prior to but now we finally have a set game plan. Othe than that we submitted what we could for the proposal and did very well and we already proposed our ideas Infront of the class and got a lot of feedback most of which was positive too. All in all our project is coming along very well and as I write this on my iPod at home for break I just need to really remember to bring all my pumpkin carving tools and other things that will be needed for our event from here so we can save some money in the long run.
Brandon
Brandon
Equal Returns
Something is only worth how much you put into it. We've all heard it many times, and pertaining to many different things.
This class is no different. In fact I would argue that it applies even more in this class. How many classes do you even have the opportunity(or requirement) to interact with outside organizations? How many have the opportunity create your own event that benefits your own community?
Now how many of you can honestly say you've put your all into something? If you have, thats awesome, keep it up and use this as an opportunity to do the same. If you haven't, use this as an opportunity to try it out and get some real world experience. I promise the rewards will be worth it.
Dave Loverde
This class is no different. In fact I would argue that it applies even more in this class. How many classes do you even have the opportunity(or requirement) to interact with outside organizations? How many have the opportunity create your own event that benefits your own community?
Now how many of you can honestly say you've put your all into something? If you have, thats awesome, keep it up and use this as an opportunity to do the same. If you haven't, use this as an opportunity to try it out and get some real world experience. I promise the rewards will be worth it.
Dave Loverde
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Blog Post - Week 3
So here I am at the third week of blogging, and I really think I'm starting to like it. I'm also really starting to enjoy this class. It's a good balance of easy and difficult material, with some fun mixed in. There are some very valuable lessons that we learn in this course, but usually don't have too much homework to do. It's a nice break from the overload of homework I get in all of my other classes. It just makes me look forward to class that much more, because it's fun.
I was searching Youtube today and found a humorous clip about office fun. I related that to this course because sometimes fun is necessary to keep morale and cohesion up within a group. That's true for the class itself as well as each small group. I remember hearing that one of the groups is planning on going out to the bars after completing their Service Learning Project. This is a good way to integrate fun into the project and keeping group morale up. Members are less likely to get burned out from the work and are generally happier when there is fun involved with work. Here is the Youtube clip I found:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KWY5Oqq1PU
The opening quote in the video says "If you're not having fun doing what you're doing, chances are you're not doing your best." This is really true in terms of groups. If a group is sitting around feeling miserable about the work they have to do, they will not be motivated to do their best. If they are excited about a project then they are more likely to achieve better results. The ending quote in this video is "Appropriate humor can lead to cohesion and bonding among coworkers." This reiterates what the first quote is saying - that fun can lead to group cohesion and better results.
The Youtube video and summary I provided is just food for thought when interacting with groups. Make sure to keep the group on track and achieve the best result possible in your Service Learning Project, but why not add in some fun?!
Katie Spalding
I was searching Youtube today and found a humorous clip about office fun. I related that to this course because sometimes fun is necessary to keep morale and cohesion up within a group. That's true for the class itself as well as each small group. I remember hearing that one of the groups is planning on going out to the bars after completing their Service Learning Project. This is a good way to integrate fun into the project and keeping group morale up. Members are less likely to get burned out from the work and are generally happier when there is fun involved with work. Here is the Youtube clip I found:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KWY5Oqq1PU
The opening quote in the video says "If you're not having fun doing what you're doing, chances are you're not doing your best." This is really true in terms of groups. If a group is sitting around feeling miserable about the work they have to do, they will not be motivated to do their best. If they are excited about a project then they are more likely to achieve better results. The ending quote in this video is "Appropriate humor can lead to cohesion and bonding among coworkers." This reiterates what the first quote is saying - that fun can lead to group cohesion and better results.
The Youtube video and summary I provided is just food for thought when interacting with groups. Make sure to keep the group on track and achieve the best result possible in your Service Learning Project, but why not add in some fun?!
Katie Spalding
Monday, October 5, 2009
who would've thought
So after about a month and a half into the semester, I find myself already using a lot of the material learned from this class in my everyday life. At first I wouldn't of recognized the different COM techniques used but after soaking in the information from this class, I realize communication is really key in general and not just in group communication. The other day for example, Friday that is, I was with some friends and 3 of them could not decide/agree on a place to eat for dinner, I myself did not care where we ate as long as we ate. But after observing how the 3 were arguing and justifying each owns choice, I realized that their communication skills were poor because none of them would hear out each other at all and just bluntly say "no" but if they were just willing to compensate and say "oh how about we do yours tonight and then next time we'll go to my place" instead of just being in a heated discussion. Unfortunately, the outcome was solved by rock/papers/scissors so they didn't use their communication skills to the utmost but I now realize how important it can be to communicate even though its just between friends over where to eat.
Chris Wall
Chris Wall
Sunday, October 4, 2009
This week was a very interesting week for me as far as small group communication. In another class, which I won't name, I have a group where half of the group doesn't do anything. Dealing with them this week, I learned why they are the way they are. Relating to the book, it is in their motivations. For them, the class is only a means to an end; the material learned is of no value. If they can get through and pass, they will be perfectly happy.
For me, on the other hand, the class is only of value for what I immediately get out of it; it is an elective. Currently, the issue is not resolved, but I will be sure to update next week on how it is working out.
Dave Loverde
For me, on the other hand, the class is only of value for what I immediately get out of it; it is an elective. Currently, the issue is not resolved, but I will be sure to update next week on how it is working out.
Dave Loverde
This blog post is based off of the TV show The Office. What happens in this scene is that Jim steals Andy's cell phone and hides it in the ceiling of the office so that everytime it rings, everyone can hear it but Andy cannot find it. The main point of showing this video clip is to discuss the different types of styles for managing conflict. Here is the link to the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wPn5JsZiMg&feature=related
There are five styles in avoiding conflict. They are avoidance, accommodation, competition, compromise, and collaboration. The only style I see portrayed by Andy in this video is competition. Andy knows that someone has taken his phone and hidden it from him, but instead of cooperating with his fellow office workers or talking to them politely, he yells at his coworkers and blames them for his phone going missing. He even punches a hole into the wall! According to the class textbook, Andy falls under the category of competition because of his desire to win the conflict, being defensive, and feeling adamant that he has the correct information and not allowing anyone else to help him. This might be a stretch on the definition of "competition" but I still believe it applies to this situation.
In this case I think Andy is frustrated because he is competing for attention at work. He has always wanted to be number two behind his boss, Michael Scott, but has never quite made it up to that level. Dwight and Jim usually have the upper hand on him, for various reasons. All of this combined with Andy not knowing the location of his cell phone builds up and makes him explode on his coworkers unnecessarily. Instead, it would have been better for him to use a collaborating strategy to find his phone. That way he could have felt better about the situation and not accused his coworkers of stealing from him. According to the class textbook, collaboration is usually the best solution for managing conflict.
I think we have all been in Andy's shoes before and understand his frustration. I have been in situations like that before as well where I felt out of control and wanted to know what was going on. However, that does not mean that he should yell at his coworkers or punch a hole in the wall. There are much better ways to handle the situation. I have learned first hand that it is better to collaborate with someone rather to accuse them of something. When you collaborate with someone it keeps them from feeling alienated and builds cohesiveness and cooperativeness within a group.
Katie Spalding
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wPn5JsZiMg&feature=related
There are five styles in avoiding conflict. They are avoidance, accommodation, competition, compromise, and collaboration. The only style I see portrayed by Andy in this video is competition. Andy knows that someone has taken his phone and hidden it from him, but instead of cooperating with his fellow office workers or talking to them politely, he yells at his coworkers and blames them for his phone going missing. He even punches a hole into the wall! According to the class textbook, Andy falls under the category of competition because of his desire to win the conflict, being defensive, and feeling adamant that he has the correct information and not allowing anyone else to help him. This might be a stretch on the definition of "competition" but I still believe it applies to this situation.
In this case I think Andy is frustrated because he is competing for attention at work. He has always wanted to be number two behind his boss, Michael Scott, but has never quite made it up to that level. Dwight and Jim usually have the upper hand on him, for various reasons. All of this combined with Andy not knowing the location of his cell phone builds up and makes him explode on his coworkers unnecessarily. Instead, it would have been better for him to use a collaborating strategy to find his phone. That way he could have felt better about the situation and not accused his coworkers of stealing from him. According to the class textbook, collaboration is usually the best solution for managing conflict.
I think we have all been in Andy's shoes before and understand his frustration. I have been in situations like that before as well where I felt out of control and wanted to know what was going on. However, that does not mean that he should yell at his coworkers or punch a hole in the wall. There are much better ways to handle the situation. I have learned first hand that it is better to collaborate with someone rather to accuse them of something. When you collaborate with someone it keeps them from feeling alienated and builds cohesiveness and cooperativeness within a group.
Katie Spalding
not COM related
This has nothing to do with the course at all I just wanted to post this video because it is the coolest thing ever, Chris already knows about this guy like I do but I felt like sharing the amazement...ENJOY!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSMjAZvUGFM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSMjAZvUGFM
...thought bubbles?
I wanted to just cover an overall COM320 thus far in every area sort of blog and all my thoughts. Our SLP (service learning project) so far is going okay and so is my group. I noticed from the beginning and really am noticing it now how much we all like to procrastinate, and us all being either seniors or even higher really doesn't help our motivation sometimes. We end up getting things done in the end which is really all that matters, at least to me. All in all I would say that we on the right track, just at times I almost feel bad for David cause he is the only one whom is talking with our contact and trying to get the event set up which is why I am trying to take all the initiatives with our group presentations and papers.
I thought that the activity in class on Friday was interesting. I really cant believe that the group with give the money back won over our group to be honest. I mean who would rather get a quarter back over possible paper money in the future? Seems like nobody really thought that through. I know we are all poor college students but NEEDING a quarter right then and there is just ridiculous, dare I say shenanigans.
Just know class...this could have been all for you if you chose us.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbmxbC39BPY
Brandon Nelson
I thought that the activity in class on Friday was interesting. I really cant believe that the group with give the money back won over our group to be honest. I mean who would rather get a quarter back over possible paper money in the future? Seems like nobody really thought that through. I know we are all poor college students but NEEDING a quarter right then and there is just ridiculous, dare I say shenanigans.
Just know class...this could have been all for you if you chose us.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbmxbC39BPY
Brandon Nelson
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