Final Blog: A Challenging Journey of Growth and Sharing
As ENG 301 comes to end, I am both exhausted and reflective. The final blog requires each learner to discuss areas of weakness and strength on: the learning process, assignments, and how the skills and strengths as a student supports future career goals.
I want to be honest and vulnerable and so let’s start with the weaknesses. Right from the start I was ready to quit ENG 301! Yes, it’s true and big shout out to the UBC I.T. Support who had treated me as though I had a legitimate technical issue (for a number of tickets) when the truth was I had no idea what wordpress meant, but certain it was a technical issue. 7 days later, my name still appeared on the student roster which was once again threatened when I had to set up a Facebook account. Most would say what? You’re not on Facebook? No, I wasn’t on Facebook and in fact, I doubt I’d ever have set up an account except for this course. But there I was, decision time and so I put my big girl pants on and ensured my privacy settings were on lockdown. When I had to join a writing group, I knew I could sell my writing skills, however, my technical blunders couldn’t be hidden, fingers crossed someone would want me (I had sent out some invitations that weren’t accepted). Thanks to Technicallective for coming together and weaving through peer reviews, postings, and sometimes, challenging times so that we could work and grow together.
The learning process and assignments proved to be areas of strength and strengthening. As I worked through college and now, university I have honed my writing skills with the help of a person who reviewed my work and said “so what?” It appeared that my writing was flamboyant and never got beyond a description. I took this feedback and learned to write in a succinct and focused way. This strength became an area of strengthening as I moved through ENG 301 completing peer reviews that required me to answer the question “so what” in a different way. Constructing a peer review that was constructive and helpful was very important to me. As I provided feedback to my peers, I wanted to empower each one with clear examples that answered either “so what does it matter” and “so what could it be”. I spent thoughtful time writing and considering each message. Based on feedback from fellow group members, it was time well spent and as I reviewed their final pieces, I was cheering them on as I saw the edits made, meaning they understood the message, and improved their work.
As my career path continues to unfold, ENG 301 has improved my technology skills and social networking understanding. My business will continue to benefit from strong layouts and a better understanding of reports, memos, and letters. Most of all, the peer reviews may form the foundation of a future teaching career as I transition from clinical to teaching supports.