Thursday, April 16, 2009

Life in NUS is truly hectic, before I know it, 13 weeks have literally “fly” pass me. At the start of this module, I must admit that I hated the notion of blogging. The very mention of the words “blogging” conjured up images of fame hungry attention seekers (an example, Singapore’s very own infamous Steven Lim). In addition, the idea of placing my life – however small an aspect – on public display for all to view was just a little too weird for my liking.

However after 13 weeks and 6 blog entries, blogging actually turned out to be quite enjoyable. I found out that it was indeed pretty exciting to read comments from others (it was nice to know my classmates made the effort to comment on my posts) and likewise pleasant to comment on the views of my classmates. At the very least, blogging is much more FUN then completing “conventional” assignments such as lab reports.

Looking back at my blog entries, I find that this module taught me to be more aware of my non – verbal / verbal (maintain better eye contact!) communication style. It gave us the opportunity to consolidate all the communication skills learnt in our presentation.

The most valuable lesson I learnt through this module is that everybody have their own communication “thumbprint” mould by their cultural / social upbringing. No two people have the exact same style. Hence I must always ensure that my thoughts have been conveyed to them clearly to prevent miscommunication from arising. It is never good to assume the other party knows what I am trying to put across – a habit that I admit I have.

Last, it has really been wonderful getting to know everyone through classroom interactions and blog posts. All the best for the finals and may the exams pass quickly (and painlessly!)

Regards
Valerie

4 comments:

  1. HellO!

    Yups I agree that this blogging activity is not the norm assignment that we Science students have (which is good in a way), this exposes us to a connection between academic work and today's "trendy" activity which is blogging.
    It is too bad that we cannot use our lingo to blog and have to type in proper sentences and proper language but this restriction trains us to type properly under a formal situation that we may face in the future.

    All the best!~

    Cheers,
    Jialing

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  2. Hi Valarie!

    At first i felt that blogging on a weekly basis would be rather tedious, but after awhile i started to enjoy it too, given the fact that there was actually interaction between us "bloggers", and for me, i was able to share some of my experiences and views which i've never told others before. =]

    Although we've havn't really talked before in class, but it was fun going through the course together!

    Cheers! and good luck for your exams! =]
    Woei Perng

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  3. Hello Valerie,

    I think the whole blogging excercis was quite tough, especially for us non-bloggers. We are just not used to airing our opinions and thoughts on such a public platform. But in a way, it has been quite fun too. The experience of putting our thoughts into penned words was a good excercise. Something which I have not done for a long long time =). Reading the reponses also gave some perspective on the issues at hand, and that was enlightening too. I am glad that you enjoyed the course. I did too, and I am glad also to have had the oppurtunity to have been in the same class as you. Please do take care, and all the best wishes for your exams and all future endeavours!

    -Wanliang

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  4. Hi, Valerie.

    I share the same thought too. I have never done blogging before. So when I first know that we have to do it weekly, I found it quite tedious. But, later on, it becomes more interesting especially reading the comments from all of you.

    Hope that everyone has a nice time taking this course. All the best in the coming examinations!

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