I have officially completed my first course (IST 601) so I suppose I’m officially in the process of completing my degree.
Based on the assignments beforehand, I really had no idea what to expect from the course but all in all it was a very insightful 2 days. With a lot of emphasis on the idea of innovation and pushing us to constantly ask, “How can we do it better?” I feel very happy knowing I’m going into a field where I have the opportunity to change and create. One of the things that really stuck with me is the idea that innovation can come from laziness. Now, I’m not going to admit that I’m lazy on a public forum, but let’s just say that if there is a shorter way to get the same results, I’m all for it. I have found that this has tremendously helped me learn to use computers quickly and efficiently and that it has made learning to use new technologies fairly simple but I hadn’t previously thought of this as being innovative. Now that I’m looking at it differently it seems that the phrase “there must be an easier way to do this” has brought about many changes in my life.
Aside from the lectures, we were required to play a card game under the direction of professor Scott Nicholson. Without giving much away about the specifics of the rules and reqiurements, it was definitely a learning experience that could be applied to any work situation. The ability to be flexible, read your fellow players’ body language and observe situations were all skills that proved to necessities in order to continue to enjoy the experience.
Finally, we completed our first group project: a 10 minute Power Point presentation on using innovation to solve a real-life problem. Personally, I felt my group worked very well together, especially after playing Scott’s game. We were open to one another’s ideas, we remained flexible, we encouraged each other to give input, and in the end, our presentation was strong and well organized (if I do say so on behalf of us all).
Fox in the Library 