Week 1 Report

This was the first official week of CS online for us. So far, I have learned quite a bit of new information. I think the most impactful thus far is regarding teamwork. Dr. Tao laid down some serious knowledge for us in his video. In order for team meetings to go well, there must be two elements: an agenda listing the activities of the meeting as well as the time required for each activity. We got to actually practice this with our team meeting minutes assignment, which was cool to create and execute. 

We were able to learn all about APA formatting in preparation for our first major paper, as well as how to create a good outline. Admittedly I already have experience with writing APA formatted papers, but getting refreshers is always welcome. We had to pick an industry to research for our paper, and I decided to go with game development. So far the research has been good. I learned that the game industry is expected to rise even further, especially with the looming integration of AI, VR, and even augmented reality. I also read that the industry boomed from 2019 to 2020, which is not surprising since that was when the novel coronavirus showed up. 

For our online learning initiative (OLI) work, we were able to take a quiz testing our traits in regards to teamwork beliefs. I'm still unsure what the main purpose of that was, though I presume we will learn it soon. The first module had us review a video of a team meeting which went poorly. It taught me how important it is to be organized and to be mentally flexible and dynamic when collaborating with others. Compromising and finding middle ground is extremely important, when in times of clashing ideas. 

We also learned how to setup our LinkedIn account, as well as this blog account. We got to learn all about CSUMB as well, my favorite fact is that it was built way more recently than I thought - in 1994. Furthermore, it was basically built over ex-military base property (Fort Ord). Since I live not too far from campus, I intend to visit it again one day, although honestly it may not be until graduation next year.