Chapter 9 Presentation

                   In all honesty I was a bit skeptical of doing group work through online. I felt like the communication was not going to be there, maybe the lack of face to face would make me feel like I was working alone. Let me tell you how wrong I was. Working with Group 2 was an amazing experience, we had our own group chat where we all had one common goal. My peers in Group 2 were available at all times. When someone had a question or needed help with anything at all, someone was always there to help. I believe that is the epitome of a successful group. This day in age we have so much technology and the advancement in technology helps us get through any obstacles we get thrown at us. This was certainly a new experience and I am glad we were able to make this new online groups work. It is extremely important to learn how to adapt to certain circumstances, regardless of how out of reach it may feel. I learned that groups can get together even if its not face to face. The way my peers came up with a model on how to complete this assignment was great. We had one person in charge of getting the powerpoint together in order for us to edit and make changes. We also had our own "Designer" that person was in charge of making sure everything looked nice and presentable. We did face one problem where a new group member joined us. This made us a bit out of order, for the reason that we had to try to incorporate them in our finished model. We later figured it out and was able to divide the sections for everyone. Even when we got new members added to our group we still found a way to make it work. That is what groups do, we have to always bring solutions instead of problems. I appreciate each and everyone of my peers for getting together and always being available.

    I genuinely enjoyed the presentation of every group in my class. I can say that I am proud as well. Everyone in the class faced the same obstacles as my group. With the right tools and resources, such as (Blackboard, Whatsapp, imessage group, etc.) as a class we found the way that best suits us. The way all the presentations were flowing so smoothly, it was like everyone was really on board with the task on hand and didn't let up or disappoint. Every single member of our class was able to present. Any time you get 100% of your classmates finish a certain task, is when you know everything went great! Im sure everyone had their own way of communicating, at least for our group we rarely video chatted but we always talked on Blackboard or just texted each other thru whatsapp and made sure we all stuck to the same page. Everyone was very confident as they spoke, you can clearly tell that our classmates reviewed the material well and studied for this moment. Even though it was online, I still felt like I was able to understand everything they covered, it felt like I was in the actual classroom at one point. In my opinion, Presenting online might of relieved some pressure from a good amount of people. Some people might even feel more comfortable talking thru video chat than actually standing in front of the whole class and having many eyes just looking at you. I would say that is a major advantage in this new online era. Everyone seemed to be on time when it was their turn to present. There was a lot of good communication and alertness throughout all the groups that presented. I did not see any miscommunications from the groups that presented, I would say that I am very surprised that everything was perfect.

    Chapter 9 was a perfect chapter to talk about given that It was all about groups, different types of groups, types of communications. Our group 2 which we were assigned Chapter 9 talked about the stages of the groups. Which included Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, adjourning, and Transforming. Forming, is when a group focuses on what the actual goal is and what role we all play in achieving the goal. For example, as I stated earlier, we had a job assigned for every member of our group to reach the common goal. Storming is basically the group understanding each other and giving honest opinions on how we will reach our goal. Norming wis the trust we have as group members, we had trust in everyones goals and all my peers came through at the end. Then comes performing, where we get our skills together and achieve our common goal. Another section I would like to talk about that caught my attention as my group presented is group conflict. This section talked about some of the different types of conflicts that exist in Group work. One of the first types is called "Pseudo Conflict" this one is more about miscommunication than anything else. The term "Pseudo" means fake, so technically this means that groups who agree on something, sometimes feels like. they dont all agree due to lack of communication. Gladly that was not ever a problem with my peers as we had our group chat and clearly stated any problems or questions anyone had. The last conflict I would like to talk about is a BIG one. This conflict could've easily related to each and everyone of us. This one is called Virtual Conflict. many people may face difficulties in group work when everything is virtual, just like this group project we had. Luckily, with the technology advancement we did not had to deal with any conflicts in the virtual aspect of it all. This was a great group project and I feel like this chapter was extremely important as it felt relatable to our current situation.

        Group 1 had a very interesting chapter which was chapter 3. Id say it was a bit difficult to comprehend but the way they discussed everything was the difference. This chapter discussed intercultural communication. It is great that many different cultures can get together and still respect one another. Group 1 effectively explained that we cannot assume our cultures are much different than anyone elses. Also, we cannot stereotype someone just because of their culture. This really stood out for me from their whole presentation, for the simple fact that there is so much diversity where I live and it has really impacted the way I am. I enjoyed listening to group 1 discussing Intercultural communication. Group 3 covered Chapter 10 Leadership and Problem Solving. I feel that leadership is one of the most important roles in having an effective group. Without leadership we would all be living "The state of nature." In order for a group to reach a common goal, they must be willing to impose some sort of leadership amongst the group. Also, problem solving is the biggest skill that will always be a part of a group. As a group, we all communicate with each other and find a way to solve any problems ahead of us. Group 3 did a great job going into details and discussing this chapter.

    To summarize, Every group did an amazing job presenting their assigned chapters. They were all able to overcome the difficulties of having a virtual group. Each and every one of my classmates were able to speak clearly and present without any interruptions or problems. This certainly was not an easy task, but we all figure it out as a group and used our technology to make it work. I had a great time with this and learned a lot about group work. There is more to a group than just a collection of people. This assignment helped me understand how to solve problems as a group, how much diversity there can be in a group, and how to make sure everything flows smoothly within the group. I appreciate my group for all the help I have gotten and for always being there for all of my members.