Although I am more comfortable with independent assignments, I also find that working in groups can be pleasant when every member takes it seriously. It is a bit difficult to always get comfortable working in a group because I am a very introverted person, and reaching out for help or clarity can be intimidating sometimes. However, I try to remind myself that others are more than willing to help. Through group projects, I get to hear new perspectives and ideas from others that I wouldn’t have come up with on my own. When other members seem more indifferent about the assignment, however, I find myself overcompensating for fear that we will not get the grade I wanted. I sometimes end up taking some form of initiative despite my generally shy nature, though I hope I do not end up too overbearing. For this reason, I enjoy groups best when everyone puts in the effort needed to do well on the assignment.
I have some familiarity with using technology to communicate with large audiences. In many classes throughout the majority of my academic career, I made the use of Powerpoint presentations to visualize the topic of choice. Many instructors have explained that an ideal Powerpoint should only show main ideas, and it is on me to know enough to explain the ideas to the audience. I find it nerve-wracking due to having to plan ahead on what exactly I am going to say under the scrutiny of others, though I find creating the actual Powerpoint to not be difficult at all. In a few of my more-recent classes, I created video projects, which I found to be less anxiety-inducing because everything had already been pre-recorded prior to presentation. The video projects were quite interesting, and I hope to continue to explore other ways to use technology to communicate with audiences.
