1st group Skype

It was great to connect with some fellow students on Skype a few days ago. This is the first time I've spoken to other people on my course and I found it incredibly helpful. We were meant to join a group chat via an app called 'Connect' but this didn't seem to work. Instead we just had a group Skype conversation. Unfortunately a few days before the session I found out I wouldn't be available at the time we had set. Hating time difference at the minute! But I really wanted to take the opportunity and make the effort to meet other people on the course so managed to make it work. However, the internet signal I had was terrible! The call kept disconnecting and then reconnecting which was highly frustrating. It was so good to hear from other students though and really it put my mind at rest knowing that they were going through the same struggles as me. I thought I was the only one who spent HOURS trying to set up my blog! It was great to have Paula there to guide the call and help with any questions that we had. But it was also an open forum for everyone to chip in if they had anything to say. However, quite often we didn't know who was speaking though and had to ask "Sorry, who is this talking now?"....I think it would work a lot better next time for it to be a video session as then you can easily see who is talking and you feel more connected if you can actually see the person. Or maybe that's just me. I have used a great group video link before called 'Zoom Cloud Meetings' which is always super successful and very clear and easy to use. You can download it onto your phone via the App Store and I highly recommend it. 

We discussed during the session any issues we were facing with our blogs or any comments we had so far on the course. We talked about the importance to connect with others which I feel is essential! I already feel so much better and more confident knowing I am now connected to a few other students. I also think that because I live in Singapore and there's a time difference it's great to be connected to a couple of the girls in other countries as if we have a question we can just ask the group. It just gives more options for a quicker response this way as quite often I'm doing my blog when it's the early hours of the morning in the UK. We also talked about current problems with technology in our work places and we all came up with issues we had. Paula mentioned to look for solutions and also look for things that are going right too! I think too often we just look at the failing things and comment about those. She also recommended that we read blogs of students in module 3. I think it would be really helpful and I'm definitely going to do this. We talked about the next section of our learning being the Reflection part. I am SO EXCITED for this!! I wrote a diary during my childhood up until my late teens. I always write about  travelling experiences too but haven't done one of ages. I'm looking forward to starting again. I'm also really enjoying doing my blog and it's inspired me to start a separate travel blog. 

Another topic that came up was how you come across online and how many potential employers now Google candidates and even check their Facebook and Twitter. We all know that these sites can say so much about a person. We questioned whether or not you can delete items off Google....for example if you've worked for a company or campaign years ago that you didn't want a potential employer to see. I don't think anyone knew the actual answer but I think we came to the conclusion that the only person that can take the article down is the person that posted it. Which is a scary thought! 

All in all although the Skype session was cut short due to the wifi connection I feel like it was successful. I learnt that I need to make more of an effort to comment on other peoples blogs. I learnt that I am not the only one who isn't tech savvy, which is SO reassuring! I also realised that my reason for not doing this degree years ago, which was 'I don't have time' was just an excuse. You really can do this degree anywhere in the world and with a crazy work schedule. I struggled to see before how I could fit this degree in to my busy life. I'm such a perfectionist and would always want to be sat at a desk with a notepad and pen in silence to do a Skype call! I now realise I can make this work where ever I am and that there are others on the course also having to deal with living in a different continent. I feel so much more confident now that I made the right decision to do this. And that it is totally doable!