Sunday, July 19, 2009

Midterm and Team Update Week 4

In previous classes, I have had such clarity on narrowing in on topics. I am not sure why I have been having such a difficult time defining what I want to focus my midterm paper on this time around. Is it being unfamiliar with using Twitter as a tool? Is it because social capital is difficult to measure and can be such a broad topic? Whatever the reason is it has been a long road this week.

The good news is that I have been given valuable insights by my teammates and from Professor Khalsa that have helped me to clarify. (Or at least I think so) As of now, I am developing my midterm around the topic:

Diversity in Social Capital: How it relates to Twitter Networking

The team process has been a learning experience in the role of both a student and as an instructor. It was interesting to see how our professor handled the group situation because sometimes it is important to intervene. I think it was especially difficult because the midterm assignment and the final group assignment have been difficult for me to understand and frankly a little bit confusing. I wasn’t the only member who felt that way and throw all of that into the mix and it was hard for our group to establish a starting point. Maybe that is the whole point about group work, you learn about things as you go. Maybe there are no “right” answers for every group but suggested guidelines that each group can tailor for their specific needs. Anyway, we are focused now on a course of action, full steam ahead!