Working in group settings isn’t for everyone, so if your mind and your heart is not in it, do not work in a group. All member  in a group/organization work to the same goal as if they are one entity or one unit; so in staying in a group when it is not what you want to do you are potentially putting the reputation of this group in danger. When you’re representing something that you don’t want to represent, you don’t put much effort into it therefore the less than perfect work shows.

Going to school at Bow Valley College, I’ve had a great deal of experience with working in group settings. I’ve learned to be patient and that sometimes differences in opinion and choice may clash. I have learned that sometimes great things come from conflict- that problems give us the opportunity for resolution; when you have a chance to make things that weren’t before better, you learn a lot about the situation and about yourself and group members. Not every person to have ever been in a group situation can say they took from their experience a new found knowledge on how to interact with people in groups, that is why it is important to always be willing to take in feedback whether it be positive or negative. Any constructive feedback and input can be used to better ourselves as a group or an individual.

Working appropriately and respectfully in a group setting is something you’re either born good at or something that you have to grow to be better at. It takes time, so don’t let it get you down if you’re finding that you don’t be much accomplished within a group setting, it is either something that you can improve on or something that just isn’t for you. You should never feel forced to do something, if something just isn’t sitting right with you, speak up and in most cases, rules can be bent to better suit your need. The last thing a group needs is someone in it who doesn’t want to part of it.

Diana Lazaro

Technological skills are highly regarded here at Bow Valley College, for BVC knows the importance of computer skills within a work environment. In fact most jobs now a day’s ask that you have even the most basic of computer skills, it has just become that much of a predictable requirement. Learning technology skills like the computer for the first time can be straight up and down the middle black and white. It’s the utilizing and configuring we do with these skills when actually applying them to real physical work that we flourish. At BVC we are given the opportunity to take classes likes Computer Skills, AutoCAD, and E-Portfolio to learn and to better ourselves with unique computer programs that can help us in our careers and everyday life.

Whatever your career choice is, be it Interior Decorating, Environmental studies, or Business Management; all of these fields calls for technology skills. Technology skills are something that everyone should have, and if you don’t have them yet, it’s never too late to take a course to learn the basics. Now more than ever technology skills are needed everywhere, even having the skills under your belt guarantee you job’s that you may have not had the opportunity of getting without these skills. You can use the computer in so many different ways, to process information, and to create ways of inputting mass amounts of information at a time. Technology for the most part has bettered our society. There are always pros and cons to things in life and you shouldn’t grow to rely too heavily on technology, but to learn how to utilize technology to better our work is a good way to use it. We should always keep an open mind to the things we don’t completely know and to get to understand them is when we’re truly making good use our surroundings.

Diana Lazaro

Communication sometimes times proves unsuccessful, because people have different opinions than what is being said because of body language. That’s why it is so important to not only verbalize what the topic is, but to also take body language into consideration. These skills are appreciated in both social and occupational environments

In my 2 year studies at Bow Valley College I learned not only the importance of communication, but also how to utilize these communicational skills within everyday life as well as work settings. It is important because communication is used so often, it truly is something that needs to be learnt properly and mastered. All too often I found myself mid conversation with an overwhelming feeling of doubt or weariness, this was not my fault, but because I was confused as to what information was put in front of me or how to make sense of it.  Often times we misunderstand the ‘information carrier’ and do not ask for clarification. Communication consists of asking questions as well as receiving information and answers. Often we forget that it is okay to ask questions.

Because of courses I took in Bow Valley I learned that there is no stupid question, and that ‘to understand, we must first question’. There were many instances I can recall where I didn’t know what an instructor was talking about, and was too embarrassed to ask what it was that he/she was talking about. Until finally I worked up the courage to ask in front of the class, much to my surprise there wasn’t a disappointment on the other end. It is only through trial and error, that we can grow; communication in itself is kind of a trial and error.

Diana Lazaro

Diana Lazaro

I learned that you can do so much with the different styles you use in a home. For example making your room look elegant there are different ways you can make that happen or making it look modern and space aged. It was really interesting learning all of this because I had no idea where each type of furniture came from and its unique where and how furniture came to be.

The ways I motivate myself to do my tasks such as assignments is that I write down all my goals the previous night for the next day. This helps me get organized also it gives me an estimate time on how long it will take me. Another thing I do to keep me from being side tracked is that I turn all of my electronic devices off and not think about anything else but my work and how much of a good grade I would get if i did it earlier than wait till last minute to finish it.

Anytime you get side tracked when trying to accomplish your goal all you have to think about is how much better you will do and how much effective it will be for you if you finish it earlier than later. The more likely you will succeed.

As a student in this course, I have found that having classroom activities is much more effective to my learning than doing assignments. I find this a better way of learning because it includes everything from listening to the instructor to practices which helps to absorb everything to what has been taught in the lecture. Also by having exercises in short writing which I can react to the lecture material and going into complex group exercises can help me learn things better. I find that this way I can apply the course material to a “real life” situation and also to new problems. For example, in our Space Planning class not only was there a lecture but the instructor also tied in an activity that went along with it. This helped the students understand the concept more because there was not a lot of talking involved that packed our brains with information but having the activity gave us a real life example of what was talked about.

On the other hand, doing individual work like Assignments is an important thing in learning. Having this exercise done is very useful for the course instructor giving you feedback of what you learned concerning your understanding.

Both of these are good exercises to have in your learning experience because it will help you move forward in understanding what you are learning about.

Other courses that are taught in the Interior Decorating and Merchandising field also include decorating backgrounds, color schemes, fabrics, and types of wood and window coverings. These are just some of the basics that students need to have knowledge on. Having field trip for example gives you the ideas of what the industry is like. It puts you in reality on what you are getting yourself into in this decorating field. Having the opportunity to check out places within the decorating field helps you a lot on expanding your knowledge even more than what you already know, it will give you a huge visual. Having knowledge on what you are doing specially in this course is a big deal. If you are decorating for a client, of course they want to know everything on what you are doing and hey will throw questions at you so knowledge is a big part of it.

Presentations from other learners in this course will help you a lot not only in the creativity level but it will give you ideas to help you expand your skills even more. Everywhere you go and everything you see is all pretty much based on decoration.

The values of some skills that are offered in the college, simple things such as learning how to communicate with others, socialize well not only with other students but your clients as well, being confident in what you are doing and so on. These will help you in your career in the future.

Watching other student’s presentation on the subject that we currently are doing such as having a color consultation, creating spaces, to decorating rooms helps you expand your knowledge on becoming good at what you are passionate about doing. Having presentations will not only help you but it will also all of the other students by giving them ideas that they have not thought about doing and it will also show others a good visualization on what they have to tell you about their thoughts and ideas from the topic.