My time thus far at Boise State has not only taught me valuable information about various topics and the fundamentals of being a professional engineer, but has also allowed me to mature and has prepared me for life in the “real world”. I have seen significant improvements in my organizational skills, time management, and even in my ability to interact and work with my peers. I have had the opportunity to have numerous interviews with engineering companies, as well as for part-time jobs to pay my bills. My need to find a balance between work, school, and a social life has made me a stronger and more independent person, while teaching me valuable life lessons about priorities. I have created friendships that will last a lifetime and have overcome obstacles greater than anything I have faced previously.

I definitely think this course would have been better taught face-to-face, but do not regret choosing to take it online. Since most of the course consisted of discussing various topics, it would have been nice to be able to have face-to-face discussions with my peers, instead of just responding to each other with short comments on blog posts. It would have also been nice to be able to discuss the material, as well as grades, with the professor. While I know that there were office hours offered throughout the semester, I personally find it more convenient and less awkward to be able to approach professors before or after class. I especially would have liked to be able to stay updated on my grade in the course, since grade updates on Blackboard were scarce.  This being said, the flexibility that comes with taking an online class far outweighs the drawbacks in my opinion. I find that the most difficult part of college is being able to balance work and school, so being able to complete work throughout the week on my own time is a huge bonus.

One of my favorite things from this course was The Devil in a White City book. This was by far the biggest thing that captured my attention. I loved learning about not only architecture but also our history. Not to mention, I am a criminal justice major so the juicer the better, I love reading about crime. I think that I enjoyed this the most because its something that we actually got to take our time on and enjoy. I didn’t feel rushed or have 5-7 days to complete this, I was able to enjoy it. I actually did not want to quit reading this book and I am not a reader what so ever. I would have liked to do my own assignment on this rather than work with a group just because I wanted to express my own feelings on this subject and reflect on what I got out of it not what everyone else did. I felt as though I was more worried about my group agreeing with my thoughts and reasonings on this subject than how I really felt. I would have liked to put my own words in  more and not have to have them checked by others. Overall I really liked everything that we did in this course I just think that this book was my favorite. It told a good story and it was very interesting on how the two different stories were tied together. Overall the only thing that I would suggest for this class is maybe to allow more individual work on big projects like the readings. I am not sure everyone even really read the book and I would hate for that the effect my grade when I could have read the book over and over again.