Critical Reflection

After attending weeks of lesson on effective communication, I have completed this essential module in my university life. Throughout this entire trimester, I have learnt the importance of communicating with my peers and those around me. I have also learnt how to write concisely and concretely in my assignment reports which looks more presentable and professional.

Oral presentation has also given me an opportunity to identify my weakness and strengths in conducting presentations, one of the areas that I can improve on is establishing eye contact with the audience. By establishing eye contacts with my audience, it gives my audience the confidence and credibility in my content. Another weakness that I have identified is my expressions during the presentation, I felt that I did not do well because I did n't vary my tone and this made my presentation sound very monotonous and boring. Another point which I felt I am lacking is the confidence in presenting the content to my audience, naturally I tend to use fillers which is not professional and my audience may feel that I do not like my content well enough. However, there are some strengths that I feel I possess which is my pace and stance. Overall, I feel that I can further improve my presentation skills by having more confidence in myself and have better preparation of my presentation slides.

Ms Lim has been an exceptional instructor, under her guidance, I feel that I have managed to improve on my communication and report writing skills. She has been very helpful in correcting my mistakes during my reader response submission and patient in teaching. Overall, she is a wonderful instructor whom I fully respect and definitely an excellent role model for new instructors.

Analytical Reflection on Oral Presentation

As I look back and recalled completing my oral presentation last Thursday, I couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief as it’s over. Personally, I am a very shy person and at times I feel uncomfortable and nervous when presenting to a large group of audience. I felt that during the presentation, I wasn’t performing well because of my nervousness, I tend to forget my lines and as a result the presentation didn’t go as well as I wanted it to be. 

Prior to the presentation, I prepared by writing my lines and rehearsed a number of times. However, on the actual day of the presentation, my delivery of the presentation was sub par, I felt that I didn’t do well as I stammer for the slides that I presented. I felt that the slide designs were alright but could be improved by providing a better design theme.

Throughout this whole presentation, although there were mistakes made, I felt that this was a very good opportunity for me discover myself by identifying the strength and weakness I possess when doing presentations and communicating others. It is better to make mistakes early than later especially when I am about to enter the workforce in another three years. I feel that in order to improve my presentation skills, I have to be more confident when I speak and be more comfortable to communicate with a larger group of audience.

Overall, this experience has given me a chance to reflect on my presentation skills and helped me to communicate more effectively with my team and peers.

Reader Response Final Draft

In the article “This Detroit house is being turned into a living model of cost saving sustainable design” by Adele Peters (2016) highlights the activity of three Dutch students, who have undertaken a mission to rebuild old houses and make them universal and cutting-edge. Their aim is to use a variety of innovative architectural techniques and turn every house into a cost-efficient project. They used common materials and components, which are available at Home Depot. “Do-it-yourself” principle is core component guiding the myriad-minded students. The idea is not only to use available resources but also to empower residents so that in future they can improve their houses by themselves (Adele Peters, 2016).

Peters presents a number of arguments in support of the students’ initiative. Primarily, the author claims that their efforts and desire to rebuild Detroit are commendable. Secondly, their approach employs new methods and techniques in the field of architecture (Adele Peters, 2016).  I agree with the author that the project is a practical and sustainable idea, as the students motivate and inspire others to contribute to the society and apply newfound expertise and skills.

Interestingly, the students chose Detroit as they had previously learned about the area during classes. They knew the district was in poor condition, which they realized was true when they visited. Detroit is even known as the “ghost town” of the US (Christian Viveros-Fauné, 2016). It was strange for me to find out that Dutch students were restoring an area in the US. Taking into account the abysmal housing conditions in Detroit, one can only be happy for the efforts those students apply.

In my view, these students are building the future sustainable houses. There are many trends in the field of architecture, such as cost-efficient house insulation, new recyclable and resistant materials and many other areas of study that look promising. However, the actual beauty of this project is that it is currently being implemented. I value the project as it is not on the waiting list for budgeting.  The students have made a decision and they are now currently working and developing the project. I believe such type of an initiative should inspire other students. Any theoretical knowledge should be practically reinforced, and all the students should have freedom for self-expression. Otherwise, it is not possible for students to think of innovative ideas and turn it into new jobs.

In the attempt to explore the project, I have visited the official website of the program. The students have coherently put forward their ideas, presented their development strategies and mission. The website shows the first exemplary building, which seems to include all the possible innovative constructions means, such as solar panels, water tank accumulating the rain and snow water, heating water using solar energy, septic tank, green roof, and insulation solutions. The solar panels are the core element from the perspective of saving finances, as residents may benefit and drastically cut down energy expenses. For the undeveloped area of Detroit, such a solution will work best. Moreover, the exemplary house is completely ecologically-friendly and clean (Adele Peters, 2016).

The founders call their project “the urban laboratory of Detroit,” which thoroughly describes the actual process (Adele Peters, 2016). Apart from initially expressing a desire to fight climate change, the project’s founders clearly inspire others to create and contribute to the society. There are many supporters and donators for the idea, which proves that if one has a dream, there is nothing impossible. I do hope this project will successfully be accomplished, as such type of building does not have any wastes or negative impact on the surrounding environment.   

  

References

1.      Adele Peters (2016). This Detroit house is being turned into a living model of cost saving sustainable design.

Retrieved from:

<https://www.fastcoexist.com/3061563/world-changing-ideas/this-detroit-house-is-being-turned-into-a-living-model-of-cost-saving-s>

2.   Christian Viveros-Fauné (2016, September 15). How Detroit is Becoming a Lasting Destination for the Arts. 

        Retrieved from:

        <https://news.artnet.com/opinion/the-motor-city-gets-its-art-on-650987>

Reader Response for "This Detroit house is being turned into a living model of cost saving sustainable design" by Adele Peters

The article “This Detroit house is being turned into a living model of cost saving sustainable design” highlights the activity of three Dutch students who have undertaken building a universal house. More particularly, their aim is to use a variety of innovative building and architectural techniques, which will turn about every house into a cost-efficient structure easily re-designable and adjustable to the new trends in the field of architecture. The article reflects all the positive and beneficial aspect that students are providing through their efforts and desire to rebuild Detroit presenting all the advantages of the project (Adele Peters, 2016). 

I am in a complete agreement with the author and consider this project to be a praiseworthy and forward-looking idea, which should motivate and inspire other students as well.

As it has been mentioned, the initiators are three students from Netherlands, who bought a house in Detroit in order to experiment with it. Detroit became their choice, as they have learned about the area during one of their classes. They knew that the district is actually in the poor condition, which they realized was completely true when they actually visited it. However, as they say, people were really nice and actively took part in their undertakings.

The stress of the concept is in the use of materials from the abandoned houses or such type of components that are easily available and can be found at Home Depot. Another key concept is “do-it-yourself” principle guiding all the essence of the project. The idea is not only to use available resources but also to enable residents to improve their house by themselves (Adele Peters, 2016).

In my consideration, these students are on the way of building the sustainable houses of future. There are many trends in the field of architecture, such as cost-efficient house insulation, developing new recyclable and resistant materials and many other areas of study that look quite promising. But the actual beauty of this project is that it is currently being implemented. Primarily, it is not a project that is awaiting approval or budgeting, but an ongoing development project. This praiseworthy project aims to save cash and energy. I suppose this is a kind of project all the students should be up to. We should not simply study theory regardless the specialization we are learning. Any knowledge should be practically reinforced, and all the students should have the freedom for self-expression. Then, there is a high degree of probability that students may come up with some innovative and top-notch ideas turning into the new Jobs by building a new brand or exploring a new idea.

In fact, the particular choice of the area is a bit confusing, as it is strange to discover that Dutch students are improving and restoring an area in the US. As the article puts it, the students have learned about Detroit during the class on shrinking cities. Taking into account the abysmal housing conditions in Detroit one can only be happy with the effort those students put in the project, particularly for the “ghost town” of the US.

In the attempt to explore the project deeper, I have also visited the official website of the architectural rebuilding program. The project has quite a solid grounding as well as developed strategy and mission. The website presents the exemplary building, which seems to include all the possible innovative constructions means, such as solar panels, water tank accumulating the rain and snow water as well as heating water using solar energy, septic tank, green roof, and insulation solutions. The solar panels are the core element from the perspective of saving finances, as residents may benefit by simply getting solar energy and drastically cutting down the expenses. For such an undeveloped area as Detroit is, such financial solutions will work best. Besides, the exemplary house is completely ecologically-friendly and clean. There is even a consideration to connect the house to the nearby industry to make it waste heat of the latter.

The founders refer to their project as to “the urban laboratory of Detroit,” which completely matches the actual process. Apart from initially expressing a desire to combat a climate change, the founders of the project clearly inspire others to create and contribute to the society within the limit of possibilities. There is a huge number of supporters and donators for the idea, which proves that if one has a particular goal or dream, it is quite real and possible to make it true. I do hope this project will be successfully accomplished, as such type of building does not have any wastes or effects on the surrounding environment. In other words, this is a no-waste type of future house. Furthermore, the author has also successfully completed the task of sharing the information with readers and motivating them to stand for the change of the future. 

Core Reading Summary : Group 1

Ronen Dan and his friends started the Motown Movement in Detroit to construct an easy and cost effective solution for sustainable homes in the neighbourhood. This actual example helps save building materials and produces renewable resources as well as educates the residents on reducing energy wastage.

The project will adopt various modification methods that are understandable and adaptable internationally. Collaborating with their university, they aim to expand this idea globally through a master’s program and create awareness about sustainability. (Adele Peters - “This Detroit House Is Being Turned Into a Living Model Of Cost-Saving Sustainable Design”)

Submission 1 : English Language Learning

In a world of globalised trade, English is used predominantly in many countries as a form of communication. As an undergraduate waiting to enter the workforce, English in written or oral form is a necessity because most of the information found on the Internet or books are in English which is crucial for my learning experience as student in university.

From young, I was speaking English almost every second of my life as I grew up environment where my family and I spoke English to each other. I clearly remembered where I had to speak to my new found friends in kindergarten, I was very comfortable in speaking English with them and when it comes to practicing English writing on my workbook, I was very happy because it doesn't seem very difficult for me.

As years passed by, I started learning more complex English words through books, music and newspapers. I felt the strong language fundamentals that I have learnt throughout as a young boy helped me understand the language better as it allowed me to use different adjectives in my writing and improved my sentence structure and grammar language. Some examples of writing English language in my life include composition writing, summary writing and class presentation in my secondary school and polytechnic days.

Nowadays as I recalled my past experiences, I felt a sense of accomplishment from building my basic language fundamentals to using more complex words in my education. I know that English will continue to be my form of confident communication to my peers and a medium to help me excel in my studies. As for my future career, I believe that skills and knowledge the language has taught me will greatly improve and expand my job prospects.