Suatcan Isik
12.13.19

Do Engineers Write Things?:

Reflection of the Semester

Did you know that engineers write things too? It is kind of hard to believe but they really do. Even though they know a lot of things, without sharing their information properly, their knowledge would be wasted. So, learning how to write, communicate and transfer their information is important as much as the information they possess.

In this course, we learned how to communicate with writing and presenting. We learned how to write e-mails, resumes, letters, lab or interview reports and how to present them to our audience. We learned to write in different formats while communicating for different reasons. Because having different writing styles for different purposes makes it easier for our audience to understand. We must learn how to communicate properly because the world makes it necessary to do so.

First, we started with our elevator speech. Time is limited when you get an opportunity, so we must be ready beforehand. We wrote a paragraph in which we can explain who we are, our past, and intentions in a couple of minutes. So that we can express ourselves clearly as possible when the world gives us an opportunity.

Writing a resume was our second topic. Even though I worked in a couple of places I have never written one before. I wanted it to be clear and easy to read as possible, so I put everything in different columns and added my information. The second part was harder. I spend the most time looking for a job that suits me. I didn’t have and good programming class nor I was in the major yet, so I couldn’t fit most of the criteria they needed. I found a job that I can tutor other students in math and wrote my letter about how I am suitable for the job.

The lab report was the most fun project that I had this semester because I love doing experiments. I also took two science labs before, so I knew how to do the report properly. We rolled two dices 100 times, drew related charts that show possibilities of every number that can come up and finished the report. The hardest part was finding a proper revised document online. I looked for good research for hours because there were only books that explain the subject in the online library. There were no tests nor experiments that do something similar to our subject, even though rolling dice is one of the basic probability question. While spending a lot of time in the online library of the school made me find keywords faster. I finally found a game that teacher makes students play around with dice and wrapped up my report.

Then we got into our big project. Even though I watched many interviews I have never done one before, so this was a big step outside my comfort zone. I can say that this project increased my self-confidence higher than any project I have done. First, we send a proper e-mail to an engineer we found online or from people we know. We asked them about their work experience, daily routines, and what do they write. It was the first thing that I have done that is related to computer engineering, so it helped me draw a clearer picture in my head about my future.

In the next project, we had to collaborate and do the work together. I didn’t know many people in the classroom, so I just grouped up with people that are most close to me. I am a very sensitive person when it comes to promises. Not showing up to an arranged meeting or not doing the work that you promised to do, makes me really stressed out and mad. In this project, we didn’t meet for a single time except for class hours, which was kind of unpleasant. Everyone did their part and we drafted the paper together while adding comments to each other online. However, presentation day was stressful for me. We didn’t have time to practice the presentation, because we couldn’t meet. So, I trusted their words about the time they will take in the presentation. I went early and practiced more of my part to finish in 5 minutes so that we can finish in time. However, the presentation didn’t go as I planned, my group members took so long to finish, and we reached the limit before I even say a word in the presentation. Thanks to Mr. Bubrow gave me a chance after class for me to do my part. Even though, this project taught me a crucial lesson, which I am glad I experienced this event which I will never ever forget and will be more careful when it comes to working with other people. I will talk to them and make sure everyone will do their part properly.

As our last assignment, we made a solo presentation about a topic that is connected to our major. The subject was broad. Mr.Bubrow basically let us choose any topic we liked and wanted us to search about it. My big dream is to invent really virtual reality which connects 5 senses of the body to the computer and gives real-life experience to a person in a virtual world. So, I had a topic, to begin with, but today`s use of virtual reality is still not as I dream it to be. I could make a presentation about VR glasses. However, this topic is really common, so I didn`t think that would be an interesting nor instructive presentation. So I choose a topic that might make the future virtual reality come true, which is brain chips. While I was reading about this technology, I found Michael Nicolelis’s research about brain chips. His brain chip allowed a full-body paralyzed man to control a whole exoskeleton and walk just by thinking about it. It was really fascinating to read his research. Then I come up to another interesting person that controls his prostatic arm just by thinking. So my research just built itself while I was searching for interesting facts about brain-controlled machines on an online library. We already had a project that we presented, so I knew how should I approach my audience and how to make them satisfied listening to me. This time I was calmer and able to control my heart rate easier so that I don’t get stressed and don’t forget or miss any of my lines. I thought I did my presentation good. However, I couldn`t answer a question at the end, even though I knew the answer. It didn’t come to my mind and I just got stressed more which caused me to talk about irrelevant things about the subject and avoid the question. That made me realize that every sentence that I say is important for my audience because every unclear or missing spot might make my audience lose interest. I should be clear as much as I can be. Because even if your information is really important and can teach people something, if your transfer of the information is not clear, you can’t keep the attention on your subject. So, clearing your mind and making the presentation entertaining and interesting as possible is important.

Overall, I can say that I got an enormous amount of experience and knowledge from this class about how to communicate. Forcing my self to use the online library of the school made huge defiance. Now, I can find the information that I am looking for faster, which is also trustworthy. Also making presentations made me realize how important is our way of transferring knowledge. Keeping people`s attention on the subject is a hard part of the work, and preparation makes it close to perfection. Writing is so important that if you don’t do it properly, the knowledge you have won’t have any function. I am glad I did many mistakes so that I will make sure that It won`t happen again. I am also really thankful for having Mr.Bubrow as my professor because even though I make things complicated than they should be, he was calm and considerate. He always smiled and made the class really entertaining; which made me enjoy going to the class and always wanting to learn more.

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