Trust Walk Activity

Madam Sarasi told us to Find a Blindfold and find a partner for this exercise.

Purpose:

This mission is designed to help you know how you feel when you trust someone else.

During the activity

We were able to analyze the role of the individual as publisher and receiver in the communication process.

Analysis of the influence of perception on effective interpersonal communication.

Demonstration and evaluation of the use and effect of verbal and non-verbal symbols in interpersonal communication.

Distinguish the various communication factors that improve or limit the effectiveness of communication in relational systems.

Use the appropriate listening styles and evaluate the importance of effectively listening to the contrast factors that contribute to the supportive and advocacy communication environment (eg, honesty, empathy, delivery) and involve support

Communication assesses the role of ethical standards in interpersonal communication and the implications of various relationship challenges

Stairs, where we stopped the curtain with the steps and where we stopped. There were white spots on the street, and if someone put a leg on them, they could fall. That's why they asked us to listen to the teacher. In the first round we had to follow the path and hit a rock. In the second round we had to hit two stones and concrete. In the first round, almost all the students wrote the piece with the correct instructions. But in the second round, some students forgot what to do. Some forgot to hit the stone after finding concrete blocks. 

Procedure was, 

1.This exercise is done in pairs.

Select a friend from the batch to be your partner for this exercise. It should not be someone you know very well.

One person will act as a guide for his/her partner, who is blindfolded and cannot see. 

2.     The guide’s task is to lead the “blind” follower around the environment, and stimulate as many of his/her senses as possible except sight (e.g. pressure, touch, heat, cold, wind, sun, running, walking, etc.). This exercise can be done indoors or outdoors, preferably both.

3.After about 15 minutes, change roles so that the guide is now blindfolded and repeat (not exactly) the exercise.

1. During the time you are being a guide, think about what you are doing or saying to communicate to your “blind” follower that you can be trusted, and when you could tell your partner trusted you.
2. During the time you are the “blind” follower, think about what your guide is doing or saying to develop trust with you (or, what the guide is doing or saying said that is making you feel less trusting of him/her

What we learned here was when we are working with the society, we have to work with many people, sometimes we have to trust people . But, as a person we have to be wise when handling them and trusting them. You may blind in different kind of ways rather than of blindfold. Listen to yourself, go through with your mind and work wisely will never fail yourself while trusting anybody

CV Writing

What is a CV?

A resume/CV is a document that summarizes your work experience, education, skills and achievements for a prospective employer. It is generally required as part of an application and is considered essential information for an employer to determine if a candidate is eligible for an initial interview.

Why is that important?

Your resume is the first opportunity to make a good impression on a potential employer. ... your resume should not be longer than two pages. Make sure that you tailor it to the job you are applying for and include the skills, qualifications, and experiences that are best suited to the job.

Things that Madam Sarasi guided us to include to our CV for create more effective Resume.

Madam Sarasi informed us to create our CV uniquely by applying true details,and what that suits for the job. Don't add any unnecessary details.
Also the format should be very formal and don't mix things up.

Personal Information

The essential personal details to include are your personal picture, full name and contact information .This is usually both your phone number and email address. 

Personal Profile

A statement by ourself that mentioning and summarizing the skills and carrier interests.

Technical Skills and Soft skills

As a software engineering undergraduate, Madam Sarasi told us that it would better if we include what king of programming technologies(Programming languages),technical skills, and other software knowledge  that we are improved.
Also in here, we should include what are the speaking languages that we improved.

Educational Qualifications

List your most recent educational experiences first. Include your qualifications, institutions you studied at, graduation dates and other specializations. Mention any special awards and other educational achievements.

Projects

Brief details about during your academic session, what were the projects that we involved.

Extra curricular activities

Volunteering, Conferences, Extracurricular Activities, Training workshops and conferences- Recent Activities First.

Working Experience 

List your most recent jobs including the title of your position, name and location of organisation, and dates of employment. In point form under each job, give a brief overview of your role, responsibilities and achievements, weaving in the skills required. Internships and volunteer work can also be mentioned here.

References

 It’s always a good idea to include two to three references at the bottom of your resume. A referee can be a former manager or tutor at university – just make sure you ask their permission before listing their name, position, company and contact details. Otherwise, you may wish to write “References available on request

So finally we got  a professional Resume thanks to Madam Sarasi. Always thankful to her to giving us this much of guidance 

SELF REFLECTION

What is self-reflection?

Self-reflection is like looking in a mirror and describing what you see. It's a way to judge youLirself to determine how you work and how you learn. In simple words, "thinking" means thinking about something. Reflecting and composing self-reflective writing is becoming an increasingly important component of any form of learning or learning.

Why is self-reflection important?

Starting by opening your front camera of your mobile phone, to look at it, actually think what you see, rather than of taking photographs for years. 

Ever see your self and think who you are. I don't think you did. Neither do I. 

So the Madam Sarasi told us that the importance of Self-reflection.


What I understood was,

The Importance of Self Reflection. ... Reasons it is beneficial to self-reflect: Self reflection helps to build emotional self-awareness. By taking the time to ask yourself the important questions, you gain a better understanding of your emotions, strengths, weaknesses and driving factors.

But going through all the session I had most weird opinion that I DON'T CARE WHAT THE SOCIETY THINKS. I Didn't changed my mind because actually I don't. But I don't live like a stupid. 

Whether at home or at work - reflection is an important part of learning. You would not want to use a recipe a second time if the court did not work the first time, right? You can customize the recipe or find a new one and hopefully better. If we learn, we could be in a routine that may not work properly. When you think about your own abilities, you can see the changes you may need to make.

Questions to think about:

Strengths - What are my strengths? For example, am I well organized? Can I remember things?

Weaknesses - What are my weaknesses? For example, am I slightly distracted? Do I need more practice with a certain ability?

Skills - What skills do I have and what am I good at?

Problems - What problems at work / at home can affect me? For example, responsibilities or distractions that can affect education or work.

Achievements - What did I achieve?

Happiness - Are there things I do not like or are disappointed with? What makes me happy?

Solutions - What can I do to improve these areas?

Self-reflection may seem difficult at first sight, selfish or embarrassing, but not natural. You'll find that the exercise makes it easier and the end result could be happier and more effective.

Expert? Find yourself

...Alone we can do little; Together we can do more...

On this day, Madam Sarasi divided our class in to four groups for a new activity. So each group was instructed to find 3 specific areas that you are experts yourself. By combining that expertized areas, each group must come up with innovative product idea. 

From the each six members of the each group had an expertized area. So the next challenge was to identify the specific areas to combine to find a proper product idea. So our team came-up with a idea  
for the product as Cricket video game by combining Playing cricket, Painting and Gaming.

Also othe teams came up with 

• Eye glass cover (Handmade things, Riding bikes, Reading)
• Taekwondo video game(Taekwondo, Painting and Gaming)
• Chess video game(Gaming, Playing chess and painting)

These ideas were bit difficult though. Mrs. Sarasi reported an amazing idea presented by seniors. They supplies curry chicken with a motorcycle for book readers. It's a combination of simple expert areas. Unbelievable no ....

She told us that we are experts in how we combine various incredible areas to build a product and how to release a suitable product that is useful in different areas.

This activity helped us to think beyond the box and make new ideas when you com up with team.

And we understood that the way to success for new innovative idea is to concerning everyone's ideas.

Everyone is matter.

Technical Writing - Workshop at WSO2

Technical writing is any written form of writing or writing technical communications used in technical and professional fields, such as computer hardware and software, engineering, chemistry, aerospace, robotics, finance, medicine, consumer electronics, biotechnology, and forestry.

We had a great experience at WSO2 on September 12th. 2nd year Software Engineering students got this opportunity with the arrangement of Madam Sarasi. In the first session we were guided for the technical writing and what is the way of using it and how to use it.To improve the quality of writing, We must consider above most accurate, correct spelling, correct grammar and punctuation and simple language. 

Then the conducting crew arranged a game sessions to drive-out the boringness that we never get during the session, but that improve our interesting to the session. Winners were awarded with some great gifts.

Technical writing is a way of writing that deals with certain specific knowledge and especially in the sector of Information technology. This kind of writing is different from the usual creative writing since it follows very different guidelines and principles. The rules of technical writing are rarely ignored as compared to other types of writing which sometimes fall short of implementing various stipulated guidelines. Technical writing is widely used in media, manuals, dissertations, scientific articles and research and other areas. All these areas have specific rules to observe when writing. It is, therefore, not enough for a writer simply to know the subject but rather should be equipped with the relevant knowledge applied in that specific field. So thankfully to WSO2 and Madam Sarasi, we had the opportunity to get know about technical writing from the experts of one of leading IT company in Srilanka, WSO2

Facing For an Interview

Today we had the opportunity to play the interview script. Our colleagues was divided into 3 teams. Three members of each team were interviewed by other members of the team  who played the roles of the interview candidates.


We were asked to follow what we learned during the PPD interviews. 

We were guided to improve confidence, smiled and answered the request of our friends. At the time we were really thinking about the positions of our strengths, about our weaknesses. 

This is how we recognize what we want to improve and what we want to show our strengths in an interview. On some occasions we forgot to keep eye contact. Sometimes I forgot to change the chair when we got up. I forgot to say thank you.

Most of us made simple mistakes in our interviews. Maybe it's because we have very little experience. In some cases it was the first time in an interview.
Experience gives us a lot to learn and achieve. It is therefore very important to practice the interview procedure with a friend until you are sure.

!!! Cut the Cake !!!

Miss Sarasi grouped our friends and gave a small piece of cake.

Then she asked the above task. 

This was given for only a minute. 

All groups presented themselves in different ways. 

But only one group won the task. 

We have to make a quick decision if we want to win
We have to have an appropriate strategy and logical thinking

Creative ideas must have.

Paper Plane Challenge

We started our first PPD activity in the second semester of the year in a very exciting way because we knew something alway some interesting was happening.

Our PPD Lecturer Madam Sarasi, divided us into 2 groups and each team had 6 Papers and One team had Color Blue and the other team got Yellow.  First, we had three minutes to discuss the task and develop ideas to make it more effective. Then the lecturer marked a distance of 10 feet on the ground. We had to fly our rocket over a distance of 10 feet.

Our team turns blue, while the other group turns yellow. We were asked to make as many paper rockets as possible in 20 minutes.and fly over a borderline.

 This seems to be a very simple task.

 Even we had 8 members in the team. But it was not easy, as we all thought. 

She gave us 10 minutes to think and discuss about any strategy or something that will help us fly all the planes. Then our group built 36 aircraft and the other group 29. Miss Sarasi scored two limits of about 4 feet. Two members of each group came and had to make a maximum number of aircraft to fly over the boundary line. 

Finally, 19 yellow group aircraft and 24 aircraft of our group (blue team) landed safely over the border.

Madam gave us the chance to test before the start of the game. 

This shows that we need to go for a recheck and trial everything to get the best results and catch and handle the problems

This activity was a team effort. But finally able to show the talent individually. This means you have to work in the industry as a team and have to prove your abilities individually. And Time management. Also Team Corporation is highly wanted skill.

Story Writing

Writing isn’t easy, and writing a good story is even harder..

In the last PPD Session , we were guide into a great awesomeness of writing stories  and more importantly, how to write a story that’s good.

We were first divided into 3 groups and sat opposite the class. We are not allowed to see the white board. Each group member must have been on the board and write a word.

Looks like there is no problem. But the word has to agree with another word and make a meaningful story

Its hard to find two people who have the same exact idea of something. Different people have different ideas. 

So, as Software Engineers, we must need to perform as a team in the industry. So Working in a team is a kind of challenge that needs to be done. Because of the same team members may become a conflict  . 

• So we have to respect each other.
•  But sometimes we have to continue our work where others can stop. 
• We could get into an unexpected situation.
•  Here we did not know which other person could write the word on the blackboard. 
• We have to think and write the right word. It is a small challenge in a short time..
• In the industrial world, we do not always have to get new projects done. Sometimes we get half done. We have no chance to know what another person did or how they did it. But we have to finish it.

Good old days

One year at the university,

when I came to the university, everything were new. New friends, new people, new environment , even the climate.

As a software Engineering student

we sat in front of the computer all whole day... We had to...

except sitting in front of computers, 

everything was a challenge

everything in English, but cannot introduce ourselves properly

Personal Progress Development sessions helped me to get over it.

The purpose of PPD activities were generally to promote awareness of our spirit and to strengthen commitment to shared goals and objectives of the team. Properly applied.

There were many group activities, games That helped me to increase my qualities for some level

• Leadership Skills • Giving Feedback • Motivation Skills • Creativity & Innovation • Problem Solving • Working in Teams • Team Leadership• Strategic Thinking ​• Negotiation Skills • Interpersonal Skills

• Communication Skills ​• Time Management • Confidence Building • Decision Making • Personal Impact • Goal Setting • Stress Management • Listening Skills ​• Team Bonding • Trust Building

We had lot of fun, We enjoyed together a lot, we spent out time together, We developed our progress for some level within this year.

PPD Sessions were helped us to enhance our performance through experiential learning. Such programs like OUTBOUND TRAINING PROGRAM IN TRINCO are often also referred to as corporate adventure training and outdoor management development.

PPD sessions provides real experience to us  so its impact on behavioral traits is high. It enhances self confidence, social ability,  team work and leadership. That will help in the productivity in the future, to create a proper employee to the industry

OUTBOUND TRAINING

This  Outbound Training program arranged by Mrs Sarasi with the help of Naval Camp of Trincomalee. This was  technique used to enhance the efficiency of students through Experiential Learning in outdoor. In other words, taking the group of students away from the actual work environment into the outdoors and are assigned some challenging task or activities.

So on the 2nd weekend of this December(2017),We arrived to Trincomalee Eastern Command Naval Base for the program with level one and level 02 Software Engineering Students.

After the arrival We were asked to change our cloths and then Navy officers have been offered us well arranged Lunch.
After the lunch,  we went to a beach side to complete some activities
before start the activities, we were divided into 4 teams Alpha, Bravo,Charlie,Delta

• Go through a high tension square
• Passing glass balls through pipe
• Filling  water to pipe with holes
• Passing a volleyball using a Coat in a volleyball court
• Tug of war

Each activity should guide by a team leader, five leaders for five activities. we improved our

• Team Skills
• Planning and Strategy
• Leadership skills
• Communication Skills
• Team Bounding
• Goal Setting
• Interpersonal Skills 

and Many more

After the activities,  we went to our accommodations and we prepared for the variety show and the dinner. All four groups had to perform as they can. The place of the variety show held was well arranged and also there was a Campfire . After the variety show, we had our dinner and went to the accommodations.

On the Second day after having our breakfast at General mess we went to the combat training area. The activity was at compass march to the Elephant point. It was like 2 km run through the jungle. Navy officers taught us to use compass with maps, how to take bearings. Also they taught us how to survuve from the barriers in the jungle and how we should deal with unexpected moments in jungle. Also the told us their experience when the were at the war.

So after the leadership programs, we went to the Naval Museum.

We saw lot of Pistols, Rifles, Machine Guns,Artillery Guns,Ship Engines and components,ships, Boats since World war 2. Historical importance and everything were well explained by a Navy Officer.

After visiting the museum, we went to the lunch.
Finally we took  time to appreciate their dedication to train us, their arrangements etc. After Madam Sarasi's speech, we took a photo with the Navy Officers who took a part to finish this successfully. We had a wonderfull time with them. Learned a lot.