Looking back on this class, I am so glad I took it. I was a little skeptical at first, given I try to pick most of my classes based on reviews I’ve heard and ratemyprofessor ratings. Since it was a new class and a new professor, I was worried I would be locked into something horrible. However, this has easily been one of the best classes I’ve taken in college. I truly believe that the content we learned in this class will be far more useful than the mandatory classes such as MIST4620S and MIST4630, which are the final MIS classes to take in order to graduate. Being able to learn about current events in technology was so fascinating, and I didn’t realize just how much we were learning until I talked to some non-mis students about some things we discuss in class. I also really appreciated learning about upcoming technology and discussing how much change this could bring to the world in the near future. I also want to note I’m glad to have met so many cool and smart people in this class that share a similar drive in learning about digital innovation and entrepreneurship. I hope to be able to stay connected with the class through platforms such as Instagram or LinkedIn!
The guest speakers were also such a great experience. Most classes or events I’ve been to in college that bring in guest speakers have been pretty bad. Usually, these speakers don’t care to be there, or they simply aren’t as qualified as I might’ve hoped for. However, this class completely changed that. Pretty much every guest speaker that talked to us presented multiple points of valuable information. My personal favorite speakers were Dennis Crowley and BJ Shakanowski. Both of these guys had so much positive energy and valuable information about business, entrepreneurship, leadership, and more. They discussed how important it was to be passionate about your goals, and tips and methodologies to better your chances at success.
I also want to talk about my appreciation towards Dr. Kane specifically. Throughout college, I’ve had my fair share of horrible professors. There are some that read of slides, don’t care to answer questions, don’t put in effort to actually teach students and help them learn, take forever to answer emails, etc. When it comes to Dr. Kane, it felt like he truly wanted us to learn and to explore this area of content. I can tell he has a genuine passion for this stuff, instead of just clocking into work in the morning. Without a doubt, the class wouldn’t be the same without a professor like Dr. Kane that allows for such an open and constructive lecture and atmosphere. To be honest, I think I might’ve appreciate Dr. Kane’s lectures more than the guest speakers. I think having a good balance is key here, and I would’ve liked to have more lecture days instead of speaker days. I felt like I learned more during these lectures, while the guest speakers added a different kind of value.
For the blog posts, these were an interesting way to share something interesting with the class. It was also cool to see what everyone else was interested in, and I got to learn so much from students rather than just Dr. Kane or the guest speakers. I had the most fun writing my quantum computing blog post, as I am passionate about that idea and believe it will completely transform our world when we get more on top of it. Some of my favorite blog posts from the class included Joseph’s recent post about the Ai Revolution, Chase’s post about Tech vs. Crime, and Nazneen’s Ai in the Automative Industry. I feel like technological innovations are cool to read, no matter who you are. But there’s another level of interesting when it is your class mates informing you about it rather than a higher-up like a professor.
I saw Connor’s final blog post already, and he mentioned how he would like to see some of Dr. Kane’s favorite blog posts throughout the years. I totally agree with this, as I would love to read some of his personal favorites.
A few things I am specifically appreciative to have learned would be about the blockchain, Ai, tech trends as a whole, and entrepreneurial guidance. The blockchain was something I planned on learning more about soon, but it was such a difficult topic that I worried if I could actually pick it up. While it is still very confusing, I am glad that Dr. Kane discussed it with us and gave us a very solid start on learning the basis. When it comes to learning more about Ai, this class did such a good job. Like I mentioned above, so many people outside of the MIS major don’t seem to know much about Ai and its current and future impacts. I knew it would change many aspects of our lives, but through our discussions, blog posts, etc., I’ve learned how it will change sports, crime, entertainment, the workforce, education, politics, and so much more. I also am glad to have learned about tech trends, and how they affect our society. There are some things that peak and plateau, and some things just don’t live up to the hype. Finally, I greatly appreciated having all the guest speakers we had. I would love to run my own company(s) after graduating college, and I plan on having my MIS degree as a backup plan as of now. Because of this, I will make sure to hold on to my notes from these speakers, and I will try my best to take their advice and put it to action.
Finally, I want to thank everyone in the class for such a great semester. As a senior graduating this May, I have been pretty checked out of classes and been busy working on other things. However, it seems like pretty much everyone in this class was truly invested in what we had to learn, and it made the experience for me so much better because of it. Unfortunately, I had things going on for both of our class socials, and I really wanted to make the most recent one.
I wish everyone the best with school and their plans outside of school!
I also want to emphasize the amazing connections and relationships that we built with peers in this class. As much as we learned from guest speakers and twitter, we learned most from each other. From asking meaningful and insightful questions to sharing cool ideas in blogs, I gained a deeper knowledge about emerging technology and entrepreneurship because of my classmates. I agree with you that I learned more in this class than other mandatory MIST courses. I am so glad I took this class.
I love the point that you made about keeping a good balance between lecture and speaker days. I would definitely say that our class discussions were engaging and entertaining and I wish that we had more of that. Aside from that, I agree with the majority of your points. This class has proved more useful than the other required mis classes because of how future oriented it is.mI hope to stay connected with everyone too and I wish you the best Alex.
Hey Alex! I loved reading your blog post! I honestly do agree with the point that made regarding guest speakers. I’ve had guest speakers come in my other classes in the past, and it seemed as they were forced to be there as they were not motivated at all to talk to the class.
Thanks for the kind words. Several students listed Dennis and BJ as their favorites. I may need to forward these to them, so they’ll come back to the course. I was constrained a bit by my travel schedule this semester, but I do hope to be personally engaged more with the class when I’m in Athens full time.
The sad thing is that I don’t really have access to the old blog, because I needed to leave it for my successor at BC. I do have a version for a slightly different class that I taught that I can still access. One of the most memorable was a wrapup blog post that summarized the class using mainly Daft Punk lyrics. Pretty epic. https://embauga.wordpress.com/2021/05/03/digital-permutation-epilogue/
As a senior also graduating in a few weeks, Alex, I can relate to your feelings. I noticed myself being more checked out in most of my classes, except for this one. I knew the value I could derive from this class, and I was too much to pass up. This class deserved my attention. It was worth staying in class for 3 hours on a Thursday to listen to what the speakers had to say about their own experiences. I can’t thank Dr. Kane enough for bringing this class to the university. I hope everyone has the pleasure of taking this class.
^ I agree! It’s bittersweet nearing the end of college, but it gives me excitement to look forward to the possibilities after college with all of the incredible guest speakers we’ve had this semester. A big takeaway I had from our guest speakers was that their path played out exactly how it was supposed to, even if they didn’t realize it in the moment. It’s important to keep this in mind and be present in our careers because that is the stepping stone to whatever is next.