*This is a special blog post related to self-motivation and trust for school*

I’m in the process of completing a unit of my technology course for MARA, and there are two things that I can’t seem to stop thinking about: self-motivation and trust. These two subjects, which were both discussed in the unit, are what I have decided to write about. They show how different online learning is compared to traditional learning and how the MARA degree will help me in the workplace.

I think that the most important part of online learning is self –motivation because it can be so unnecessary in traditional classrooms. The “Tips for Success” mentioned that this type of motivation is essential. Before starting this program, I completed a Master’s Degree in Applied History. In that program, I felt as if my biggest responsibility was showing up to class. Professors constantly reminded us what work needed to be done and what the deadlines were in class. A significant part of the final grade of each course was showing up and participating. Sure, there were readings and papers to be done, but in general we were given a set period of time to get everything done, as outlined by the professor. Because there is less (and sometimes no) scheduled time for classes in an online environment, I have to make sure that I participate on a daily basis. Ironically, I had a very high score on the online learning readiness assessment. I believe that this is because I know that I am going to have to be self-motivated in order to succeed in this program and am forcing myself to be self-motivated.

In my other Master’s program, there was almost no teamwork necessary. It is clear that in the MARA program, I will have to be a member of successful teams. I have been a member of many teams in various working environments, and one thing that struck me as extremely important in Dr Haycock’s lecture was the 5 dysfunctions of teams. The first dysfunction, the absence of trust, has recently been an important issue of mine in the workplace. I naturally trust almost everyone I meet (I know, that is bad.) Usually, only negative actions will break my trust. However, I have recently been a member of a team that was not trusted. Another team member had obvious issues with trust and could generally be described as a control freak. Even though everyone on the team had either equal or more experience than her, she would not trust anyone to do any important tasks and treated everyone else as her underlings. She would insist on doing everything herself, and if she was not doing a particular task, she would go out of her way to oversee it. This created issues because she wasted time since not every task needed her assistance. It also hurt my confidence as a team member because it made me feel as though she had reasons to not trust me when I had done nothing to destroy her trust. I eventually had to have several meetings to find a solution to the problem. I specifically remember discussing the lack of trust with my supervisor. I feel that the products of our team would have been much different if trust had been established in the beginning.