A reflection on my blogging experience
Learning that blogging was part of the assessment for the TCP8090 module was exciting for me. Being an avid author, I have a personal blog where I have written about different themes such as Architecture in a Covid-19 world, Adapting shopping malls to the Ugandan Context, and Mitigating Climate Change using Architecture. These topics were inspired by my individual experience in moving around the city’s capital which is Kampala.
Having writing skills that are quite good simplified the choice of topics for the TCP8090 blog. My passion for people-led design as well as sustainable infrastructure for city designs and its link to the trending topic of climate change in urban design and architecture in the world today was always a big factor in the selection of my topics.
I decided to use an informative writing style for both posts. Rather than being critical, I found it really useful to explore different issues concerning urban design and to share the lessons I gathered on how cities have responded successfully to these, with others. This has raised my self-awareness and will thus be useful as I embark on my design projects. In addition, having someone who is unfamiliar with the course subject but an experienced writer review my articles motivated me to simplify my ideas and properly evidence them. My posts are thus easy to read by a lay reader but also this has improved my writing skills and confidence to interact with the wider community.
Nonetheless, I faced some challenges while writing for the TCP8090 blog. Firstly, the post schedule tested my planning skills. I found it difficult to manage my time and sometimes started on topics and realised I needed to change them. This, however, made me think critically and decide what themes were of more interest to me and how easily I could gather adequate information on them to write an article and post it in time. Therefore, time management is something I would like to improve on. Secondly, I found it somewhat difficult to comment on my peers’ posts. It took me a long time to decide which topic I wanted to share thoughts on and how to go about it. I was unsure about how to avoid being too critical or write constructive feedback. However, meetings with both my tutors and peers were helpful in giving feedback. Effective communication enabled me to plan and write my posts creatively. Also, I have found reading my colleagues’ posts incredibly enjoyable and insightful.
Overall blogging has been a thought-provoking and enjoyable process. I have become a much more open-minded person and more willing to understand others. I have also developed greater comfort in my abilities and am more inquisitive and eager to explore new topics. Going forward, I am keen on continuing to write and develop my research skills as well. I am looking at pursuing a career in writing as I believe this will considerably improve not just my writing skills but also my design thinking. Being an MArch (Master of Architecture) student, I found the topics I wrote about intuitive and these are always at the back of my mind as I think about my design project.
