Entry #4 Classroom Experience

Dates: 6/24/11 - 6/27/11
Activities: Attend DCD Meeting, Lit Review, Roundabout Inventory
Technical Information: Adobe, Microsoft Word
Reflection: These past few days I've continued to work on the HDS literature review. It's been surprising how long thorough research and organization actually takes. Keeping a clear documentation of sources and publishing dates is tedious and lengthy work. I've been using a lot of Adobe software to manage of all the source files for my research, and I ask questions frequently on the proper way to reference these sources.

I also recently attended another meeting with NCDOT (North Carolina Department of Transportation) where I was responsible for taking notes. NCDOT met with ESP & Associates, a surveying company, to explore how ESP could benefit NCDOT with their technologically advanced surveying methods. ESP currently uses a mobile LiDAR system, which involves a 3D laser scanning unit being mounted on top of a truck. This allows the scanning unit to quickly scan roads within the flow of traffic. ESP showed NCDOT some demos and actual 3D scans of a rockface. It was pretty neat to actually experience this cutting edge technology in person rather than just reading about it.

Prior to this internship, I wish I had learned more about email etiquette. Because I'm constantly in contact with my supervisors and members of other large organizations, it would have been beneficial to know what is the acceptable and expedient way to communicate over email. Also, more in-dept knowledge of the new version of Word would have been helpful. It's been aggravating learning certain linking and footnote settings while I work. If I had learned this before, it would have saved a lot of time. However, it's always fun to learn new things!