TWC 301: A Look into Multimedia Writing by Rochelle D.

D#15.0, HW#2: Written Evaluation Report Reflection

radtwc301 — Sun, 09 May 2010 07:12:49 +0000

To complete Project #4, I took a lot of steps in planning the actual document. First of all, I had to work in a team. I know in the “real world” we have to work in teams all the time. However, as much as I liked my group, I hate working in teams. I absolutely loathe working in teams when it comes to academics. This semester, besides the group I worked with for this class, I have had one bad group after another. it was just not my semester, I guess. As a step, I took the time to contact all of the members in the group. I’ve been super busy the last month with family issues, school, and work, so I actually have to set aside time to check and write emails. It’s crazy! Other steps taken were evaluating the resources and outlining the report. Of course, as I have been saying all semester, I would start earlier if I could. I guess there is no way to change that anymore as this is the last project. For my next school project, I’ll try to organize my time better so that, despite my busy schedule, I’ll still have time to complete the assignment to the best of my ability.

With this project I am most proud about the overall evaluations. I thought the online suites were pretty interesting. I may consider using them because the problem addressed in the final report is a problem that I have been facing quite a lot because I am constantly designing using both PCs and Macs. I guess I am most concerned with the length and comprehensiveness of the paper. I’m not sure if everything that was covered was addressed well enough. With more time, I would have more people read and evaluate the paper.

I learned a lot about organization of ideas and flow. I think that the organization of the paper was quite good, and the flow of report in terms of sentence length and variety was also quite good. I really tried to improve in those two areas because usually my writing has way too many ideas being thrown into it. For the next project that I have for a class, I will definitely work on my vocabulary and sentence variety. Although I think that what I wrote for the final report was good in terms of sentence variety and structure, I also believe I could improve greatly. My vocab needs to expand, as well.

The major course outcome that was met in this assignment has to be “understand the collaborative and social aspects of research and writing processes.” There were other outcomes that we worked towards as well, including organizational style, flexibility, and processes (drafting and researching). The final report in itself is evidence of addressing all of these outcomes. Without addressing them, there would be no report! Lastly, my next project, I will most likely be working together in a team because all my classes next semester happen to be small. Therefore, I will have to continue working towards these course outcomes until I somehow achieve them. It may be awhile though.

Overall, I thought that this was a lot of fun! I’m glad that I have a blog to document all of the work and reflections I’ve completed. It’s been an interesting course.

D#14.0, HW#2: HTW Sections Related to TC Chapter 23

radtwc301 — Sun, 02 May 2010 06:11:27 +0000

In your blog post the section names and page numbers of what sections in The Handbook of Technical Writing might help the information presented in Chapter 23.

Visuals, HTW pg. 552-557
Drawings, HTW pg. 154-158
Flowcharts, HTW pg. 192-194
Global graphics, HTW pg. 230-232
Graphs, HTW pg. 235-240
Maps, HTW 319
Organizational charts, HTW pg. 362
Photographs, HTW pg. 377-379
Tables, HTW pg. 519-521
Listening, HTW pg. 307-309
Meetings, HTW pg. 323-327
Presentations, HTW pg. 391-400

D#13.0, HW#3: Blog Changes Reflection

radtwc301 — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 06:59:23 +0000

I think that my blog is much “better” in terms of it’s rhetorical purpose and audience because it is definitely more focused. Before, my blog looked like any other blog out there on the internet. Now, I think it has been geared to serving as an online homework portfolio of sorts. Even the layout is more straightforward, I think. All the changes that I made were focused on making my site easier to use for myself and any members of my primary audience. For instance, on the side navigation is the widget for categories. This makes finding entries dealing with specific topics much easier. Another widget that helps in finding entries quickly is, of course, the search bar. Another really useful widget that I employed was the links widget. All of the links on the side panel are for the resources that we have used in class, but I thought having them listed might be useful as “quick links.” I even changed the name of the blog! My “TWC301 Course Blog” was fine, but it really didn’t mention what the course was about. Overall, I think I successfully made my blog “better” in terms of it’s rhetorical purpose and audience.

D#12.0, HW#2: Evaluation Project Proposal Reflection

radtwc301 — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 06:51:11 +0000

To complete the project, I first read the prompt and identified what it was exactly that needed to be addressed in the proposal. I then emailed my group members to discuss collaboration. I outlined a draft of the proposal and then began working on it with some input from the team.

If I were to complete the project again I would, as usual, try to start it earlier. By starting earlier, we would have more time to work as a group and more time to work on revisions.

For the next project, I think I will definitely try to work more with my group and be more timely with my emails. I will also take the time to create an outline of my work.

In this project, I am most proud of the overall organization. In my opinion, I have been struggling with organization throughout the entire semester. I think I helped to organize the paper and use transitions effectively in this assignment. I am still very concerned about my tone, but I am also concerned with the vocabulary and the overall argument. I don’t really know if it’s a strong enough “problem.” To address this concern, I sought help to revise my writing from my team. I also worked on revising the document myself. With more time, I would continue to revise the document with my group in the hopes of achieving a really well-written document.

I tried to improve on my transitions and relating the paragraphs to each other. I hoped to write sentences that flowed and offered some variety. I think I improved on my transitions. In past assignments, I feel like I had no transitions whatsoever. Also, I don’t think I ever really “linked” my paragraphs. With this proposal, I did both. With the next project, I hope to continue working on my transitions, but also my vocab, voice, tone, and overall organization.

We addressed several course outcomes by completing this assignment. We worked to define the purpose of the document (proposal) for an intended audience (CIO). Although my tone and voice are not the best, I still worked on both. We were also given the chance to write in multiple genres considering it was a memo, but also a proposal. Technology played a major role in this assignment, once again. We employed the use of email to work together as a group. All of the goals/course outcomes for “processes” were touched on when doing this assignment, especially the first one that reads “it usually takes multiple drafts to create and complete a successful text.” Lastly, we also addressed conventions. The formats for a memo, a proposal, and the team charter were all rolled into one. There were aspects of each present and all of them had to be included in our final proposal.

For the next project, I think we will continue to work on the same outcomes that the first part of this project addressed. Especially the course outcomes regarding critical thinking, reading, and writing, such as “integrat[ing] previously held beliefs, assumptions, and knowledge with new information and the ideas of others to accomplish a specific purpose within a context.”

D#10.0, HW#4 – Project #3 Reflection

radtwc301 — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 06:50:47 +0000

To complete Project #3 I took a lot of steps in planning my actual document. I tried to lay it out in a way that would make sense and flow naturally. I also tried to include as much detail as possible so that the report would be thorough and make sense to someone who may not have known what was happening at Geek Tech University in regards to the usability test. I brainstormed and worked off of an outline to complete my assignment. If I could change one of thing about the process it would be to get started earlier! Lately, I have had a ton of work – both academic and personal – so I have been leaving everything until the last minute. I know that this is not very wise to do, nor will it help me reach my goals academically, so I feel that I should try to rearrange my schedule. Other than that, I would try to come up with a better outlining process. I pretty much went off of the given outline, but I think it may have been a better project had a been more creative with my outline.

For the next project I will:

1. Plan ahead
2. Schedule specific times to do certain tasks for my project
3. Schedule specific times to revise my work
4. Complete my project and turn it in on time

In Project 3, I am fairly proud of my usability test plan. I think that I covered all the required areas as well as being quite detailed with information such as the location, user profiles, and issues/goals. I think that, as I stated before, someone that had no idea what the assignment was about were to read my report, they could easily understand both the purpose of my test and all the components of the test itself. I am most concerned about the language of my project. I don’t know if I necessarily write in a very “scholarly” or university-level way. I never know if what I am saying sounds appropriate. When it came to writing something like a usability report, I was a little uneasy about my voice. I did try to sound more like a IT department worker, though. If I had more time, I would of course work to improve not only my voice, but also my layout. I worked to improve my voice and pacing in this project, so hopefully that came across. I think that it did. I’ll try to improve even more for the next project.

I worked towards several outcomes for this assignment. First, I tried to work on both my organizational style and my flexibility. There were times when I had to balance both my work for this class with other school work, employment, and some family issues. I had to definitely try to organize my time and be as flexible as possible because of the fact that it takes several drafts to come up with a worthwhile and good version. I tried to be as efficient as possible in tackling different tasks to achieve a report that made sense. Actually getting people to test my documents took some time and effort. Unfortunately, I wasn’t as organized as I should have and wanted to be. In addition, I attempted to work on how I addressed the audience and identifying the purpose of the project. Lastly, another thing I am still working on is my voice. As I stated earlier, I don’t really believe my tone/voice fits in an academic setting. I prefer a more relaxed voice. The type of writing I prefer doesn’t really fit in anywhere, I suppose, aside from reflective writing such as this. All of these traits are aspects of my organization and writing that I will work on for the next project, too.

D#10.0, HW#3 – Project #1 Revisions

radtwc301 — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 06:48:58 +0000

Here is my Project #1 Revisions:

D#10.0, HW#2 – Team Communication: HTW Sections

radtwc301 — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 06:47:23 +0000

When working with a group the following sections could help with communication:

Listening HTW pg. 307

Although many people use them interchangeably, listening and hearing are not the same thing. Listening requires more effort and attention. We focus on a speaker when we listen. We have to interpret and consider the message that is being presented. There are several steps to help become an active listener and they are:

1. Make a conscious decision
2. Define your purpose
3. Take specific actions
4. Adapt to the situation

Meetings HTW pg. 323

When you plan a meeting you need to not only determine the purpose of the meeting itself, but also details such as members, location, and time. At the actual meeting, it is helpful to have an agenda. The agenda will help the group stay on track and give them an idea of what the meeting will be about and how long it will last. During the actual meeting many situations may arise, including conflicts. The HTW gives several tactics for dealing with the following types of group members: interruptive people, negative people, rambling people, overly quiet people, and territorial people. All of these correlate quiet well to the styles mentioned in Team Writing chapter 7. The end of this section gives the reader a short checklist of how to plan and conduct a meeting. I think that this is extremely useful for anyone that has to work in a group.

Global Communication HTW pg. 228

In groups, especially at the university, people may come across others with very different backgrounds. This is a time when group members learn how to communicate with someone that may have a very different outlook to working with others and handling conflicts. How people organize, their courtesy levels, and the general ideas of what it means to be effective and efficient are different in each culture. By considering context, we can help the flow of communication.

Conflict HTW pg. 74

The book offers a simple answer to disharmony. I suggests that we as group members “temper it with mutual respect.” By having some differences in opinions can actually strengthen both a group and the product that the group is creating. Having some conflicts can help bring about new views and perspectives that weren’t previously thought of.

D#10.0, HW#1 – Team Writing Chapter 7 Exercise 1 Pg. 101

radtwc301 — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 06:45:17 +0000

In Team Writing chapter 7 I gravitated toward the considerate communication style. For me this style correlates quite well with how I actually work. I am also trying to check in with others and brainstorm with no judgment. I think this is the best way to gain new insights and ideas. However, I think that sometimes I should adopt a more competitive style when dealing with others. When it comes to the competitive and considerate speaking styles, I prefer the considerate style. The considerate style offers a lot of balance in the conversation. I am a shy and quiet person but when I work with a group, I will obviously talk more. Others that are timid may not change and that is why I would work better with someone that also adopts a considerate style. Asking for everyone’s thoughts on a matter is very accommodating to quiet people since they otherwise may not get their thoughts across. Also, when this happens, the group may become slightly dysfunctional. In groups, there doesn’t need to be consensus, therefore, I feel that with the considerate style both the approach to talking about ideas and brainstorming a very effective. Overall, I’d have to say that I am a more holistic problem solver. I tend to take my time and try to plan out and understand a problem before fully tackling it. I always like to brainstorm and set up a game plan before I actually begin to work on it. That being said, I feel as though sometimes I am an action-oriented problem solver. I think it changes in each situation. There was one case when I had to work with a competitive communicator. This person would constantly interrupt during group discussions. Everyone in the group besides this one gentlemen happened to possess a considerate communication style. As he was always trying to win over people or create sub-groups within the group, we all got quite annoyed with him and ended up not finishing a lot of our work. I was not okay with this at all. In the end, I guess the most important thing is to realize what style you associate with, the style your group member(s) associate with, and finally how to work around any differences.

D#9.0, HW#3: Project 3 Final

radtwc301 — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 06:43:05 +0000

Here is my Project 3 Final draft: TWCPROJECT3FINAL

D#8.0, HW#4 & HW#5: Peer Reviews & Reflection

radtwc301 — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 03:49:31 +0000

After reviewing some of my peers’ rough drafts of Project 3, I have to say I was a bit intimidated. Everyone had very detailed rough drafts. They seemed almost like the final versions to me! I think that what I took away most from reviewing other rough drafts was what to do for my final draft and what to avoid. I know there were a lot bulleted lists going around, but the examples from the book were mostly based around paragraphs. I think this is more like what is expected. However, I think that overall, the lists got their points across. In the long run, it was helpful to both parties to review other drafts.