Weblog and Reflection on English 2311- Technical Communications

Hi guys! If you are viewing this web log you either : are enrolled in English 2311, are considering taking English 2311 OR you did a Google Search for something that is on this webpage and stumbled upon it.

Whichever way you have landed here this weblog is a reflection on projects I completed for English 2311 Technical Communications. Overall, I really enjoyed the class and learned a lot! I hope that this website will help you either complete projects for the class or better understand what the class is like.

This post will always be the first post on this weblog. The rest of the posts are organized by the date the large assignments from the class were due.

The weblog as a whole was really easy to make. I have some experience with weblogs, BUT even if you don’t, the weblog is a breeze if you follow these helpful tips:

1. START EARLY: The weblog could be two things. It could be a really easy project you finish early OR it could be a nightmare that you are struggling to complete. This project is a large chunk of your grade and getting outside help would be a great idea. Kinda hard to do that though when you are finishing it the night before ; ) My advice- do the posts as you get the assignments back. I have been working that way and I was able to enjoy finals week- blog free.

2. GET ORGANIZED: Decide right off the bat how you are going to organize your weblog. This means determining your AUDIENCE. Who is the weblog for? I found directing the weblog to students very easy. I was able to worry less about tone and I found that I had plenty to talk about. How are your posts going to be organized? I organized mine by the date the assignment was due.

3. HAVE FUN: Assignments, especially large ones like this, are much easier when you have fun completing them. I enjoyed making my header for the site. I have included a page so that you will be able to make your weblog all your own as well.

As I said I had a wonderful time in this class. I enjoyed writing outside of a literary context and found the class to be practically useful. If there was one element that I had trouble with it would be the quizzes. Dr. Fricke likes to walk around with a sign that says: “This will be on the next quiz” when he is talking about an issue that will be covered in the next quiz. The only problem is that I found he often uses that sign when I am taking notes. Don’t worry to much though, Dr. Fricke always posts a summary of what will be on a quiz right before it.

The rest of the weblog will hopefully inspire you with my helpful tips and hints. If you haven’t registered for the class and are contemplating it I would definitely recommend English 2311 if writing doesn’t scare you, or even if it does, you have decided you want to vastly improve your writing.

 

GO TEXAS TECH

Proposal Presentation w/ Progress Memos

The Proposal Presentation was a great experience. After writing such a long document on our own for weeks it was nice to see what everyone had been working on as well as presenting our own work.

My group decided to do a PowerPoint presentation for two reasons. One, it was the only way we felt comfortable with presenting the information. Two, the room that the class is taught in, and that we would be presenting in, is pretty much set up for only PowerPoint. PowerPoint would also be playing our strengths because I just so happen to be a big fan of PowerPoint.

For me, tips on PowerPoint could be a completely different weblog! So, I thought it might be more useful instead to go over some of the comments my group received. That way you’ll see what others might say about your presentation. And even better, how I think my group could have changed our presentation so as not to get those comments.

#1 Add a little more information.

Depending on what your class is going to be doing, try and stick a long the same lines. My group presented far less statistical information. We hoped that by talking about something else the classroom would stay interested. Instead, this backfired. Everyone was expecting loads of information and when we didn’t give it- they noticed.

#2 Complete sentences in a PowerPoint.

Looking back on making the PowerPoint I hoped that putting a whole statistical quote would show them the little information we wanted to focus on. If a statistic is spoken that’s far different, in my perception, then it being heard. Unfortunately, this was perceived by my classmates as reading off the PowerPoint. So you might want to avoid it : )

#3 Speak slower

I think the reason that my group seemed to speak so fast was because out presentation was much shorter than the other groups. My group also went first so subconsciously we were most likely thinking, “we better go fast there are six other groups that have to go”. My advice- take your time and slow down, what might seem like an eternities long pause to you wont to the audience.

Overall, the class seemed to enjoy our presentation. I have posted the Slide Show that my group presented to the class as well as the handouts that we gave to the class. The first handout was the Parent Letter and the second was a Sample Calendar.

Also included in this post are the progress memos I and the rest of my group wrote

Katie’s Presentation Progress Memo

Lisa’s Presentation Progress Memo

Amanda’s Presentation Progress Memo