CWC Reflection

Sammi Branch

12/12/11

Now that my CWC project is complete I can look back and be happy with what I made, the process was long and pretty hard but the end product was successful. The most challenging part of the whole project was the communication aspect. Coordinating with the different members of the EnviroClub was difficult, but worked out for the most part.

This project was successful because my time management was really good compared to a lot of other big projects I have done. I seemed to have learned a little from past mistakes and got a start on this when it was assigned so that I didn’t have to cram as much at the end. I think that my interest in the subject also added to the overall success because I was motivated to do it not only to pass a class but for my own personal gain. The main challenge was communication. To overcome that challenge I got all of the members’ email addresses and contacted them frequently. Some replied a lot more than others but overall it was good. I also was in contact with Joe Lohr by phone, email, and in person quite a bit so that was helpful too. In the end I wasn’t able to do blurbs about each member of the EnviroClub because not all of them got back to me and I didn’t want to put any information about people without them knowing about it or approving it.

Adapting my documents to the audience was fairly easy because I was writing to my peer group for the most part. Sometimes I had to remember to reign in the humor and sarcasm because although most people would probably understand some might not and I didn’t want to isolate anyone. For example in one of my documents I used the phrase “and all of your wildest dreams will come true” which was a catch phrase from the movie Napoleon Dynamite. When I sent you a draft you commented on it without realizing where the phrase was from and one of my test subjects did as well so I knew that I couldn’t keep that line even though I thought it was funny. I also had to be extra conscious about giving context in my documents since the EnviroClub is new at Westminster this year and doesn’t have a recognized name around here yet.

If I could do it again I think I would push to have another meeting with all of the officers and the advisor of the EnviroClub because this time around I had one meeting like that. Joe was very helpful and enthusiastic which was great, but I would have liked to get the rest of the group’s ideas too just because brainstorming with more people is usually more productive. I would also work on my time management a little more. Although I think I did a really good job this time I know I could improve. Time management is always something I am working on.

I think I deserve an A on this project because I completed all of the assignments fully and on time. I also put a lot of time and effort into this project and thought about all aspects of it. I really tried to make professional and good looking documents that will be effective for their purpose and I think I achieved that goal. There are definitely aspects that I would improve if I were to do this again, but I wouldn’t change too much. I would definitely tweak a few of the documents to perfect them more, like the recycling guide, but when I look at all of my documents together I’m really proud of them, especially since I don’t consider electronic design one of my strong points. 

The 6 Steps

To determine art I usually look at the intent and purpose of the piece. If something is created with some sort of intention it is definitely artistic. Something created with intention could be a document that was made to inform people about the proper etiquette at formal dinners could be art if the final product conveys the intention effectively. Also, if something was made with a purpose, even if it is more abstract like to convey or express feelings is art as long is it conveys the intended feelings. Something I would not consider art would be something arbitrarily made with no purpose or intention or that doesn't represent the intention at all. 

Since most professional writing is made with a distinct purpose that definitely qualifies it as art in my book. Examples of when it may not be would be if it fails or misrepresents what it was meant to represent. It might be hard to define something like an instruction manual as art to some people, but the process of it was inherently artistic because it required knowledge, skill, and creativity to be completed effectively. 

To improve my own professional writing I should probably revise more with other people. Sort of like a combination usability test/revision would be helpful. It would also be good to get multiple opinions on each draft from people with different perspectives. This would require a lot more time but would pay off at the end to make sure that my work isn't just applicable to certain people. 

Resume reflection

Sammi Branch

Resume Reflection

The resume and cover letter assignment was more challenging than I expected. I didn’t realize how much thought I was going to have to put into adapting my resume to a specific job application. I think the main thing that I learned from this assignment is how to decide what information to put in your resume depending on what job you are applying for. I also realized that these days and especially in the Communication field each employer is probably going to ask for different specific things on your resume. This changed my opinion of having just a resume that you basically use for every job you apply for to keeping track of all of your accomplishments, job skills, and education and then putting that information together in a way that is applicable to the specific job you apply for.

The most challenging thing for me was keeping things concise while also getting across all of the information I wanted to get across. I think that the cover letter was a great way to highlight my writing ability and to promote yourself in a way that is a little more personal than just a resume. I think my resume and my cover letter were both effective because they showed all of my relevant experience in an aesthetically pleasing way. I adapted my resume to the job ad by choosing words that they job posting used and by researching the company and highlighting things about me that are in line with the company’s ideals. I think that I successfully cut out information that was irrelevant and organized the information in a way that made sense when you read it.

If I could do this again I think that I would make my resume a little more artistic. I didn’t make my resume look as nice as I would like it to, but I think that it was okay because I was applying for a business and professional job. I would have still liked to make it a little prettier. I also think that my cover letter could have been a little more direct, but since my resume was so industrial looking I thought that a more personal cover letter was nice. I actually couldn’t help writing it in a friendly tone because I had similar ideals to what was described on the website.

I would give myself a B+ or A- on this assignment because I spent a lot of time and effort catering my resume to the specific job I was applying for. I also researched the company and took time to think about my cover letter. I also spent a lot of time formatting my resume, but next time I might do it on something other than Microsoft Word because I think that that restricted my artistic ability with designing the resume. I could have put some more effort into the letter of transmittal but I didn’t really understand it or why it was assigned so I didn’t get very into writing it. 

University Usability

Ball State University - IN

Tasks:
Find tuition - time: 9.27 seconds
Find the start date of the fist summer session - time: 8.7 seconds

Questions:
How well organized do you think this website is? - answer: Pretty well organized. Easy to find things.

When I went on the website I decided to test for something that probably everyone looking at the school would want to check: tuition. I also wanted to check for something sort of random and that would be searched for less often because I wanted to see if everything was about the same level of accessibility. The tester I used found both in about the same amount of time, under 10 seconds, and she actually found the one I would have thought to be more difficult almost a half second faster than the tuition. I expected this website to be easily navigated because of its clean presentation, color schemes, and organization, so the results matched my expectation. My conclusion is that although this seems like a very boring place to go to college (the town website lists Wal Mart as a shopping destination...) the website is very well laid out, clear cut, and pleasing to look at. This reflects well on the college and makes me think that it might be a pleasant place to go to school.

team report reflection

Sammi Branch

Team Report Reflection

This team project was one of the tougher ones I have worked on at Westminster. A combination of busy schedules and tons of deadlines with a group of five students was stressful and got confusing a lot of the time. I think that as a group we worked well with each other, but it got harder as the project went on. Since it was assigned over such a long period of time it was hard to make a schedule that worked for everyone and it was also hard keeping due dates in mind. For me personally, the beginning of this project went a lot smoother because I had a lot more time to invest in the project, but as the semester went on I had less and less time to devote to this project.

Our group was successful because everything was completed on time and of good quality. Our communication within the group could have been improved, but as I mentioned it was difficult because of all of the variables going on outside of this class and this project. We tried to overcome the challenges of schedules, time constraints, and tons of due dates by texting each other reminders, emailing documents back and forth to each other, and planning who would be the person responsible for actually turning in each document or step.

I contributed more during the beginning of the project, but as the semester went by I found myself so busy that I couldn’t help out as much as I was in the beginning. I helped with writing the proposals, thinking of questions to ask Mark Ferne, editing our documents, and I designed the survey that Lauryn and I distributed and collected in Shaw and at the library. I feel like I was successful because I did the pieces I signed up for and tried to help out as much as I could. I also tried to make everything my best work before turning it into the group. In my head I still feel like I could have done more because I am used to taking charge in group projects, but I did not for this one because of how busy I am. I think not taking charge was my biggest personal struggle because since I have always done so I wasn’t sure how to give my input and create my pieces without being the final person to see the documents.

If I could do this project again I would try and set more specific deadlines for the group as a group which would also mean meeting as a complete group more often. It wasn’t really possible for this project this semester, but I prefer to do group projects as a group because I like to work off my group member’s ideas as well. I think that one way our group could have been more efficient would have been if we had been able to sit down and plan out each deadline and what needed to be done by each person before that deadline, but since a lot of the deadlines were shifting and changing and we weren’t able to meet as a group very often that became more difficult as time went on.

As a team I would give us a B+. I think we all tried very hard and under the conditions put our best work forward. We handed our assignments in on time and produced quality work. We also came up with a really cool idea and put a lot of thought into it. Our idea was also something that we all have a passion for. Plus, we came up with our idea, researched it and stuck with it from the beginning which was great so that we didn’t have to lose time changing ideas. I would give myself a B because I did not do as much work at the very end as other members but I worked hard the whole beginning and devoted as much time as I could to the project for as long as I could, but I don’t feel like I did way less than any member because to me it seemed like each member put in about equal effort and time but we all did so at different points throughout the project. If any member were to stand out to me as putting in the most time I would say Gary did because he took on a lot of the editing and was usually in charge of handing in the final documents. 

Happy NaNoWrimo

As she looked at the battered dead body of the victim, Ms. Bynthe thought it peculiar for such a violent murderer to take the time to redress the body in her nightgown and tuck her into bed.

Genre- murder mystery
audience- 18-24
plot/concept- Ms. Bynth is a murder investigator who specializes in bizarre cases where the murderers sees to have potential to be serial killers

What do you need?

Of the three major projects due this semester, the one I need to spend the most time on is my CWC. I need to put my ideas down and actually start making the documents. To do this I will need to sit down with Joe again for a while to brainstorm and put some thoughts together. The team project is going well, we just need to put the final pieces together and make sure it flows and is complete. The peer review will help with the last two parts and the extra time will be nice so that we won't be as rushed. I am not very worried about the resume/cover letter because as a completely individual project it will be easy to find time to do it.

I would like to know more about what the final CWC project might look like. Looking at past students' examples would be helpful, I'm just having a hard time visualizing what we will be turning in to you. I would also like to see some final documents that students before us have made to get more inspiration. I would also like to see some examples of student resumes and you could say what parts are good and what parts are bad. To me when we see examples of past students it is much more helpful than examples from a book - they just seem more relevant.