Daily Message Nov. 5

Good Day,

I have some quick updates and housekeeping issues today, and then I'll talk about collaboration strategies for the group project.

Housekeeping

First, grades have been posted for exercises 5-6, and most of the Module 5 exam grades have been recorded. (I have about 4-5 of those left and will get them back to you within the next 24 hours.) I'll also be returning your enhanced resume drafts within the next 24 hours.  I'll also work on getting the grading slushpile (all those odds and ends of grading that have come in via email in the past few weeks) cleared out before the weekend is over.

Overall, the people who have turned in drafts have done a fairly effective job of making their resumes more visual and more visually appealing. If you did not turn in a draft for instructor review, the best advice I can give is you that you should really take the "re-envisioning" part of this "Re-envisioning Texts" module seriously. You need to move past thinking of this as a resume you might send out to an employer and instead think about how your resume can serve as a visual representation of you. Thinking outside the box is the objective for this assignment.

Collaboration and Module 7

Today I want to talk a bit about collaboration because you all are going to need to do it, and do it well, if you wish to be successful in Module 7.

Each group is going to need to take what I call the One-For-All approach.  this means that each group member is individually responsible for a specific section of the document or for a certain amount of text.  As a group, you all need to agree to an internal deadline for completion of the sections so that you have plenty of time to work together to stitch the pieces together to create a whole document.  Revision and editing are critical, for the group needs to work hard to create a seamless product from disparate parts.  

Good planning can help if the group can agree on questions of voice, style, form, and organization before individuals begin drafting.  You should have a discussion about the selected instructions and how you plan to review the instructions and what your major findings are going to be.  Don't begin drafting until you all agree on your major findings.  This way everyone is drafting from the same perspective.

For this project, everyone is required to participate.  Since each person is responsible for a chunk of text, then each person has to participate in the writing of the document.  However, the difficulty will be in putting the whole text together.  In an online environment like this course, I would recommend that you take turns.   

There is plenty of time for you to take the text one at a time for revision and editing.  In other words, once everyone has submitted their section, Group Member 1 takes all the pieces and creates the first "whole" document.  This person should focus on transitions and trying to create a seamless text.  Then Group Member 1 passes the text to Group Member 2.  This person begins to look at style, perspective, and language, trying to make the text sound like it was written by one person.  This person passes the text to Group Member 3 (and 4) who does a complete top-down edit of the document, from document to section, to paragraph, to sentence.  Then this draft is given back to the whole group for a final proofread.   

At this stage, one person should be responsible for the final text and submitting it for evaluation.  Any proofreading comments should be sent to this person who will make the final edits and submit the final product.

This is one strategy that has proven successful for online groups in the past.  Of course, the most important consideration is that you talk to each other early and often.

DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE!

Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Have a great weekend!

Julie