BCG Update

We are in our last week of class and it seems to have flown by! I can't believe that by the end of the week we will have a completed document to give to Shari and Andrea. It feels like it is so far from done but it's actually not.

I am nervous about the final product and the final presentation. Not because I don't think that they will be great but just because I am stressed out and am really feeling the time crunch. My group has been great and I know we will be prepared and that our brochure will be exactly what the client is looking for.

I am excited to see the final product, not only ours but from the other groups as well. We have all been working so hard on this and it is exciting to see how the documents change and improve over time. I can't wait for Friday to see all the final presentations and final products. I hope everything goes smoothly.

Chapter 9 Response

The most useful parts of ch. 9 were the parts on getting feedback on your project and working on emphasizing the most important things. I think the idea of getting feedback on our projects from outside people in our target audience is a great idea. Giving them a draft of our project and having them look it over would be such a big help in determining what is and isn't working. This would be especially helpful with my group's drip irrigation guide. The true test would be to see if someone can use the drip irrigation system without any prior knowledge just by using our guide.

Also, I never really thought about the importance of emphasis in our documents but it is a great way to illustrate what the most important parts of our projects are. The ideas given in ch. 9 are very helpful, like the idea of signal words and repetition of key words. Ch. 9 was pretty helpful and I know once we have a completed version of our documents we will be using the steps in the chapter in order to revise and edit it and make sure it is the best for the organization.

Volunteering - Easter Egg Hunt

This past Saturday I completed my volunteer requirement at my church at the annual children's Easter Egg Hunt. Kids from the church and kids from the community come with friends and families to participate in a huge egg hunt all over the church grounds. They also get a snack, hear a story and watch a great puppet show. I love helping out with this event every year because it is just so much fun. Seeing the looks on all the kid's faces when they find an egg is priceless!

This year I helped with the one to four year old group (my favorite). They are so cute and excited about events like this. First, everyone watched the puppet show, which I was the star of (my voice, anyway) then we broke into our smaller groups and mine went to story time. This was probably the most difficult part of the day because it is hard to get 25 one to four year old kids to sit still and quiet through a ten minute story. But all in all it went pretty smoothly. Next we moved on to the snack room where I helped pass out cupcakes, jellybeans, goldfish and apple juice. After all the kids ate we made our way outside to the main event, the hunt. The little kids get to hunt all over the playground and after trying to explain the whole concept we opened the gates and let them go crazy. There were at least a hundred eggs in this little area so every kid got plenty. I had such a fun time helping them find the hidden eggs and helping them reach the ones up high. After every egg was in a basket we had to go back inside and make sure every kid found their parent or who they came with. After that I helped clean up a little bit.

I had a blast at the Easter Egg Hunt this year, it doesn't even feel like work when I see these cute kids get so excited and leave with huge smiles on their faces. The best part was that I knew a lot of the kids this year because of the other work I do with the little kids at church, like Sunday School and Vacation Bible School. It is all worth it when they run up to you, give you a big huge and thank you for being there with them.

BCG Update

Over spring break we did not get to meet as a whole group. I think we were all just really busy but I know that we have all been working on our parts of the project. The first draft of each part should be completed by class time tomorrow.

I have been working on the fact sheets. It has been kind of fun compiling all the information and imagining how they will be used and who they will help. I am very much enjoying this project and I can't wait to see all the final products.

Chapter 8

Chapter 8 is the chapter on charting your progress of your project. We have just completed the first draft of our progress report based on the information in chapter 8. I think our progress report is pretty good. I'm sure it can use some work but when we get our peer reviews we can revise it.

In chapter 8 we learned about how to form a progress report, who the audience is and the importance of active writing. Probably what I found most useful and difficult is the active voice. I have a hard time recognizing when I am or when I am not writing in active voice. Based on what the textbook says, active voice is very important in the progress report so I hope I did it correctly.

BCG Update

On Saturday we went out to Bartlett Garden and met with some volunteers. We also met with Shari and discussed our proposal with her. I think it was a great start to our actual fieldwork.

We only talked to two volunteers because there were not many people there on Saturday morning. We did get a lot of great information though. I think we got a lot more from those two people than we thought we would. They gave us some great tidbits on how to garden in Florida and organically that we can include in our handbook and fact sheets. They also gave us the names of some great resources.

We talked to Shari about the proposal and she gave us her comments and questions. She brought up some interesting points and addressed some things that we had questions about. I think the meeting went really well and we are on our way to making a great project.

Group Project Update

I am really excited to be working on the Group Project. I am in the Bartlett Community Garden group and we are going to be completing a volunteer handbook and fact sheets for BCG. I thought our first meeting with Shari went great and now we are just waiting to hear back from her about our proposal.

We did our initial presentation in class last week and I was really nervous about it but I think it went really well. It was clear we all had a good grasp of what we are doing and that we are very excited about the project. The comments from our classmates were really helpful so that we know what worked well and what we should work on for the final presentation.

I'm glad we are pretty much done with all the beginning steps and now we can start working on the actual project! I can't wait.

Daily Writing 2/2/09

My life goals are to be happy, healthy and have a family. I also want a great job that I enjoy and do not dread going to every day. I want to love life and teach my children to do the same.

My goals for attending college are to get a degree and learn as much as I can. I don't think college is only for those who have a specific career in mind and are working on a degree in that area. I still am not entirely sure what I want to do but I know that I want to finish college. The degree is very helpful in the world today but so are the lessons learned.

My goals for this class are to, first and foremost, decide if technical writing is something I might be interested in pursuing. Also, I want to learn the basics of technical writing because it will come in handy at some point in time.

I am not sure what my vision for the future is. In the near future I see myself graduating from college with a bachelors degree in English and a minor in business. And hopefully by that time I will know what I want to do with my life. In the long run I see myself having a family, a good job and a happy life.

If I could accomplish anything I think it would be to be the best daughter/sister/friend/mother I can be.

Mt. Zion Field Trip

I really enjoyed the field trip to Mt. Zion. I think it was a great idea to actually see and experience the work that they do there. After being there and meeting some of the kids and volunteers I now have a much better idea about what they do, who they help and how we can help them.

I was really glad to see the different childcare programs. The kids I spoke with seem to enjoy their time at Mt. Zion and were excited to tell me all about the different things they do there. I also liked talking with some of the volunteers and workers there because it gave a face to who we will be helping by doing these projects.

My goal for the trip was just to get a better understanding about what Mt. Zion does and who it helps. I think I definitely met that goal. It also helped influence how I felt about the class project. I wasn't exactly sure how we would be helping but now that I have been there and met some of the people I have a much better understanding. I know that what we will be doing will be a big help.

Analyzing the Training

This presentation was an example of technical communication. The speakers used a lot of information in a way which motivated and educated us, the listeners. They were persuasive because of their many facts and first hand knowledge but also because of the passionate way they delivered the information. Both speakers seemed well educated about the topic, they were organized and excited to share their information.

The problem they addressed was homelessness in Pinellas county, specifically the need to know how many people are currently homeless and why. Using the information they receive from their census program the Coalition can devise ways to help the homeless. This includes finding ways for them to get off the streets and preventing future homelessness. It would be a benefit to not only the homeless population but also to the other citizens of Pinellas county for various reasons.

I thought the presentation was very effective as technical communication. they were informative, passionate and motivated which made me interested in their cause. The speakers were well organized and seemed very knowledgeable which made them even more effective.

Class Presentation - Training

The presentation on by the representative from the Pinellas County Coalition for the Homeless was very interesting and very moving. I really enjoyed the speeches from both George and G.W. I thought they were very informative and passionate about what they were saying.

I had never thought much about the homeless in Pinellas county and definitely have never thought there was any need for a census but after hearing them speak I think it is a great idea and will be very beneficial. I wish I could have participated in their point-in-time count. What struck me the most about what George said was how any of us in the room could at one point on our lives end up homeless. It helped to put a new face on homelessness. I no longer view all homeless people as the war veteran standing on the corner with a sign. I can now see how anyone, especially with today's economy, could end up homeless.

I thought the best part of the whole presentation was G.W. and his story. He was so honest and powerful that I really felt for him and others like him. he is a great example to see how the Coalition really can help people. I think it's great that he is able to open up to people and tell his story to help educate and motivate others to help.

The Pinellas County Coalition for the Homeless is a great organization which I had never even heard of before. I think what they do, both helping those who are homeless and educating those who are not, is wonderful. They seem very passionate and motivated and I hope that they are able to accomplish their goal to eradicate homelessness in Pinellas county in the next 10 years.

Civic Engagement Fair

The Civic Engagement Fair was a lot different from what I thought it would be. There were many more organizations than I had anticipated and a lot more students attending. I spoke with three different organizations, the League of Women Voters (LWV), The St. Pete Little Theater (SPLT) and The St. Petersburg Downtown Residents Civic Association (SPDRCA), all of which I found very interesting.

The SPDRCA had a lot of great ideas about how to help improve the downtown area. I had never heard about this organization before but it definitely sounded like a good group to work with. The LWV was also very interesting. I never knew what the league actually did and now that I do I think it would also be a great organization to work with. My favorite organization was the SPLT. I participated in theater in high school and I think I would really enjoy working with them. They could use help with creating brochures, programs and pamphlets which would be a great way to incorporate technical writing. I really enjoyed my time at the fair and I learned a lot.

"Did You Know" Video Response

The "Did You Know" video was pretty interesting. It was also a little intimidating and frightening. The thought of all the new technology coming out in the very near future is overwhelming to say the least. I am just now getting used to the basic uses of a computer and they are saying within 50 years there will be supercomputers that are smarter than the entire human race combined! That is so mind blowing to me.

I like what it did by comparing the US with the populations in China and India. It is very easy to think of our country as the best, smartest and most advanced when in actuality there are more gifted kids in those countries than are are kids in the US.

When it comes to technology I worry about what the future will be like. In fifty years is it going to be like some of the movies made where technology takes over the world? Probably not but it seems more and more like the possibility is out there.

The thing in the video that struck me the most was the comment made that in one year Nintendo spent double the money doing research for its products than the US government gave to schools. That is absolutely ridiculous. There is more money put into technology and artificial intelligence than is put into actual human intelligence and education. While technology is important and beneficial, isn't it more important to make sure future citizens have the education to come up with new technology in the future? Or even just the education so they can use it.

Chapter 1 Response

The first chapter focused on exactly what service learning is and how to incorporate a service learning into a writing class. I was skeptical at first as to how that would work but I definitely understand it much better now.

I did service learning in high school but what we had to do was very similar to the first approach described in the chapter. We had to volunteer then write reflectively about it after the fact. In this class I think we are doing the third approach, the Stanford model.

The descriptions of the three different models of service learning were very helpful. It helped me understand the difference between what is expected in this course as far as service learning and what I did in high school for service learning. Also, the example about the zoo project helped to clarify the third model.

What I had a hard time understanding was how we can provide a writing service to an organization. The examples helped but I think I need more of an explanation, or perhaps just more examples, to fully understand this.

Overall the first chapter was very helpful and pretty much cleared up all the initial questions and concerns that I had. I'm sure as I read more in the book it will give a more precise and clear explanation of what the Stanford model is.

"Rhetoric: An Overview" Response

After reading the piece on rhetoric I have a much better understanding of what it is. It is, however, still a little unclear to me so I don't think I understand it completely.

What I got from the piece is that rhetoric is using language in different ways in order to affect the target audience in a specific way. Most of the choices we make about rhetoric are unconscious and something we do based upon the type of paper we are writing and who we are writing to.

The most helpful thing in the piece was the descriptions of purpose, audience and context. These are the three things you need to know in order to rhetorically analyze a writing piece. There was a good amount of detail describing what each means and how to do it.

What I still don't understand is how to rhetorically analyze. What is the difference between analyzing a paper and rhetorically analyzing a paper? Is there a difference? I understand what rhetoric is I just don't understand how to use it or identify it.

Technical Writing

The word technical means precise and professional. It describes the basic ideas and techniques of a process.

The word communication describes a way to express ideas, interests, thoughts, etc. These thoughts and ideas can be expressed through words, spoken and written, movements, art and many other mediums.

Therefore, technical communication means the basic techniques and ways to communicate.

The concept of technical communication is very important in every aspect of life and education. It is important to know how to communicate in an effective way in every part of life, especially in the field of education. Knowing the basics of communication and how to be precise and professional is necessary in order to live a successful life.