Writing final
- 1. Final Reflection English 2311: Intro to Technical Writing By Austin Laughlin
- 2. 2© Duarte, Inc. 2014 LEARNING OBJECTIVES Throughout the course of English 2311 …... Ethics Applied Technology Rhetoric Design Writing Cultural Considerations Learning Objectives
- 3. 3© Duarte, Inc. 2014 WRITING The Writing learning objective concerns effective speech, which in the contest of this class meant writing that is both persuasive and concise. I felt that I gained the most experience in this objective the Resume and the Proposal. What initially surprised me during the Resume (Unit 1) was that employers generally wanted things to be simple and likely in “plain text” format. While working on my resume, I learned that I needed to make my message clear with fewer words that I previously would have. Using persuasive speech in an employment setting was also a new skill I acquired. For the Proposal (Unit 5) I had to use very organized writing and had to use MLA citations to support my work. On to of that, our paper needed to be written at a professional level so that it could ideally be sent to Honda Motors. This learning outcome… The skills I gained from the Writing learning objective are fairly general and will be necessary for my future as I graduate and begin applying for an internship in Computer Science. My new rhetoric skills will have a big impact on that process, and the ability to write resumes is a life-long skill. My new persuasive writing skills will help as I advance through the education process, as essays are an essential part of the education process. Writing and communication skills are also necessary in all contexts, ranging from home to the workplace.
- 4. 4© Duarte, Inc. 2014 DESIGN • Elements of the Design learning outcome were met through various projects. Unit Projects *Visual Resume The Visual Resume was an interesting experience that allowed me to practice design skills while also using Rhetoric and Writing to describe and paint a picture of a desirable employee. *Video Presentation Using what I had learned in pervious units, in the video editing process, I used effective visual modes of communication as my groups mock-up app was presented to supposed future users. This project helped me apply new skills to video and other forms of media. *Instructional Mobile App This most challenging part of this project was the layout of the app and how we could design it to be more intuitive to users. Through the process of making our mock-up and then testing in in the next unit, I learned how to look at design principles from an outside perspective.
- 5. 5© Duarte, Inc. 2014 DESIGN • Visual examples Unit Projects *Visual Resume *Video Presentation *Instructional Mobile App
- 6. 6© Duarte, Inc. 2014 RHETORIC Rhetoric is an interesting learning objective, because it requires the use of proper modes of communication. The rhetorical situation needs to be met with the proper means. Through the Unit 1 Visual Resume, I came to understand that using multimodal communication is an effective way to persuade your audience. “Multimodal describes how we combine multiple different ways of communication in everyday life” (Ball, 1)*. Slidedocs and visual resumes are effective because the combine visual, spatial, and linguistic modes of communication. Convincing your audience is an essential part of the projects conducted in this class, and each rhetorical situation can call for different documents and data in order to be effective. This learning outcome… The skills I gained from the Rhetoric learning objective are primarily composed of using multimodality, as combining forms of communication is a good way to convey a clear message. *Citation: Arola, Kristin L., Jennifer Sheppard, and Cheryl E. Ball. Writer/designer: A Guide to Making Multimodal Projects. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2014. Print.
- 7. 7© Duarte, Inc. 2014 APPLIED TECHNOLOGY • Different software skills were acquired through this objective. Unit Projects *Instructional Mobile App This project introduced software that I had never used before, which was surprising considering it’s numerous uses. In this project we used storyboards and then applied them to a mock-up mobile app that could actually be used on Androids and iPhones. The ability to create mock-up apps will be a huge asset as I move forward in computer science. *Usability Testing In Unit 3 we did usability testing on our mock-up app, which involved recording users using the app and critiquing our mobile app. This gave me a greater understanding of how to use the Marvel App more effectively. Our group also learned how to analyze video and survey data acquired from our user sample. *Video Presentation Video editing was a new experience for me, thus getting used to iMovie in this project was an invaluable experience. The editing skills I learned will benefit me in future projects and likely in my future as a possible Software Designer.
- 8. 8© Duarte, Inc. 2014 COLLABORATION This learning objective: Stresses the importance of teamwork Requires effective communication Should teach detailed planning and project management Gives students workplace skills From Unit 2 and onward, collaboration was extremely important in this course. Learning how to effectively use time and plan how to complete a project were two important skills that were expanded upon greatly. Unit 2 required the greatest amount of effort to communicate and complete the project, since there were many tasks to complete and our group was not used to handling projects together. We first had to make our storyboard, and then divide up work for the mobile app. We each did sections for our troubleshooting scenario that would be used in Unit 3: Usability Testing. Slidedocs™ is a trademark of Duarte Press LLC. All rights reserved.
- 9. 9© Duarte, Inc. 2014 CULTURAL CONSIDERATIONS AND ETHICS Text… How and Why Cultural Considerations Matter Ethical Responsibilities Culture has a determining impact on both how we interpret and explain a situation. It’s important that professional writing is considerate of possible offensive or problematic situations. Proper citation and authentic data were important through all Units of the class, but the Proposal required both of these skills to be used properly in professional writing. For example, in our Unit 5 Project, our Proposal was aimed towards the American branch of Honda Motors co., but the Japan headquarters would likely require more research and a different approach. Unit 5 gave me the skills to use MLA citations and to use outside sources to support my writing. This learning objective also covers proper audience analysis, which includes both ethics and cultural consideration. Our mock-up was aimed towards young to middle aged car owners, which impacted our audience analysis. We made our mock-up and video presentation in order to appeal to that specific audience.
- 10. 10© Duarte, Inc. 2014 Unit 5 was very centered around collaboration and organized writing. It was important that the right tone and rhetoric were used. Unit 3 helped my group better understand new technologies and analyze our audience in an ethical way. Unit 4 used all modes of communication, as it also included gestures and auditory modes. This was a good comprehensive unit. Unit 2 offered experience with new technologies and required many design elements. Unit 1 fulfilled multiple learning objectives because of his heavy use of linguistic and visual modes. Conclusion