English 421Y: Technical Writing Online

During week one, I was introduced into Group 8 with a series of introduction emails. I began the week by sending an introduction email to all the group members. Once a reply email was sent from all members, we began the brain storming process for our project topic. Once a topic was selected a group member established a Google Document page and sent a link to all members. I then established a Google account using my Purdue email and began the editing of the document.

The first week of the white paper project I introduce myself to the group member by email. Throughout the collection of emails we discuss what roles we should take part of during the project. I was elected to take control over the graphics and design elements since my major is Computer Graphics Technology. In addition to the graphically work, I will also conduct research on our topic and take part in editing.

The first couple days of this project have been spent getting organized and beginning to jump into the project. I figure it’s better to start with a clear idea of where you want the project to end up rather than figuring out as you go. The hardest part is trying to maintain the plan you have as the project progresses.

This activity report will summarize the progress I have made since the start of the English 421 White Paper Project.

This first week involved introducing myself to the other members of the group through email. I spent about 15 to 30 minutes familiarizing myself with google docs since this was the way we decided to share documents among the group.

I played the role of organizer for group 4 in this first week of the project. I contacted the other group members via email and shared my name, email, AIM s/n, and google account, and urged everybody to respond back with the same information. I also recommended we utilize google docs for this project, and am adding members of the group to have shared access to the documents. We picked a topic and split up the work: this week I would write the group activity report which was done and submitted by Friday night and we will rotate who writes this every week.

Since the beginning of the project I have done a few things. First I have created a Google group for my teammates. I made sure everyone was invited and had equal rights on the site. This means that they can post new topics or send out emails to the whole group. We are equals in the team after all. I set up page placeholders so that we can all start working on the various documents due that week. I felt that by doing this it would encourage us to start sooner rather than later.

Our group decided to do our white paper on the topic of conserving energy and going green. We want to focus on simple and cheap/ free solutions that college students can use in their dorms or apartments. The three topics that we will focus on are using electricity, heating/ cooling, and laundry solutions. For electricity we will focus on the use of compact fluorescent bulbs to not only save energy, but also money. For heating and cooling we will explain the use of door sweeps, window seals, and other small improvements that can help reduce the need for heaters and air conditioning.

GROUP ACTIVITY REPORT
Date: 04/03/09
To: Nathaniel Rivers, Instructor
From: Chris Kirkwood, Andy Jones, Isaac Townsend, and Nigel Hess
Subject: Group #3 Activity Report 1

Group 8 has chosen to cover the topic of oil dependence and renewable energy solutions. Our plan right now is to have the white paper address how these renewable energy solutions can reduce our dependence on oil. The topic of renewable energy is a broad spectrum which ranges from some of the most simple solutions to the rather complex. The subtopics we will cover in the report, including pros and cons, will encompass wind power, water power, solar power, nuclear power and smart-grid technologies. In these sub-topics, pros, cons, and currently implemented system examples will be discussed.

When it came down to coming up with ideas for the proposal of the White Paper project, many came to mind. We wanted to come up with an idea that if properly written could actually be used. We also wanted it to be an idea that could benefit our schools or communities. What we came up with was having schools switch from using Microsoft programs to using cheaper, if not free, open source programs. there are many institutions across the United States, primarily over seas, that are currently using open source programs as a way of saving money and expand knowledge.