English 420Y - Business Writing Online

The First week went very well for our group. As soon as I got to know my group members I sent them an email introducing my self and asking them what would be the best way to communicate with them, I also asked them if they had Aim or any messenger service. They all were shocked when I told them that I was in Singapore for the summer and there is a real big time difference. It’s going to be a little hard for me. But I will make the best effort I can by keeping in touch with them. Over a time period it will all work out.

This week our team met for the first time and it was very productive. During our first meeting, we introduced ourselves as well as assigned positions for each member. I was assigned the technical work of the group and my first job was to design the Gantt chart. First, we all decided which information to include on the chart and time intervals for each task. When we finished our discussion, I began to progress with the chart. After the chart, we also assigned positions to whom is responsible for design, contacting, and so forth.

After being assigned to a group, I emailed to my group members and introduced myself.

In our group this week we started out with introductions, sharing who we are and where we are for the summer. We shared contact information and are still working out the best way to communicate which will probably be all hammered out before Monday rolls around. One of our members, Suchet, is all the way in Singapore and thus 13 time zones away. This was kind of a shock and will require a little more effort than the usual 1-2 hour time gaps between members. It just means we need to communicate effectively and stick to our plans so we don't fall behind and can't contact someone.

This week our group just got to know each other a little better and decided who would do what for which brochure. We had a buddy chat on AIM Thursday night and decided that Steven and Daniel would work on the general brochure with Daniel doing the design/graphics and Steven will do the content for it. Alayna will do the content for the "caring for your pet" brochure and I will do the design/graphics. We also put together the Gant Chart that was due today.

The first week of working with my group went really well. Honestly I was a little eerie about working with a group online; it does and still kind of scares me. When we were assigned our groups Suchet emailed us right away and I was absolutely shocked to find out that he was living in Singapore for the summer and we were working in a group together. I know it is going to be challenging at some times but I believe that we will work through it. Everyone in my group has been corresponding through email and introducing themselves, telling us where they live and what they are doing for the summer.

The first week went very well and was quite productive for our group. I sent out an email about myself after I found out who my group members were. I introduced myself and the times I would be available throughout the week. I met my other group members in an AIM chat room and discussed the Gantt Chart and some upcoming projects. We worked on the chart together and gave each other ideas and information to add. We all worked together on this first meeting to figure out the dates of projects and how we would spilt it up.

As Week 5 comes to a close, our group is continuing to work hard to prepare for our service learning project. After learning my group members, I quickly emailed them to introduce myself. I have continued to write informative emails all week to update them with what is happening. I have done a good job responding to emails in a timely manner. My emails included details on how to organize the group and asking for volunteers for the different aspects of the project. After continuing correspondence, I have assumed the role of the group leader.

Our group introduced ourselves this week via the wiki page. We met on Thursday night on AIM and discussed what we would need to do to accomplish the brochures. I recommened making 2 groups of 2 with each team doing a brochure. The group agreed on this idea. Daniel and I are working on the general brochure. Daniel will be doing the design while I will be focusing on the content of the brochure. Alayna and Cory will be working on the Caring for your pet brochure. Alayna will focus on the content and Cory will be working on the design.

This week was only the preliminary stages of the project. I fortunately have an excellent group. We all introduced ourselves via e-mail and are trying to figure out exactly how the team is going to work together to finish this project.