This assignment requires you to work with a group to brief the class with a lean deliverable that informs us of a specific communication technology that most of us will either likely encounter or find useful in the workplace. During Weeks 4-10, we’ll dedicate 10-15 minutes of each class for groups to discuss findings and walk us through their deliverable.
Choosing a technology. This is a guideline, not a rule: your technology should be specific enough to create a 1-2 page letter document or 3-5 minute video. The more collaborative the artifact is, the more relevant it will be for reading/writing processes. Have a look at Robin Good's 2009 "Best Online Collaboration Tools" map (attached) for some good ideas.
What’s a "deliverable"? Anderson defines it as “the finished communication you will deliver to your client at the end of [a] project” (528). I’m evoking it here because the medium of your group’s finished product could vary. You could distribute a pdf, video, screencast, or something else.
While formats for deliverables will vary from group-to-group, each must:
Summarize the technology. Describe its primary and secondary affordances, the developer’s name and contact, how to access it, key specs, and potential costs to us as consumers.
Use the textbook to help explain how the technology’s affordances assist with professional writing. How does this app/site/hardware/peripheral assist with reading and/or writing processes in the workplace? To what degree is it collaborative? At what point in the reading/writing process would we make use of it? Does it help us with the quality of our reading/writing? Does it make us faster or more efficient? Does it help us reach a wider audience? Does it help filter? Connect these affordances to aspects of professional communication we’ve read or discussed.
Apply principles of document design. Reference Part VI of Anderson (chapters 13 and 14), Drafting Visual Elements, to guide your decision making when it comes to laying out your deliverable. The text and the visual elements should be nicely balanced, with neither one dominating the deliverable.
Help the audience. We’ll be doing some audience analysis this week that will help with this, but your classmates will weigh in on your grade. Make sure your specific technology is seen as useful to them.
Cite any outside sources or images.
Post your deliverable to course site.
Truly exceptional deliverables will also:
Incorporate credible testimonials. Ideally these would be interviews with professionals who have used the technology in the workplace and can both assess its use and help explain its affordances. You could also draw from patterns you see in the reviews, but be critical of their credibility.
Error free. The final deliverable will be nearly 100% free from spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors.