Final Project

Final Project Possibilities

For the final phase of class, you will have multiple options for the project work you take up.

Path 1: Help me build an Open (OER) Technical Writing Textbook

A project I would like some help with is to produce the initial draft of an OER Textbook that could be used both as a project and as a resource for future iterations of this course.

Your work would essentially involve some variation of this:

1. In collaboration with me, research OER textbooks, and develop an initial template for for our textbook, including templates for individual chapters. This would also include researching possible publication platforms.
2. Select a genre of technical writing that you would like to learn something about or that you think future students might want to learn. For example, in this course we have worked with the genres analytical reports and tutorials. What other genres do you have an interest in?
3. Research this genre. What are it’s purposes? Common characteristics and features?, etc.
4. Produce an initial draft of a chapter for the textbook. At this stage of the project, I imagine that this would be a chapter that e235 students in the Fall could take up and further develop.

I see the above project as the starting point of a long-term open-pedagogy project in e235 at Pierce. This means that we will not necessarily finish this textbook. Our goal will be to lay a foundation for future work by future students in Engliah 235.

I hope you’re interested in helping me get this started.

Path 2: Continue to help me develop PierceHacker.

Having been immersed in developing some initial drafts of resources for PierceHacker, and if this project interests you, we would work together to develop the project further develop this project.

This work would potentially include:

1. Developing initial versions of project resources that will faciliate future contributions to the project.
2. Working on the design of the project site.
3. Developing initial versions of additional project resources, For example, tech related blog posts, in-person workshops, etc.

If this path interest you, I would like you to spend some time this week looking at the two projects that have inspired PiereHaker – The Programming Historian and ProfHacker.

What do these projects do well that PierceHacker isn’t yet doing or could do better? Taking these as models, how do we move PierceHacker foward?

Like the OER project sketched out above, I also view PierceHacker as an “open pedagogy” project.

Path 3 – Design your own project

While I think there is much to learn in the two paths outlined above, and much flexibility in what we might take away from that work in light of our individual educational goals, I also want to offer you the possibility of designing your own project.

The basic criteria for this project would be:

1. It should be rooted in the intersection of your own personal learning goals and the course outcomes.
2. It should involve a multi-phased process. For example, the project would include a research phase, a drafting phase, a sharing/feedback/revision phase.

Key here is asking your self – what would you still like to learn, to get out of the class? There’s a chance, but that Paths 1 and 2 can help you do this; however, there may be another avenue, and I am happy to help you work through this.