It is time for the moment of truth then…

I had a lot of different feelings at the time of starting this course, having fun was not one of them, for sure. As a rather “shy” social media user and a person who was not born to be a writer, I considered this course a bit of a challenge for me since there was a lot of written work to start with and meeting deadlines with all the coursework. I guess this was what I had to learn to adapt to, given the personal weaknesses of mine.

After “creating” my first assignment, I thought that I actually had some creativity within me and perhaps it was deep down where no one had visited for a while or paid enough attention to it. My creativity had awoken again with the next assignment and further with my Reflections as the major blocks of the course advanced.

From that beginning, the peer review process was introduced and as I mentioned throughout the blog, I have found it truly invaluable. To have another perspective, constructive criticism of your own work provided by a team member was very educating and simply…priceless.

When compiling all the written work into this Web Folio, I became a reviewer of my own pieces and I had a chance to look at them again, and make additional corrections. I think that being able to retain even a little self-criticism to your own writing is quite a healthy approach.

Challenges and Strengths or the other way around…

Being very detail oriented could be a weakness or strength depending on the view and the situation. Or perhaps, the fact that I am a perfectionist translates to taking a while to get the work in a written format. On the other hand, taking the time minimizes the number of grammar/spelling mistakes etc. which can have a big impact on the work as well. So, that’s on the positive note.

Where was the fun part? The answer is: “Everywhere”. Along the way, throughout the course, in the way it was designed, just to mention a few sections.

Our outline related to creating the Web Folio and LinkedIn contained Dr. Paterson’s lines that:

…my profile on LinkedIn is quite whimsical and a little off-beat for your average academic; this is because I want to represent myself as a unique educator. I am not interested in the average academic jobs…

What did she mean by that? Well… If you have been in her class, you will know… It is the way she designs her class program (the study material), writes her emails, the Instructor’s Blog, and interact with students in the online environment. I never took a “fun” English class before.  This is a first one!

So, this self-assessment reflection turns out to be a little …bittersweet…

As I review my work during this course, I can say this has been quite an accomplishment, which I did not think I was fully capable of. I can honestly say that it was very much worth the effort as I have gained strong writing fundamentals I can continue building on. I am also a lot more confident in my writing skills and style.

I am a little sad that the course has come to an end, but on the other hand, I am very happy I had the privilege to be one of Dr. Paterson’s students because she really is a unique Educator.  Thank you, Dr. Paterson and also, thank you to the Technical Knockout’s Team Members and Everyone in the Class of the Summer 2016 for your creative writing skills, the peer reviewing and your great attitude towards it all. This has been such a great experience I will take with me on my writing journey whatever that turns out to be.

The concept of creating this Web Folio could easily be compared to designing a garden and starting to plant in it. Obviously, the first thought is about the site where you would want your plants to grow. Deciding on the different themes is like choosing different categories of plants to grow: flowers, shrubs, grass, maybe a fruit tree or where you just want to place your planters with the annuals in them.

Next, the decision is to get enough variation within each category for the best display. The same goes for organizing the work within each group of themes. Designing a beautiful garden that everyone admires takes a lot of work; the planning behind the scene, proper watering and fertilization, trimming and pruning, deadheading, and so on. Sometimes, despite all the best efforts of the gardener things do not grow according to the plan.

During my first two or three weeks into the course, I had probably experienced every single bad case of program unresponsiveness, unfriendliness and everything in between. I just could not get my website going and every time I compared it with other websites, it did not show what it was supposed to show. Dr. Paterson’s patience was unlimited with me at that particular time and for the right reason. After yet another trial, everything was working.

For a novice Web creator, like myself, I am quite happy with my accomplishments. I realize that some things could be a little better but the fact that this is my first “growing season” deserves an extra credit, would you agree? As you navigate through different categories, you will get some insights of my inner site and you will get to read examples of my creative technical writing as outlined in this course. Even though I have tried my best, the site is not completely perfect but you will realize that very few things really are. This Web Folio is my personal work and it is unique in that sense.  Would you agree?… I hope you’ll enjoy it.

Reflection Blog Unit 3

It is hard for me to believe that it is time to reflect on Unit 3 already. The last three weeks have been very interesting, intense and very challenging all at the same time.

Learning to write with the “You-Attitude” has been quite a stimulating exercise. First, the task was to write a letter to Evan advising him on a professional way to communicate with his professor to register for a class that was full, which was followed by the Inquiry-and the Bad News letters. I can finally better understand the way many businesses choose to structure their letters the way they do. It is the “You-Attitude” format. Obviously, the people who create them must have taken this kind of “English Writing” course long before I have and have been practicing this form of communicating with their clients ever since.

To view the subject matter from the reader’s perspective by trying to “soften the blow and accentuate the positives, offering a reasonable compromise if possible, closing the letter with a positive statement and avoiding referring to the bad news at the end” is not an easy style to adopt but it certainly makes a lot of sense. Further, focusing on the reader’s benefit shows you’ve considered the situation from the reader’s point of view and indeed, it can be appreciated in a different way.

The Formal Report Draft has undeniably been the most challenging “writing experience” for me so far, not only in this unit but in the entire program. The purpose of my report is to assess the feasibility of developing an educational workshop for the patients, who are completely overwhelmed by the process of keeping their teeth clean during their orthodontic treatment to prevent gum inflammation and cavities. I have been in this office for over ten years and as a dental hygienist, I am passionate about all aspect of dental hygiene that relates to patients’ dental care. Seeing how the adolescent patients struggle with their home care while wearing braces has motivated me to research the topic more and plan for a solution.

In Unit 2, writing the Proposal was not an easy task but it did not even compare to formulating the Draft. The most difficult part for me is to design and present the written paper ranging from 12-15 pages to my dentist who I have worked with for over 10 years and who is already familiar with the issue. Presenting the content of my draft to an audience that is unfamiliar with the concept would have been so much easier for I could approach the subject from a different perspective. In my case, the difficulty comes from my reader being all too familiar with the topic and I am trying my best not to bore her with the obvious. Dr. Paterson’s guidelines for drafting to consider the reader in every written sentence are on my mind as I put together different sections of the paper.

Once again, the peer-reviewing exercise, though also challenging in a way, proved to be the most looked forward to feature in this section  and the most satisfying. As our team is down to three members now, from the initial four, our peer-reviewing works as a three-way system. My Report Draft was peer reviewed by Daniel Huettner.  I was very impressed with his evaluation and feedback. He made me realized that I could improve my design which I did not pay that much attention to thinking that the design and layout were just within a norm of any written paper. My concept has changed the moment I viewed Daniel’s Report Draft. His paper was very well planned with perfect spacing and layout, nice graphics and looked very professional. I thought to myself “wow”, I could definitely do better.

The comments he provided were right on target. He pinpointed that my headings and subheadings need improvement as they are too repetitive and lack clarity. As mentioned above, he recommended to improve the visual appearance of my report and to extend the length to 12-15 pages from the recent 10. On the other hand, he recognized the correct use of the “You-Attitude” throughout the report and liked the writing style which made my work worthwhile. For more inspiration to improve my report, I am thinking of reaching out to Daniel for additional feedback before submitting my final copy. Hopefully, he will be able to suggest ways in how to do better in the sections that are deficient so I can get the suggested length.

My peer reviewing of Bhawandeep’s Report Draft underlined for me once again the importance of a professional design, layout, spacing, the significance of clear headings and subheadings, and the accurate choice of words when presenting a topic to a professional reader.

In retrospect, in spite of all the challenges, I have been enjoying this course greatly. The value of peer reviewing our work and the fact that we all post on our teams’ forums play a huge role in developing our writing skills as intended in this program and I find it invaluable and instrumental to my writing.

I look forward to more growth and the advancement of my skills that Unit 4 will provide for me.

Reflection Blog Unit 2

Based on the outline for this course, Unit 2 has proved to be very involved for me. It has also initiated rather challenging work that will be carried on for the rest of the program. Setting up the LinkedIn Profile page was one of the challenges and the other, a main one for me, was the Formal Report Proposal. In addition, we have continued with the peer-reviewing of our work.

The LinkedIn Profile Page (LIPP) has been a part of the application package which forms one of the major assignments for this program. I did not have the LIPP set up prior to this course so I had to start right from the beginning. I found this to be an interesting and very engaging experience. Based on a peer-review provided by my team member, Daniel Huettner, I did quite a good job. I had to provide more information in the “Volunteering Section” (which I had missed initially) and add a Profile picture. I am still working on this part and hopefully will be able to complete it by next week. I definitely understand the advantages of having a “complete” Profile displayed versus one that lacks information, is incomplete or misses the visual of an applicant. I greatly appreciated the feedback and I plan to make future adjustments to my LinkedIn Profile.

For the Formal Report Proposal, I have decided to work with a topic closely related to my profession. Many of the adolescent patients from the dental practice where I work have been challenged by inadequate home care while undergoing orthodontic treatment. Since wearing braces on average takes about a couple of years, this has been a major problem for some of them. To help them with the challenge, I have proposed to organize a workshop for those who are interested to help them learn different way of cleaning their teeth with braces. If interested, parents can attend along with the patients.

My dentist is the facilitator of the workshop which is very advantageous for my proposal since we already collaborate on many dental projects in the practice.

Completing different parts of the report proposal, the progress report and the survey proved to be a brain storming experience for me though a very informative at the same time, considering that so many details can be overwhelming at times, as well.

I have found the method of peer-reviewing different assignments enormously helpful in this program. Having a different perspective from a colleague not necessarily from the same field or background seems to work really well and, in my opinion, it is a method worth recommending for other courses in the future. Besides, this gives another opportunity to look back at one’s own project with a more critical eye.

Before starting this course, I did not think that I could write so many memos in such a short period of time. With all the constructive feedback provided, it seems to work quite well so far.

With that in mind, I am looking forward to the next Unit to apply my newly learned skills and work on the new ones. I am sure there will be plenty of these to learn for me.

Please view my Peer Reviewed Proposal

Please view my ENGL301ReportProposal Revised

Reflection Blog Unit 1

As learned in Unit 1 there are three categories of definitions: parenthetical, sentence and extended definition and depending on how much detail the audience requires, the category can be properly decided on to provide enough information on the subject.

The notion of having definitions being interpreted in a few different ways is not a new concept for me as this is exactly the way the information is conveyed to the patients in the dental office. Depending on the patients and their background level, to avoid any confusion and misinterpretation of the data, the choice of words and the amount of material presented at any given visit is custom guided to the level of patients’ understanding. The assessment of the audience (which in my case as a Dental Hygienist, my audience is formed by the dental patients attending the clinic) takes place during the initial visit and at every subsequent visit to the office. Technically, it is the same approach used, which the project has asked for with regard to the choice of the audience. The key is to recognize who the audience is and how much background knowledge they have on the subject matter. For a non-technical audience, the explanation is given at the lowest level of technicality and the visuals can play a central role to stimulate the interest and illustrate the topic in a much simpler way.

Regardless of the level of confidence the writer presents there is nothing more educating than having peers reviewing the project/document before its final submission/evaluation. This process allows for stepping back and looking from a distance at one’s own work and evaluating it. It allows to reflect and correct potential errors that were either overlooked or simply not that obvious to the writer before the review.

In the case of my paper, the peer evaluation was very helpful and educating. As it turned out, for whatever reason I did not label and explain the visuals included in my paper even though I knew how important it was to do so for the audience to understand and make use of the visuals for their learning. Also, despite the fact that I tried to choose the words carefully while explaining my term and topic, some of them still proved to be too technical for a non-technical reader and needed simplification or clarification. All the suggestion provided by my colleague, Amy Young who peer-reviewed my work, is what I agreed with and followed in hopes of not only making my paper stronger but first and foremost to properly explain the meaning of the term “maxilla” and provide enough information to my audience which was the objective to begin with.

The process of peer reviewing provided me with an opportunity to critique my colleague’s work while at the same time learn a different perspective in writing style, techniques and strategies and in addition, to having another viewpoint presented with regard to my own style, format, clarity and all aspects of presenting a written correspondence in a clear and effective manner.

Taking everything into account, my experience has been a very positive one so far. In this relatively short period of time, I have learned/relearned a strong basis on the importance of defining the audience and presenting the information according to their level of knowledge and technicality on the given subject as well as peer review the work. I am really looking forward to the next part of the program during the upcoming weeks and continue my learning process of technical communication.

To access rewritten Definitions Assignment please click here ENGL301Assignment12016

MEMO

To: Erika Paterson, 301 English Writing Course Instructor
From: Editha Tomaszewski
Date: May 19, 2016
Subject: Summary of Application Letter

As indicated by the instructions set in the unit outline, I have attached my application letter addressed to my classmates with regards to taking me on as a member on their writing teams.

I have written about the importance of being a strong team player, who is responsible and dedicated to completing assigned tasks. Also, I stressed the need for strong time management skills since it is essential to meet deadlines on time, especially if we are taking an online course. Additionally, I addressed the fact that I am willing to learn from all experienced social media users and become a great contributor towards the teams’ common goal.

Please let me know if you require any additional information.

Enclosure: 301 Editha Tomaszewski Application Letter

583 The East Mall

Toronto, ON M9B 6E9

May 18, 2016

English 301 Technical Writing Classmates

The University of British Columbia

2329 West Mall

Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4

Dear English 301 Technical Writing Classmates:

I have been encouraged by our course Professor, Dr. Erika Paterson, to reach out to you, my fellow classmates, to establish a writing team while taking this course. My name is Editha Tomaszewski and I am a fourth year student at the Faculty of Dentistry in the Bachelor of Dental Science specializing in Dental Hygiene.

Working as a Dental Hygienist in clinical practice requires being a team player, sharing responsibilities, and working very closely with others towards a common goal. Being focused, task oriented, and dedicated has always been part of my work attributes. I understand the importance of effective teamwork and how each of us has an important role to play when we work together.

Those of you who have taken online studies know that time management skills are essential. During my studies at UBC I have taken many courses and I have always submitted my work on time, whether individual or team assignments. Therefore, I am seeking responsible and committed team players who are able to meet deadlines and who enjoy working in a collaborative learning environment.

Although my experience in areas of computer networking/social media is not my strongest asset, the fact that I have created my own page along with the blog is just a proof that I am open to new ways of communication and can certainly learn new skills from those of you who are comfortable navigating in all capacities that the web has to offer. Even though I rather spend my time on clinical activities than blog, who knows if, with your help, by the end of this semester I will not choose just the opposite?

I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to work with team members who can share my passion for learning and working collaboratively. Looking forward to hearing from you via my email: ept583@gmail.com. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Editha Tomaszewski