This is the hardest to define category, but some of the projects I worked on were more processes than they were documents.
Stock Phots
I spent a lot of time choosing stock photos for textbooks.
This was one of the first stock photos I chose. Now, I’m not so sure it’s a great photo to use. Because I have accumulated a lot more experience looking at these. But the book was about sports administration and social media, and I do think it does a good job showing technology and interconnection, although the cartoon-y, drawn effect isn’t as appealing to me as it was when I first looked at it.
Stock photo picking presented a lot of challenges, some of which are discussed in the following PDF. However, this process did teach me a lot about research, perseverance through tasks I maybe didn’t love, and how to talk about my job with humor. Although I didn’t love searching for stock photos, I did learn to talk about it in a more funny way as time progressed, and then I learned to think about it in a funny way while I was doing it. That helped me a lot, and I think will be a great skill to continue.
Article and Video Integration
My other integration-focused task was searching for links to articles and videos that would be relevant for an already-published eBook on facilities management. This was, like stock photo selection, searching for something that would work well in an already-established context.
I was also supposed to compile another list of online sources to help teachers teach the chapter. This is elaborated upon more in my research paper, but what is relevant for here is that I learned that it’s hard to evaluate how well other professional teachers will be able to use a source and whether a source is really helpful for the teacher or the student. In one section, they mention the Beijing Olympics and how the opening ceremony helped Beijing. But is a video of the opening ceremonies helpful? It was a beautiful ceremony and might help students recall that bit of information, but will a teacher agree? And will a student even pay attention to the video or just check their phones?
This document is very much still in progress. As you can see from the comments, I’m still trying to decide whether some articles are too graphic, or better suited just for the teacher list.
This project, and many of the others, has required that I really trust my own judgment. I can’t go to my supervisor with every question I have, even though that seems a lot safer. So as this project continues, I’ll have a lot more questions about my audience and what best will help them, but for the most part I’ll mull over it on my own and make the best decision I can. It has served me well so far this semester, and I have to trust that my own analysis and my studies will help me come to the right answer. It may not always feel safe or right, but it’s always fun to think about all the different angles from which I can approach seeing the audience and best evaluating their needs.
Kiersten Woods 