Today is the due date for Project 5. Aim to submit your work by midnight in your timezone, but remember that you have a 24-hour, grace period if you need it. No excuses needed. If something has gone wrong in your world and 24 hours may not be enough, contact me immediately and let me know what you need.

Class Work for August 12

These are the tasks to complete for today’s work:

• Go over the requirements for Project 5.
• Review the location of the FAQs for using Google Drive.
• Discuss the reflection memo and how to submit Project 5 in Scholar.

Requirements for Project 5

You need to turn in a reflection memo as well as a share link to your Forum Completion Report. Use the project assignment to check your work. In particular, make sure that your report addresses all four areas that fall under the participation portion of your grade: participation, daily work, number of posts, and quality of posts. Also remember to check your spelling and proofread for grammar and punctuation.

Google Drive FAQs

Note: this is the same information you followed in Project 1. I’m including it as a reference in case you need a reminder.

To make sure that you can submit your project smoothly, pay attention to the following FAQs:

• If you worked in something other than Google Drive, you can use your preferences to automatically convert files you upload to Google Drive automatically.
  This step is important so that I can use the commenting features in Google Drive.
• If you already uploaded a document to Google Drive, check the format of your files and manually convert the files on Google Drive if necessary.
• Follow the instructions on how to set permissions and get the Google Drive Share link to get a link that will allow me to read and comment on your document.

Writing Your Reflection Memo and Submitting Your Project

Your reflection memo is your chance to tell me anything you want me to know before I read your project. For this project, your reflection memo will give me the link to your spreadsheet on Google Drive and the link to your analysis memo if you created one. You will also tell me about what you have written. Follow these instructions to submit your work:

1. Go to the Assignments tab on the left menu in Scholar.
2. Choose “P5: Forum Report.”
3. Scroll down to the text box below the headings Submission and Assignment Text. You will write your memo in this box. (Alternately, you can write in a word processor/Google Doc, and copy/paste your text into this box.)
4. Add your memo headers (To, From, Subject, and Date). For your reflection memo, you’ll use the following:
• Address your memo to me (Traci) and from yourself (use your name).
• Add a subject line that indicates this is your reflection memo and which project it is for.
• Add the current date.
5. Insert a horizontal divider line using the button indicated with the red arrow in the image below:
   
6. Introduce your project—what are your overall goals, what grade have you aimed for for Project 5, and what documents have you written for the project?
7. Convert your document to Google Drive format if you worked in another word processor.
8. Add the Share link to the document on your Google Drive. Use the instructions for how to get the Share link on the FAQ site if you are unsure how to share documents. Make sure you set permissions so that I can add comments.
9. Tell me what I need to know to understand the information you have included in your document.
10. Tell me anything else you want me to know about the the layout and design..
11. Add a concluding section that tells me anything else you want me to know about your project.
12. Agree to the Honor Code by clicking the checkbox at the bottom of the page in Scholar. You cannot finish submitting the project without clicking that checkbox (and it’s easy to miss).
13. Submit your Project, and save a copy of the confirmation and submission ID. If something goes wrong in Scholar, you can contact 4HELP with that information.
14. You’re done! Project 6 (the final exam) is the job application materials you proposed in Project 4.

Today, we have peer review for Project 5 scheduled. We’ll follow the same process as we have on the other assignments, so this should be routine for you this time. I hope to have feedback on the work you have submitted to you soon.

Class Work for August 11

Today we focus on peer review for Project 5, using Google Drive. The process will be just like the peer review you did last week. Here are the tasks to complete for today’s work:

• Refresh yourself on the documentation for the comment system in Google Drive.
• Post drafts for Project 5 in the forums.
• Respond to two students on Google Drive and in the forums.
• Review the comments on your own work.

Refresher on the Google Drive Comment System

If you need a reminder on the comment and sharing systems in Google Drive, use the step-by-step instructions for how to use Google Drive for peer review on the FAQ site, which includes details on how to share your document, how to comment, and how to respond to comments.  If you need a more detailed explanation, be sure to check out the Lynda video on “Commenting on a file.”

Posting Your Drafts for Project 5

You will post the share link to your draft in the forums:

1. Go to the Project 5: Completion Report forum, and create a topic for your draft with your name or your username (e.g., “Traci’s report”).

2. Post a reply in your topic, doing the following:
   • If you do not want to share your last name in the forums, change it in your draft to a pseudonym. You can use a generic last name like Doe or Smith, or you can change it to Lastname.
   • Share the link(s) to your Project 5 drafts in Google Docs, using the FAQ linked in the Refresher section above.

3. Let your classmates know about any specific concerns that you want them to consider as they comment on your draft.

4. Be sure to Preview your draft to make sure everything shows up the way you want it to, and then submit your post.

Responding to Your Classmates’ Drafts

Follow these instructions to respond to your classmates’s drafts:

1. Read and comment on the drafts of at least two of your classmates:

   • Find one post that no other student has replied to (so that we can be sure everyone gets a reply).
   • Find a second post that has only one other student reply.
   • (Optional)You may offer feedback and comments for more than two students if you like. If you are trying to raise your participation grade, commenting on an additional student’s paper can raise your number of posts.

2. Use the Share link to go to your classmate’s draft on Google Drive and do the following:

   • Check the title of the document(s), and add a comment to tell your partner if it is clear and effective.
   • If you notice any spelling errors, punctuation errors, or typos, mark them as you read, but please focus more on the content rather than editing.
   • Add comments on the content of the draft. Comment on at least three things your classmate does well and at least three things that your classmate could improve on. It’s fine (excellent, even) to include more than the minimum number of comments.
   • As you check the documents, check that the report addresses all four areas that fall under the participation portion of your grade: participation, daily work, number of posts, and quality of posts. Leave a comment if you notice anything missing or can offer advice on design and layout.

3. Once you finish commenting on the document, go back to your classmate’s post in the forums and add an overall comment that sums up what you thought of the paper and gives your partner some encouragement.

Reviewing the Comments You Received

Once you have finished adding comments to your classmates’ projects, return to your own draft, read the comments that your classmates have given you, and add replies as appropriate. For instance, you might thank your partner for catching an error, ask your partner for more detail on feedback you don’t understand, or share a revision and ask your partner if it is an improvement. Your goal is to reply today so that your classmate can respond if you need more information.

Today, we will look at the assignments for Project 5 and Project 6, the two projects remaining in the course.

Class Work for August 7

These are the tasks to complete for today’s work:

• Finding comments on graded work
• Talk about the assignment for Project 5
• Review the assignment for Project 6
• Discuss powerful word choice

Finding Comments on Graded Work

I am working through the projects you have submitted as quickly as possible. As I grade projects, I do release them immediately. You may get an email message when they are released, depending upon the settings in Scholar. You can always tell what has been graded by looking at the Gradebook in Scholar or going to the Assignments page in Scholar. If you are unfamiliar with Scholar, you can use these instructions to learn how to find feedback on your Assignments.

Getting Started on Project 5

For Project 5, you will review your work in the course and write a completion report that outlines what you have learned and done during the term. In particular, you will review your posts on the Forums and point out some of your best work. In addition to grading your report, I’ll use the information you present to help determine your participation grade for the course. In the workplace, you could think of this report as a self-evaluation for a performance review.

Here’s what you need to do to get started:

1. Read the assignment for Project 5 completely. Begin gathering data on your forum work, explained in Step 2 of the assignment.

2. If you have any questions (today or in the future) about the assignments, post in Questions about Project 5 topic if you have questions about the report.

Continuing Work on Project 6

Project 6, your final exam, is due by midnight in your timezone on Friday, August 15. A rough draft of your work is due for peer review on Thursday, August 14.

Move forward assuming that I have approved your proposal for the job application materials you will submit. I will get feedback to you on the proposals as soon as possible. In the meantime, move forward writing (or compiling) the materials as you proposed them.

Discussing Powerful Word Choice

Choosing strong, powerful verbs is an important part of both Project 5 and 6. Review the Skills Cluster List (p. 44) in the 2013–2014 Career Planning Guide and the Power Skills for Your Resume and Resume Bullet Formula (p. 37–40) in the 2014–2015 Career Planning Guide. These resources demonstrate the kinds of verbs you can use to show yourself as a strong, active person.

Notice in particular how the example in the bullet formula in the 2014–2015 Guide moves from a generic idea (“communication skills”) to a very strong statement about what the person has accomplished. That idea of highlighting your “Demonstrated Accomplishment/Contribution” is what you should work for in your report for Project 5 and your job application materials for Project 6. For instance, rather than saying you were a strong forum participant in your Project 5 report, choose a strong verb and add clarifying details the show your accomplishment or contribution.

Go to the Project 5: Completion Report in the Forums and respond to at least one of the three self-assessment statements there:

• National Guard Self-Assessment 
• USDA Self-Assessment Statements 
• Denver Schools Self-Assessment Statement 

You will find questions there to get your conversation started. As always, feel free to engage each other in discussion by quoting one another as you reply. You are only required to post a reply to one of the three statements; however, you may feel free to reply to more than one. In fact, if you have not met your minimum requirement for the forums yet, you can take advantage of this chance to post some extra replies.