Research Report

Joe Pertee

Alex Leonhardt

Jake Sebbens

Observation

We are planning to directly observe by going to meetings and social gatherings. When we are at said events, we will be collecting data and writing down notes. We could characterize our data collection style as non-obtrusive, but we will also try to use some participatory observations as well.

Collecting Data

The texts we are reading are written by the organization in the form of forums from the TechHeads website. The genre the texts belong to are forums and emails. The purpose of these texts for community members are to tell them of upcoming events, special projects, and plans for future meetings.

Interview

My name is Andy Erb, freshman at Ohio University and the lead video editor of Tech Heads in AVW Productions.

How was the group started?

-Tech Heads is an internet based webshow from AVW Productions here at OU.  We are a learning experience production group for students here at school.

Why was the group started?

-The group started with our producers, Eric Miller and Amy Brighter, in AVW when they decided they wanted to deliver tech news to the world.

Why did you join?

-I offered to help because video editing is my passion and I made it up to the position I hold today.

What do you do in meetings?

-Our meetings are conducted based on the projects that are in progress.

What do you talk about in meetings?

-We usually discuss what happened in the world tech-wise (go figure.) We usually talk about the state of the show and who is doing what in the show.

How does somebody join?

-You can join by attending our meetings and getting involved. You know you're in when you're in our secret Facebook group.

When are the meetings?

-Sundays and Wednesdays. The times vary. 

Does the club have anything special coming up soon that they wish people would know?

-We have been releasing our videos on YouTube. Also, you can visit our BRAND NEW website at www.techheads.me. Go to our website! It's nice and pretty! No, seriously. We wrote it ourselves.

Are you working on any special projects?

We are always working on projects but the main one I am pursuing is a mini-show called Browsers. In Browsers, we have characters that are named Google Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer who work in an office. It's currently in preproduction. 

Do you have charity events?

None that I know of in particular. 

Do have a website or a page on OU website where people could contact the head of the club or find more information?

www.techheads.me

Is there any dues that people have to pay?

Nope! Join at your own will!

Narrowing the Topic

Our research question is “How gamers and tech people act and behave together in their group?” Hopefully we find any preferences between computer systems, operating systems, and game genres.

Methods

My method of gathering concrete data for part 2 consisted of me keeping a journal. I started writing it as soon as I sat down to think of what I actually wanted to write. I continued to jot down every thought I had that had relevance to my writing process. It helped me keep m ideas fresh and nalso to not forget them.

Bibliography For Project 2

Bibliography

Hughes, Pete. "Two Sides To Every Argument." Happy Cow. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.

Spellmeyer, Kurt. "Writing for College." Writing ForCollege. N.p., 17 Sept. 2012. Web. 20 Feb. 2013. <http://www.tc.umn.edu/~jewel001/CollegeWriting/ARGUE/way of.htm>.

"Argument." The Writing Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013. <http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/argument/>.

Topic Proposal

I want to write about music and the changes it has went through throughout the past to the present. Music is my favorite thing in the world so I am curious to learn anything I can while also knockin out this project

Kleine Reading Response

Summary
Kleine writes about witnessing students in the library at night and their strategies for writing research papers. He calls this sight a nightmare vision. The students he sees were talking and laughing instead of doing real work. After witnessing this he came up with the "hunter and gatherer" analogy for writing. He explains this process by saying that a hunter is someone who knows what they are looking for and goes out to find it. A gatherer is someone who discovers what might be suitable for what they are trying to accomplish. This is a strategy for collecting data before you write. He conducted interviews to test this. He wanted to find the benefits and the drawbacks of this method. He found that all eight of the people he talked to wrote out of interest instead of being made to do it. He explains that all the subjects agreed that the hunter/gatherer model was a good way to explain what academic writers do. All in all he believes that this method is useful.

Connections
I think just about all of the authors from the readings I have read would agree with Kleine. Either you know what you are looking for, or you have no idea and hope to stumble upon what you need. Berkenkotter wrote a lot about analyzing and editing. The hunter/gatherer method could also show how a person would edit their paper. Either they know what they need to fix and go fix it, or they would have to read through and hope to find a way to make their writing better.

QDJ #3
Sources play a role in every piece of writing. It is important to know where your work comes from. If not it is considered plagiarism. The only difference between Kleine and my personal experiences is that he would technically be the source. I read things and cite them, and he is the one who would be cited.

Opinion
I agree strongly with Kleine and his method. I myself have been a hunter and a gatherer. If I write on a subject I know a lot about, I would be a hunter. When I write about a topic I am very unfirmiliar with, I am then a gatherer. This article was a great explanation of how people find their information while writing research papers

Rosenburg Reading Response

Summary
In Rosenburg's "Reading Games: Strategies for Reading Scholarly Sources" she talks about how she was once a person who couldn't read "scholarly" articles that were assigned in her college classes. She tries to relate her story to our situations, now, as college students. She finally found a way to enjoy writing and became good at reading these hefty articles with ease. Further into the article, she explains tips she has for writing a good paper. She talks about things such as focusing on your audience and using language and dialogue that will keep them interested and appeal to their likes. Also, she explains ways to identify your primary audience. Rosenburg goes on to talk about how to understand the architecture of an article by looking at the title, the abstract, the introduction, section headings, and the conclusion. She then explains how to find the main point of an article using these things  just listed. In conclusion, Rosenburg tells readers that this article was designed to help them become better writers.

DQ #1
Identifying my audience was never hard for me. I always knew who my ideal persons of interest were when I was writing papers, even though most of the time my teacher was my audience. I would always just visualize who I wanted to read this, then I would adjust my language accordingly. I think visualization works the best and should be tried at least once. Rosenburg talks about identifying where the publication would be to find your audience. I also agree with that.

DQ #2
Turning reading into conversation isn't as hard as it may sound. When you are reading, you may have questions. You just have to keep reading and they maybe answered. You probably make comments on certain things as well. Look at that, your making conversation.

Opinion
This article was very helpful to me. Her explanations were very modernized. She steered away from the boring conformed explanations that most people use. I would gladly read more articles by Rosenburg if they were as educational as this on.


 
 
 

Brandt "Sponsors of Literacy" Reading Response

Summary
   
What I think Brandt is trying to get at is that every person has had a different way of becoming literate. The ways of teaching writing and reading have changed over the years as technology, knowledge, and even the English language has progressed. I am sure a majority of human beings have learned to read and write, but it has all been a special journey just for them. Someone could have learned to read and write from their mother, father, a teacher, or just about any adult figure in their life. She wants to point out to the readers that everyone has had a different experience while becoming literate.

Questions For Discussion and Journaling
Question #5

In my opinion, Brandt is right on in saying that race and social status dramatically effect one's ability to gain literacy. In Ms. Lopez's case, being a Hispanic minority in Texas in the 70's and 80's made it exponentially more difficult to get access to proper tools to learn how to read and write. On the other hand, Mr. Branch had no problem because he was of the majority class. A white male would have just about any resource imaginable at his disposal. So that being said I agree with Brandt 100% on the claim that race and social status effect the ease of becoming literate.

Applying and Exploring Ideas
Question #1

As a white male in a middle-class family growing up in the 90's and 2000's I believe my journey to literacy was a cake walk. My mother was my sponsor above all. I learned how to read fairly well even before starting kindergarten, and was reading children's books out loud in said class. In the higher grades it became even easier to access reading materials and any other tools. Public schools all had libraries and computer labs in them for unlimited use. Granted I despise reading, I did enough of it to keep my reading level adequate to my age and even surpassed my expectations.

My Opinion

This particular reading was a little informational. Honestly I get bored easily with readings like this, but it didn't completely kill me. The biggest dislike I had when reading this was that there was many words I have never seen before, so I don't think I got all the knowledge I could out of it. I already had a pretty good understanding on the literacy struggles with race and social status, but I liked the personal stories about Ms. Lopez and Mr. Branch. These accounts showed the reality through the eyes of real people, and that to me is better than anyone's interpretations.