Over the course of this semester, we have completed three assignments following a linear pattern, AI Editor, I-Search Project, and Context Shift. Each assignment required peer engagement or partnership, and assessments of our creative and writing skills. The assignments were broken down into parts to make them more cohesive to complete over the semester.
The AI Editor assignment was a group project that I started with Darius Hoyt and Nuzhat Prionti. The first part of the assignment was the ethical work plan which we broke up between the three of us, with me analyzing the and creating the AI script, and listing ways AI can be used academically. Darius searched what a language learning model (LLM), and how it works and created the “scan me” slide at the end of the presentation with our QR code. Nuzhat worked on the slide titled, the problems with using AI in an academic context. This assignment was a draft for the next part, which would be our actual presentation. Nuzhat was starting to not respond in our group chat and would rarely open the slides, so Darius and I took control of the assignment from there and composed the slides for the presentation. Though we lost a member of our group, putting the slides together was not too much hassle because we just transferred the information from the draft presentation to the new one and created a more vibrant slideshow and added in our survey results. The last part of this assignment was the reflection, which was also easy to compose because it was an individual text of my feelings and process during the assignment. My favorite part of this assignment would be collecting the data for the survey because it felt like free rejection therapy, going around asking students at CCNY if they would like to participate in the survey. I also enjoyed connecting with my classmates to create a slideshow.
The next assignment we worked on in class was the I-Search Project, which was an individual assignment. The I-Search Project had 4 parts to it, the narrative, the process and planning, the literature review itself, and the reflection. I started off in class by picking a technology that has a specific use. I chose blue light glasses because I owned a pair and thought it would be interesting to research one of the many items I have purchased as a consumer. Prior to researching blue light blocking glasses, I created a narrative talking about the importance of blue light glasses because I assumed they protect your eyes. During my process and planning part of the I-Search Project, I discovered that there were several articles shunning the use of blue light blocking glasses because of the lack of ability to protect the eyes. Completing the comparative source report was not hard because there was an example comparative table right above. However, I forgot to complete the narrative description of the research process because I must have missed it. The next part of the I-Search project was the first and final draft where we had to now use our sources and write out the literature review. While writing the literature review, I had a few organizational issues. A lot of my sources’ information overlapped each other so I did not know where to put what, and found it annoying and hard. I did not complete the first draft but did end up completing the final draft later than the original due date. Finally, came the reflection, which I submittedbefore the final draft. I made my reflection a slideshow instead of a document because I felt like I could organize my thoughts better there, and it was prettier.
Lastly, there was the context shift assignment, which, for me, included the final presentation. This assignment had 3 parts, audience research, audience communication, and reflection. The context shift assignment was an extension of the I-Search project where we broke down the context of the technology we chose to research in the I-Search Project. These assignments were easier for me to complete because they were accessing our more creative sides. Learning how to shift the context of an assignment is important because it allows writers to be able to look at all angles of research from a writer’s point of view, or as a student, girl, boy, or whatever you or your audience identify with.
In future assignments, I hope to be able to pace myself better with big assignments because I now know my strengths and weaknesses.
