The main goal of our project was to create a web text for Kairos, the online journal, about the OSDDP, pedagogy, and online writing spaces. Kairos asked for research pertaining to the intersection of online writing spaces, rhetorical theory, and the composition classroom. The intersection that we speak of will discuss the theory that generally affects the teaching of composition. To achieve our main goal we wanted to ecourage access for various audiences to be aware and to view Purdue University's Open Source Development and Documentation Program and to eliminate the previous notion that writing in online spaces goes unrevised, remains unread, and reaches very few audiences.

Our project focused on the Open Source Development and Documentation Program or OSDDP that allows users to submit their research individually or as a team and at the same time allows others to access the website and revise and comment on the documentation work. In our project two classes were divided up into ten teams. The OSDDP team worked on formulating the purposes and goals of the OSDDP writing space. They informed how the website compares and contrasts to other open source technology. The business, technical, and professional writing team continued to talk about the OSDDP and how it helped to prepare students for other classes and the future work place. The team also spoke of the adaptability of technology and how an online writing space like OSDDP can be considered as an online textbook. The examples team provided some specific written examples from the OSDDP writing space and discussed how they have been or could be continuously revised in an online environment. They also included strategies for how to review our own web text project during its construction phase. The interview team interviewed various users and creators of OSDDP. The team also shared their own views, ideas, and arguments on the content of the interview. The research team designed questionnaires and compiled their results into a table. The learning communities and service learning team talked about the OSDDP serving as a learning community and service learning opportunity for users in related areas of study. They demonstrated how the open source community and the OSDDP relate by way of bringing the student and client base closer together. The technical team created a template that was well designed and appropriate for the text that we created. They helped assist all teams in the arrangement of their text for the overall web text document. The project management team oversaw the entire operation of the project. They set up time constraints, composed weekly status reports, and made sure every team was on task. The conclusions team did extensive research on all topics for the various teams at the same time developed a works cited and credits page and explained the class's purpose of undertaking this project. The theory team completed the introductory work and coordinated with the project management team. The team also focused on how the project affected the instructor and the students and what theory exists behind it.

Everyone has productively worked together on this project, collaborated on ideas, and worked well with the project management team. With this project we were able to get a glimpse of working on real life issues in a team atmosphere. The teams have all worked at a good pace and have interacted with one another in a helpful manner. We all shared the progress we made and gave revisions for one another's topic. It was like our own little OSDDP page since we were able to put our own work on a common disk drive and allowed other teams to revise and make suggestions, serving as a great resource and helping hand.

overview

This project asks you to write a portfolio of documents about the OSDDP for a real client, Kairos online peer reviewed journal. You will work as a member of a team to create documents that meet the needs of your client. You will use the Open Source Development and Documentation website to explore and discuss possible topics.

Each team will be responsible for a single area of research and/or production. Teams will produce a portfolio deliverables, provide technical support and design, organize and manage the project.

The client that we will be working for is Kairos, an online journal. The specific documents we will create respond to the requests of the journal found on their website.

purpose of this project
• formulate and examine a critical research question that relates to Open Source and the OSDDP
• practice developing the types of documents you will produce on the job
• practice finding resources that already exist (library research) and/or gathering and analyzing new information (field work)
• collaborate with a team to manage and produce a critical project

portfolio deliverables

Your options are open based on the topic you choose, who your intended audience is and what the purpose is for your research.

Some options are:
• Recommendation report
• Proposal
• Documentation
• Marketing materials
• Case study of open source community
• Client sheets – letters to clients, forms to keep track of,
• Interview questions/ research questions
• Audience Analysis

related readings

Open Source and Academia

Journals to look at for articles (these can be found in full text through Purdue library online, e-journals):
• Technical Communication Quarterly (TCQ)
• Journal of Business and Technical Communication (JBTC)
• College Composition and Communication (CCC)
• College English

You can also look at Kairos for other related materials.

Also look for books that you can use to relate to your project.

Audience analysis:
• Understanding Readers
• Audience Analysis Worksheet (word doc)

criteria

a professional business portfolio:
• fully achieves the purpose of the assignment: to explore and generate a critical research question and design a portfolio of documents that respond to that question
• demonstrates a thorough understanding of the writing context
• conforms to all conventions of formatting and design
• works well in both print and digital form
• is free of all typographical and grammatical errors

calendar

week 1: portfolio introduction
• introduce Critical Research Questions you will use to analyse open source in the workplace
• introduce portfolio and possible documents
• discuss Adaptive Project Management

week 2: establish the project
• begin adaptive project management plan and establish critical research question

week 3: reports
• discuss the function of reports and how to adapt the genres to your projects needs
• design a report that clearly articulates your research question

week 4: deliverables
• create the documents needed for the portfolio

week 5: revisions
• workshop revisions of the portfolio documents

week 6: dreamweaver and fireworks workshops

week 7: complete and present the portfolio
• presentations of your digital portfolio