COETAIL Course 3, Reflection: Final Project

Here is my final project, a screencast explaining some ways to think about formatting a document using styles.

The goal of this project for me was to produce a stand-alone presentation that could be used by HS English teachers to give guidance on efficient formatting functions, particularly in MS Word. Firstly I checked in with the department head to identify a unit during which they might want to use such a presentation. After identifying research papers as a good candidate I obtained the formatting sample that the students receive. I used it to identify a subset of commonly overlooked, but useful functionality available in MS Word and other word processing and layout applications. I chose screencasting as the delivery mechanism.

I did a bit of experimentation with screencasting software to get comfortable with it. As I planned my screencast I tried to think of the audience. In my experience it can be difficult to persuade people to do things differently in familiar programs. I identified fear of an unproductive learning curve, as in spending 15 min learning something that only saves 5 minutes work, as the main obstacle.

Initially I approached it almost like an infomercial, trying to be convincing. I also spent way too long rehearsing and fighting with Word trying to get it to behave consistently. The screencast was becoming very long, detailed and boring.

I reread presenting naked for some inspiration and completely revamped the majority of the video. Making the lessons more general and being honest about the difficulties involved really helped my message.

I am looking forward to feedback from the English department.