One of the reasons my wife, Nancy, and I moved back to the East Coast was to be closer to family. My sister is coming to town this weekend to help celebrate Nancy's birthday, so I suspect I will be out of touch over the weekend and won't be available to help you.
During this time, if you have questions look to your group or to the class as a whole. You can send questions to the email list or you can call or email a group member.
Right now, you are finishing creating groups and creating a google document and sharing it. In terms of writing, you are moving the rhetorical analysis you have already drafted into the google document and reading those analysis shared with you to try to discover ways of improving your own.
The upshot is I suspect most questions which might arise about how to use google documents, and there are many folks in the class who are already doing so successfully. Draw on these relative experts. Having said this, your best source for help with google documents are the links in my post on them on the class blog, and the Google Documents Help Center found here:
http://documents.google.com/support/
Over the course of my life, I have learned to write and adapt my writing process to using pencil and paper, a typewriter, early computers (I had an Atrai), WordPerfect, several versions of Word, several other computer based word processes, several online applications (like Google, Zoho, and Adobe Buzzword), and voice dictation and transcription. One reason I am having you learn to use google documents is to begin to develop the skills necessary to adapt your existing writing process to new modes of writing and new tools to help you write better. Believe me, you will have to learn to adapt in your careers. The pace of technological change will give you little choice.
Docs is a very, very useful writing tool. No tool is perfect for it's job, just as there isn't a text which can't be improved. Learning to use new tools and "keeping your tools sharp" (as my father used to say) is all part of being a good crafts person.
Having said this, when you're learning to use a new technique or tool and adapting what you already know how to do to these new ways, it can be frustrating. Remember, part of what you are doing is learning how to learn patience with the work it takes to develop new technique.
The upshot? If you find yourself frustrated with learning Google Docs, take a moment to reflect on this frustration, identify the specific reason(s) behind your frustration or the problem you are having, and look to the resources you are learning to use, like the Docs Help Center, other authors, and the community. Remember, when you begin your professional life, you will not have professors to consult, that is, unless you pay my exorbitant consulting fees (currently starting at $50-$100/hour. Yes, this is my *starting* rate, and people and companies pay it.). My advice? Figure out now how to to deal with the frustration of learning new tools now. There are many, many cheaper resources than relying on an expert in the field. Take my being dark this weekend as such an opportunity.
Me? I'm planning on getting in some good visiting.
As always, write with questions. I will tackle them Monday.
Steve
Steve
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