LAMP Portfolio

Introduction

               

Partner Description

                Our community partner this semester was LAMP, which stands for Learning Actively Mentorship Program. As part of the Science Initiative at the University of Wyoming, Professor Rachel Watson is the primary head of LAMP. LAMP’s mission is to transform core science classrooms into engaging, interactive environments through the use of active learning classrooms and active teaching. Furthermore, LAMP plans to improve the quality of undergraduate science education, increase the passing rate of introductory science courses, and achieve top quartile publication rates of PhD faculty.

Group Description

                As part of the goal of helping our community partner, LAMP, us students of ENGL – 2035: Writing for Public Forums, including Paige Bodily, Charlamagne Belknap, Megan Rogge, Anson Lichtfuss, and myself, have assembled to form the LAMP Group. With our diverse education backgrounds in Computer Science, Business, Education, and English, we were an excellent choice for helping LAMP in its endeavors, bringing many different ideas and perspectives on LAMP’s problem of need.

Project Description and Solution

After conducting our own free research, consulting with Rachel Watson, going back to research, and speaking with Rachel again, we both determined LAMP’s most viable problem of need for us to assist with with was its lack of web presence, communication of goals, and turning feelings of exclusion in the community into feelings of inclusion. After researching how other universities have dealt with these issues, and communicating with Tabatha Spencer and Rachel Watson, we were able to develop web content and create an infographic for LAMP’s website that we believe will help LAMP overcome these obstacles.

Outline of Documents

Initial Correspondence: In the initial stages of our correspondence with Rachel Watson, we asked about and discussed issues LAMP has been facing and deliberated possible solutions the LAMP Group could offer. In the end, we settled on the major task of generating informative and audience engaging content for the LAMP website.

Link to Initial Correspondence:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ql_V_lJQcbTCBAOWoSvO5ZJIwAlpItZkN1884gQU2mo/edit?usp=sharing

Follow-up Correspondence: Our follow-up correspondence with Rachel Watson also included Tabatha Spencer, a project coordinator for LAMP, and we discussed implementing our web content on the LAMP webpage as well as how that could be done.

Link to Follow-up Correspondence:

http://engl2035.blogspot.com/2016/04/lamp-proposal-followup-email.html 

Proposal: In our proposal, we ironed out LAMP’s real needs, proposed a solution to LAMP’s difficulty, discussed the beneficiaries of the solution, and laid out a plan of action on how we think it could be done. We also created a rough timeline of our progress.

Link to Proposal:

http://engl2035.blogspot.com/2016/04/lamp-proposal-followup-email.html 

Proposal PowerPoint: In our proposal PowerPoint or “pitch” presentation, we the LAMP Group formally pitched our solution and plan to Rachel Watson, including a discussion of the beneficiaries of our plan, and a background on what Active Learning is.

Link to Proposal Powerpoint:

https://uwy-my.sharepoint.com/personal/alichtf1_uwyo_edu/_layouts/15/guestaccess.aspx?guestaccesstoken=gx8FBZTJaMotApZTT2Ch97nHfNUvx0vaqZhylBAQcn4%3d&docid=0d39cbc0275cb497fb0f6dba2ac3b53e8

Infographic: The infographic is to be featured on the LAMP page, and gives a description of Active Learning and its benefits.

Link to Infographic:

https://uwy-my.sharepoint.com/personal/alichtf1_uwyo_edu/_layouts/15/guestaccess.aspx?guestaccesstoken=yxDKlHJ1pvfnHP%2fZWrpSwuhAHo7z6A0P29ojXt1njmE%3d&docid=0df345c71c6aa4119a668255891596ce3

Client Project: The client project was compiled by each of us, which included content that LAMP can utilize however pleases them. 

Link to Project: 
https://docs.google.com/a/uwyo.edu/document/d/1m4jVl2B7pnst3cuJE_e6xs6Jd20-Bde0aaIN72cf4pM/edit?usp=sharing

Big Hollow: Final Project Portfolio

Big Hollow Food Co-Op

Final Project Portfolio

Chelsee Dellinger

Colleen Dorfler

Michaela Jones

Emily Lescure

Kelsey Lowrey

Introduction

Over the course of the semester, our group from English 2035, Writing in Public Forums, has had the opportunity to be paired with Big Hollow Food Co-op. The objective of this project was to assist Big Hollow with problems they may be having as a business, and then propose potential solutions to these issues. The main goals of both groups will be explained in brief throughout the proposal, overlapping with each description. An overview of this proposal includes information about the project and partner, the tasks that our group aspired to complete for Big Hollow, and why we chose to tackle those specific goals.

Partner and Group Description:

Big Hollow Food Co-op is a cooperative that provides locally produced foods and goods in Laramie, WY. Their goals include increasing their membership and client base, educating the community of the importance of cooperatives, and to continuing to provide products to better serve the community so individuals can adhere to a healthier, natural lifestyle. As a cooperative, the Big Hollow Food Co-op aims to serve the community, local farmers, charities, citizens, and other locally owned businesses in downtown Laramie, WY. Because Big Hollow Food Co-op is owned by its members, it gives the customers exactly what they want. Overall, they strive to support local agriculture, provide healthy food and empower the community.

Our group is composed of five individuals with varying majors and diverse backgrounds. We are all currently in the course English 2035, Writing for Public Forums, and our ultimate goal is to assist Big Hollow with their advertising needs. Additionally, as college students, we have been able to experience Big Hollow’s marketing tactics directed towards the University of Wyoming population. Our group serves to assist Big Hollow with advertising and educating the community about cooperatives.

Project Description:

Our group’s main concern was to notify the Laramie community of Big Hollow’s passion for operating as a co-op and their dedication to abiding by the seven cooperative principles. In order to complete this task, we collectively decided that a crafting a video would be the most effective way to spread the word of Big Hollow to the Laramie community. We also proposed the idea of hiring an intern for the 2016-2017 school year. This individual could assist with advertising and marketing tactics in order to help promote business. As a result, Big Hollow employees could have more time to focus on managing the store, while the intern worked on marketing/advertising techniques.

Outline of Documents:

The first component of our portfolio includes our initial interaction with Big Hollow via e-mail. Following the initial interaction is our group proposal regarding the areas Big Hollow could improve upon and our proposed solutions. Additionally, we have included the PowerPoint presentation that was presented to all class community partners. Lastly, we have a copy of our follow-up email with Big Hollow that was sent to them directly after they attended our presentation.

Components of Client Project

The following assignments set up the stage for our client project. Because of our interactions with Big Hollow, we were able to know what was expected of us throughout the course, as well as from the cooperative. This section is essential in the explanation of our progress in completing the proposed tasks and they way in which we went about solving these problems.

Initial Correspondence:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1P9-GocrXUBslw7wwAxqjzY1ZEjwIpeaEOBZT7i1fdAo/edit?usp=sharing

Preliminary Proposal:

http://engl2035.blogspot.com/2016/04/big-hollow-food-coop-proposal-and.html

PowerPoint Presentation:

http://cdorfler.blogspot.com/2016/05/big-hollow-powerpoint-presentation.html

Follow-Up Correspondence:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qjQmAxycWsTZtRe0pA22fD6GW1E36WJQd6M-Hacc3QY/edit?usp=sharing

Client Project

Throughout this project, we identified some areas Big Hollow could focus on to increase the awareness of their Co-op. Some of the areas we identified are as follows: clarifying sections on the social media websites, increasing the size of their logo on advertisements, creating an internship packet for selecting an intern for the store, and making a video to advertise for the store.

Social Media:

After searching through Big Hollow’s Facebook page and their website, we found minor issues that needed to be fixed. One of the problems we identified on their website was their News and Events section. We noticed there were no events posted in this section. As a group, we felt that if there is a section for News and Events, there should be events in there. Another problem we identified, was on the bottom of their main page when they state that they list the vendors for their store, but they actually do not have any posted. Since we brought this problem to Jeff’s attention, they have updated the website to include the list of vendors for the audience.

Logo Size:

Our group noticed the logo size on all of Big Hollow’s advertising was fairly small. We suggested enlarging the size of the logo to draw attention to the store. We informed Jeff that it is important to let customers know who is advertising in order to bring more people into the store.

Internship Packet:

After speaking with Jeff, we found out they were interested in recruiting an intern to help out around the Co-op. We have compiled an internship packet to provide Big Hollow so they can work on getting an intern in the near future.

Video Advertisement:

One of our main goals for this project was to increase the awareness of the Co-op by increasing their advertising methods. Our focus audience for the advertising was college students because Laramie is heavily populated by college students. Being students ourselves, we felt that visual media is a great way to get information to younger individuals. This is what led us to create a short video about Big Hollow and why people should shop there. This video was created in the Co-op and we used real customers to share their experiences with the store.

Introduction

In this introduction, we as a group will define who we are, in addition to who our community partner is, Big Hollow Food Co-Op. The main goals of both groups with be explained in brief, overlapping with each description. Within the overview is information about the project and the tasks that our group aspired to complete in regard to Big Hollow, as well as why exactly we chose those specific goals. Also included will be a concise outline of everything that this portfolio will contain.

Who the partner is:

Big Hollow Food Co-op is a cooperative that provides locally produced foods and goods in Laramie, WY. Their goals are to increase their membership and client base, to educate the community of what a Cooperative is, and to continuously provide products to better serve the community and individual choices that adhere to a healthier, natural lifestyle. As a cooperative, the Big Hollow Food Co-op aims to serve the community, local farmers, charities, citizens, and other locally owned businesses in downtown Laramie, WY. Because Big Hollow Food Co-op is owned by its members, it gives the customers exactly what they want. Overall they want to support local agriculture, provide healthy food and empower the community.

Who we are:

Our group is composed of five individuals with varying majors and diverse backgrounds. We are all currently in the course English 2035, Writing for Public Forums, and our ultimate goal is to assist Big Hollow with their advertising needs. Additionally, as college students, we have been able to experience Big Hollow’s marketing tactics directed towards the University of Wyoming population. Our group serves to assist Big Hollow with advertising and educating the community about cooperatives.

Description of Project Undertaken:

Our group’s top concern was notifying the Laramie community about the fact that Big Hollow is a cooperative and what all that entails. To do this, we collectively decided that a video would be the most effective way to spread the word due to how quickly things spread on social media. We also thought that a good idea would be for the cooperative to have an intern position who could help with advertising around campus and the rest of town. This way Big Hollow could focus more on things involving the store and spend less time trying to inform people about themselves.

Outline of Documents within Portfolio:

Throughout this portfolio, is the basis of how our client project came about. To begin with, we have our first interaction with Big Hollow via e-mail. Following that is our group proposal about what exactly we found to be problems with Big Hollow, and how we would go about solving them. Also included is the PowerPoint presentation that we gave in front of all of the community partners. Lastly, we have a copy of our follow-up email with Big Hollow that we sent them after they attended our presentation.

The Assignments that Framed the Client Project

The following assignments set up the stage for our client project. Because of these activities, we were able to know what was expected of us throughout the course, as well as from the cooperative. This section is essential in the explanation of how our progress began and how exactly we went about it.

Initial Correspondence with Community Partner:

Here we have the first time that we contacted Big Hollow via email, which allowed us to get a feel for how the rest of the semester was going to play out.

http://cdorfler.blogspot.com/2016/05/initial-e-mail-to-big-hollow_3.html

Preliminary Proposal:

In this document is a proposal explaining what our group was planning to focus on this semester involving Big Hollow and how we exactly we would reach all of those goals.

http://engl2035.blogspot.com/2016/04/big-hollow-food-coop-proposal-and.html

PowerPoint “Pitch” Presentation:

Here is a copy of the presentation we gave in class. In summary, it is just an overview of what Big Hollow is and focuses on their current goals.

http://cdorfler.blogspot.com/2016/05/big-hollow-powerpoint-presentation.html

Follow-Up Correspondence with Community Partner:

This is the follow-up email sent to Big Hollow immediately after the presentation. In general, it was a recap of what the cooperative was wanting us to for them with the time given.

http://engl2035.blogspot.com/2016/04/big-hollow-follow-up-email.html

Client Project

Throughout this project, we identified some areas Big Hollow could focus on to increase the awareness of their Co-op. Some of the areas we identified are as follows: clarifying sections on the social media websites, increasing the size of their logo on advertisements, creating an internship packet for selecting an intern for the store, and making a video to advertise for the store.

Clarifying Social Media:

After searching through Big Hollow’s Facebook page and their website, we found minor issues that needed to be fixed. One of the problems we identified on their website was their News and Events section. We noticed there were no events posted in this section. As a group, we felt that if there is a section for News and Events, there should be events in there. Another problem we identified, was on the bottom of their main page when they state that they list the vendors for their store, but they actually do not have any posted. Since we brought this problem to Jeff’s attention, they have updated the website to include the list of vendors for the audience.

Increasing Logo Size:

Our group noticed the logo size on all of Big Hollow’s advertising was fairly small. We suggested enlarging the size of the logo to draw attention to the store. We informed Jeff that it is important to let customers know who is advertising in order to bring more people into the store.

Creating Internship Packet:

After speaking with Jeff, we found out they were interested in recruiting an intern to help out around the Co-op. We have compiled an internship packet to provide Big Hollow so they can work on getting an intern in the near future.

Making a Video Advertisement:

One of our main goals for this project was to increase the awareness of the Co-op by increasing their advertising methods. Our focus audience for the advertising was college students because Laramie is heavily populated by college students. Being students ourselves, we felt that visual media is a great way to get information to younger individuals. This is what led us to create a short video about Big Hollow and why people should shop there. This video was created in the Co-op and we used real customers to share their experiences with the store.

MBNA Portfolio

(Link to the entire portfolio for MBNA group: https://goo.gl/ZAhwHD)

Introduction

We collaborated with the Medicine Bow Nordic Association (to be referred to as MBNA) to overcome obstacles they have been facing and to introduce a plan that encompasses creating a presence at the University of Wyoming via an intern. Medicine Bow Nordic Association conserves and grooms nine miles of trails for cross country skiing, and while trail usage is up, membership numbers have remained stagnant. It was brought to our attention that there has been no advertising on the University of Wyoming campus, thus students are a large untapped market that could increase interest and membership through on-campus promotion. By communicating with Ellen Axtmann, the MBNA board, and Melanie Matthews from the Haub School of Environmental and Natural Resources, we were able to construct a plan that fits to the organization’s needs and creates a great opportunity for the students at the University of Wyoming. In this portfolio we have included our correspondences, proposal, and presentations that led us to a successful and hopefully fruitful collaboration.  

Partner and Group Description

The Medicine Bow Nordic Association is a non-profit organization that was established in 1993 to maintain the Nordic ski trails at the Tie City/Happy Jack recreation area within Medicine Bow National Forest in collaboration with the US Forest Service. Through the work performed by MBNA, the group is able to host races and educational programs for adults and children in the area during the winter season.They receive funding for their activities from members, community contributors, and grants. Their goal is to continue providing a safe, well-cared for network of trails that can accommodate cross country skiers, snowshoers, runners, Fatbike riders, and other general outdoor activities. Through their grooming efforts, MBNA primarily serves individuals and families seeking winter recreation, but also collaborates with numerous ski clubs, area schools, and competitive teams in the Laramie area.

As part of an assigned cooperative endeavor within English 2035: Writing for Public Forums, the five of us were selected to research MBNA and recommend solutions to perceived problems. Through each of our different backgrounds in English, accounting, business, as well as real world experiences, we were able to bring many ideas to the table when collaborating with MBNA. The ultimate goal of our group was to consult with MBNA in order to help them overcome obstacles that were brought to our attention. Our primary contacts at MBNA were Coordinator Ellen Axtmann and Events/Racing Manager Christi Boggs. We also contacted Melanie Matthews at the Haub School of Environmental and Natural Resources regarding our solution to one of the issues we ultimately focused on.

Project Description

After communicating with our contact at MBNA and conducting our own research throughout the semester, we determined that a major issue was MBNA’s lack of advertising and presence on the University of Wyoming campus. We chose this problem because students are a large untapped market that could increase interest and membership through on-campus promotion. When looking into this issue, we decided that an intern might be the best option because they would be able to focus more on the work without taking time away from other MBNA employees. We developed an outline of proposed duties and compiled helpful information which describes tasks that would benefit MBNA and their cause. These tasks include, but are not limited to: tabling in the Union, making and distributing posters and flyers, working in conjunction with the Outdoor Program, increasing MBNA's social media presence, streamlining MBNA's website and information sharing, among other things.

Outline of Documents

Proposal: The purpose of our proposal was to suggest specific ideas on how to solve the problems identified in the group’s Problem Description assignments. In addition, our group thoroughly researched MBNA’s needs and created a plan to present a solution to Ellen and the MBNA board.

https://goo.gl/Zuefvk

Intern Outline Ideas: This document further describes the ideas that the group initially had for the tasks an intern would complete throughout the academic year.

https://goo.gl/CAHzGE

Intern Evaluation Form: This form is an example of what Ellen Axtmann would have to complete at the end of the semester for Melanie Matthews at the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources.

https://goo.gl/7gqM6V

Conclusion

MBNA is a large contributor to Laramie’s outdoor community, and they brought to our attention certain problems they face, comprising of a lack of advertising and a flatlining of membership over the past several years. As a group of University of Wyoming students, we came up with several practical solutions to help combat these problems, including hiring an intern and working with University organizations. We have provided our correspondences, proposal, and presentations that led us to this feasible solution that benefits not only MBNA, but students of the University. Through our collaboration with MBNA, we hope to broaden the reach of the organization in order to improve the Laramie community.

Components

Initial correspondence: https://goo.gl/33nOll

Preliminary proposal: https://goo.gl/Zuefvk

PP presentation: https://goo.gl/qubuwB

Follow-up correspondence: https://goo.gl/cmFMmb

Poster Project

https://goo.gl/Ybbd58

LAMP Portfolio - For Editing

Introduction for LAMP Project - Final Portfolio

Our community partner this semester was LAMP (Learning Active Mentorship Program), headed primarily by Rachel Watson. LAMP’s mission is to transform core science classrooms into engaging, interactive environments through the use of active learning classrooms and active teaching. Furthermore, LAMP plans to improve the quality of undergraduate science education, increase the passing rate of introductory science courses, and achieve top quartile publication rates of PhD faculty.

Our group is called the LAMP Group. We are composed of Anson Lichtfuss, Charlamagne Belknap, Paige Bodily, Megan Rogge, and Anthony Rodd, and our mission has been to provide a solution to one of LAMP’s major issues. Through working with Rachel Watson, we were able to identify web presence as one of LAMP’s major issues so we undertook the project of generating web content for LAMP’s webpage.

The following documents, which compose of our project portfolio, include our initial correspondence with Rachel Watson -  where we asked about the issues LAMP has been facing and discussed possible solutions the LAMP Group could offer. The documents also include our preliminary proposal - where we proposed a solution and a plan of action for LAMP’s issue, and also our “pitch” presentation where we formally pitched our solution and plan to Rachel Watson herself. And finally, the following documents include all of our follow-up correspondence with Rachel Watson, where we set up meeting times and spaces, reviewed what was discussed, and decided what needs to be discussed next time. 

Initial Correspondence:

https://docs.google.com/a/uwyo.edu/document/d/1ql_V_lJQcbTCBAOWoSvO5ZJIwAlpItZkN1884gQU2mo/edit?usp=sharing

LAMP Proposal, Proposal PowerPoint, and Follow-up Correspondence:

http://engl2035.blogspot.com/2016/04/lamp-proposal-followup-email.html 

LAMP Infographic: 
https://uwy-my.sharepoint.com/personal/alichtf1_uwyo_edu/_layouts/15/guestaccess.aspx?guestaccesstoken=%2fEVd1wsgeErIfmi4qFJlcOl1OLN%2bAhNaSG9DVXOVQTM%3d&docid=02a916e7ea39042c6887d9e5f69c1f524

Reflection 2

http://writingforthepublicmasses.blogspot.com/2016/04/proposal-presentation-reflection.html

Reflection 2

Reflection 2:

Part 1

Things definitely could have gone better on my part of the presentation besides the way my voice sounds recorded. One big thing that I noticed was how I need to be more clear and articulate when presenting. Most of this was due to nervousness but I can definitely improve slowing down and really thinking about what I am saying. In terms of professionalism, this can be improved with being mindful of my stance, what my hands are doing as well as eye-contact. Overall, I think I did alright considering that speaking to a group has never been my strong suit.

Part 2

Our group is doing a great job of knowing what we now need to do to move forward. We have a plan that has been reassured by Big Hollow Food Co-op and plan to move quickly. Our presentation went well, and I think we all did an excellent job in preparation. Group wise, we seem to be in agreement with most of the things we propose to do and what steps to take forward. Together, we all work really well together and have a sense of urgency to get things done in the best way we possibly can.I am anxious about not getting everything done by the time the semester is over, which may be the case. I need to accept that some of our proposed ideas may just be plans without them actually being implemented.  I hope that Big Hollow Food Co-op likes what we produce at the end of the semester and project and I hope that afterwards the growth of the company will increase due to more student members.