Technology and environment: Artifact 1 (Group Work)
[Published 6/3/2023]
Analysing the Case Study
Artefact one of this technology and environment unit is group work. Before I met up with my group, I went through the brief in the case study, which was given to our group as part of the brief. Highlighting key information and applying that information where possible to the pictures and building plans. Though some of this information became irrelevant to me, I shared it with my group, which allowed others to use the information.
Upon meeting my group, we divided the workload between ourselves, by giving each member a section. I wasn’t bothered about which section I was going to do. Though I had taken the time to identify the sections and highlight essential information, I let the other members choose first. There were two reasons for this. One, is that I didn’t want to become the leader of the group as I think you get the best results from group work when it’s a democracy. The second is that this choice was not necessary to me, and it may be important to others. It’s always good to count your coins within group work. I ended up with building regulations.
Applying Building Regulations to the Case Study
I applied the building regulations to the plans, in a rough manner and researched the building. My main learning outcome from this unit was how to approach the task, which took a while. However, I enjoy organisation once I have found the workflow. I believe my neurodivergence (dyslexia and dyspraxia) disrupts my ability to find workflows as intuitively as a neurotypical person. In spite of that, I find that once I understand something, I become extremely competent. I don’t know if it’s the extra practice and research or the way my brain works.
My scale ruler doesn’t have a 1:400 option so I used 1:200 and a calculator. Looking back on the project, I believe I could have scaled up the drawings using vector graphics. I don’t know which approach would have been more efficient and my method gained well-presented results.
Presentation Quality
Building regulations could have been applied to the document with rough hand drawings and text. Though it is not worth lots of extra points, It was important to me that my group was happy with the quality of my work. Additionally, I believe that my future coursework will benefit from learning the best workflow for presenting technical information.
Copy
I used word alongside proofreading software (Grammarly, Dragon and Read&Write) to write the copy before applying it to the diagrams. Due to the time spent on the first part of the article, it was written close to the deadline. I’m sure that with more time I could refine the writing further.
Diagram
The diagrams were created by splitting up the subjects within the initial work and indicating the main points in the plans. I could have improved this by creating more diagrams and types of diagrams, as well as generally expanding on the volume of the work. However, this will come with time.
Final Documents
Another group member created an A3 google slides document. Though she didn’t make it verbally clear, I got the feeling that she wanted to have creative control within the project. As long as this is done to a good standard, I was not bothered about who created the final edit. (Below are just my slides)
All the sections I made to communicate the building regulations size to A3 and then reduced to fit in the slides. An appendix was used to show my working.
I then edited the bibliography, ensuring it was in line with
the university referencing standards. The University of Portsmouth uses APA 7. Additionally,
I created the final group slides, which needed to indicate our choices for
article 2 (the second part of the technology and environment unit). (Not shown for group privacy)
All in all, the quality of work from the group was awesome. The group member in charge of materials created beautiful diagrams (I believe in illustrator) which visually explained the building’s construction. The presentation’s layout was beautiful and consistent. One member of the group ghosted us at the last minute. We are still unsure of whether he is okay, which is slightly worrying. We’ve contacted the University. Prior to this we have all tried to contact him through different means.
It’s understandable that the other members of the group may have felt let down by the gousters lack of work. However, I feel that this is where my employment experience gives me a different outlook. There is a hundred different reasons why someone doesn’t hand in work to the group and unless I was in a position to no the circumstance, I cannot make a judgement. When I made contact via email I made it clear that I understood if the work was not complete or up to scratch and that I didn’t want him to have to retake the unit. That if he got in touch, I was happy to help. I also empathised by saying that (truthfully) we were all still working on the project. He didn’t get back to me, and I accepted that this was all I could do.
To summarise, the most important way I can move forward with my technical and environmental skills will be through practice and experience. Maybe there are some easier ways to explore and understand the workflow of a new task quicker. Lastly, it’s nice to see my previous experience and skill is useful within my current work.
Bibliography
● AccessAble. (2023). West Court Meeting and Conference Rooms | AccessAble. West Court Meeting and Conference Rooms | AccessAble.
https://www.accessable.co.uk/jesus-college/jesus-college-63595bb1-1be7-4417-9084-eca792c50413/access-guides/west-court-meeting-and-conference-rooms
● Contra Digital Agency University of Cambridge. (2023a). Conference venues. Www.jesus.cam.ac.uk. https://www.jesus.cam.ac.uk/conferences/conferences/conference-venues
● Contra Digital Agency University of Cambridge. (2023b). Frankopan Hall. Www.jesus.cam.ac.uk. https://www.jesus.cam.ac.uk/frankopan-hall?type=206
● Contra Digital Agency University of Cambridge. (2023c). Welcome to Jesus College in the University of Cambridge | Jesus College in the University of Cambridge. Www.jesus.cam.ac.uk; University of Cambridge.
https://www.jesus.cam.ac.uk/
● Housing and Communities and Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, Department for Levelling Up, & HM Government. (2022). The Building Regulations 2010.
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/approved-documents
● Sections B,K,L&M
● Y, P. (2019, January 11). JESUS COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE - UNIVERSITY TOUR. Www.youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9CZWILb4Bk
● Adobe. (2023). Stock photos, royalty-free images, graphics, vectors & videos. Adobe Stock.
https://stock.adobe.com/uk?promoid=KTBIY&as_channel=adobe_apps&as_source=app&as_campclass=brand&as_campaign=CC15_app&x-product=Photoshop/24.2&sso_inbound=1#token_type=bearer&expires_in=
86399996
● Madge, A. (2011, July 19). Energy Efficiency: What is a U-Value? | Gowercroft Joinery. Gowercroft.co.uk. https://gowercroft.co.uk/news/what-is-a-u-value/
