We now move from "regular classwork" to applied workplace-related assignments that will be our sole focus for the remainder of the term.

Starting small:

This first collaborative exercise is small in scale and scope, getting the class (re-)acquainted with the sort of collaborative processes that are the norm for most professional and technical writing work as it's done in organizations who have "teams" (or at least more than a single person) who produce essential public-facing documents and materials (I would say "deliverables," to fit with the "business-speak" expression "public-facing," but I'm trying very hard to resist the urge. [grin])

The task, broadly:

Your team has one week to research and report on these related questions:

• A 250-300-word examination of childhood hunger (aka "food insecurity") in broad strokes, perhaps on a national level, or maybe just focusing on Georgia: how much of a problem is the issue truly? what are contributing causes or factors? what large-scale governmental resources are tasked to serve these needy, hungry children? what kind of press or attention does the issue get, and how effective are (any) present efforts or initiatives?
  
  
• A 100-150-word analysis of the differences between (very broadly) governmental assistance, community food banks, and local food pantries.
  
  
• A 200-250 word exploration of local food pantries: how many are there? How do operate, whom do they serve, how successful are they?

It's up to the team to determine how you structure and format the report, what your timetable is (with a final due date of Monday, March 9th), and the division of labor (i.e., who does what). I highly recommend careful documentation of all your sources, including any AI tools you may bring to bear.

Parameters:

• You choose your team leader (which will vary for different projects). If he's willing, I nominate Jim to serve as the first team-leader, but it's the group's decision..
  
  
• At least two real-time meetings using videoconferencing tools of your own choosing (Teams, Zoom, Skype, etc.) are required. Have someone other than the team leader take notes of each meeting.
  
  
• After your first meeting, please email me your plan of attack and division of labor: i.e., what specific sequential tasks you decide upon, who is responsible for each, and what are your deadlines.
  
  
• Be smart and intentional in your division of labor: college group work often consists of each person taking on a roughly equivalent "chunk" of an assignment in approximately equal parts: "you research a, I'll research b, we'll all edit together, etc.". In the working world, the division of labor often depends on the evident skills of the different team members. For instance, rather than having three separate team members take full responsibility for each of the three primary research questions and then doing their own revising and editing, you might want to have teams of two research each question, then having one person write the first draft of the report, then have a pair do the close editing and final formatting of the document you submit.
  
  Or for a more general example, a team of five might have two researchers, two primary writers, one visual design expert who does the layout, etc, and then all five as proofreaders with one "final editor" from the five.
  
  I'm not suggesting that you must divide the labor in complex, possibly screwy ways. I mean just to urge you to think creatively in your planning, taking advantage of the different skills your team members bring to the table.
  
  

What to submit

Have the team leader submit the whole project for the group, as recorded in these documents: the final document reporting your research findings on the three initial questions above--and the brief notes from each of your meetings (two, at minimum, plus any others you may have had).