Site Content ©2015 Matt Jolly, Gee King, Josh Fewtrell, Jemma Aldridge all rights reserved. Photographs ©2015 Paul Jolly all rights reserved.

I was slightly disappointed when I saw some of the other projects that we missed. I agreed with the rest of the group that we needed to adopt an optimistic and enthusiastic attitude. It seemed a straightforward project and we knew exactly what needed to be done and what our end goals were going to be.


I contacted Katherine our link at The British Heart Foundation and the pack arrived. Initially our enthusiasm was high, but with each rejection and lack of interest we became more despondent. There were many hurdles: reaching the correct person by phone; getting permission from the head teacher; most schools had previously done the activity and did not wish to repeat it; others had their own charities so it became clear we were in danger of not meeting the criteria for our university assignment. This resulted in me informing Katherine about our problems, and we compiled a report that we hoped might help her future planning.


Discussion with our lecturers resulted in a new focus. We were to create a book that would include skipping, rope and string. After our meeting with Sally we rekindled our enthusiasm because we could see that we would have more control over the pace and destiny of our project. Our brainstorming sessions were at times a little heated due to differing opinions. We had to mature as a group and become aware of our natural tendencies. It was important to make sure that everyone had his or her say and I had to learn to listen as well as speak.


Whilst developing the book our tutor advised us to seek the advice of a graphic designer. I was worried about the cost of this because as students I knew that our funds were limited. To solve this problem I began networking and found an acquaintance from my college days that is now the graphic designer for Aston Villa FC. She gave us advice that was within our abilities to use.


During the Easter holiday Matt and I worked on the photographic element of the book. I realise the diversity of children is limited, but due to time constraints we had to work with children whose parents were well known to us. Had we had more time we would have ensured a greater diversity. One advantage of working with children that knew us well was that they openly reflected on their likes and dislikes.


The project had to be divided so that we all worked on different sections. This was a challenge for me, as I had to relinquish creative control. I knew that this was a group project and I had to develop trust in the ability of my fellow group members. One thing that helped me with this was to keep in regular contact through Skype allowing everyone to monitor each other’s contributions. As project manager I had to ensure a consistent writing and editing style in order to produce a professional product.


Overall I would say that this has been a really good project. It has enabled me to develop skills that I did not previously have, such as book publishing and website design. It also helped me develop my managerial skills, which I plan to use in my future career.





Gee

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Matt

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Jemma

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Josh

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