Hello reader, in this post I’m going to talk about a group project that involved searching for accessibility issues in my school. At St. Lawrence College my group discovered that there is an issue with accessibility regarding the elevators. There are too many able-bodied people taking them! That doesn’t sound too bad, but how about when I say this leaves no room for the people who do actually need to take the elevator? Now you see the issue.
As a research part for this project, myself and another one of my group members interviewed a student that legitimately needs to use the elevator due to a physical impairment. The results of the interview were a little scary. She told us that when she is trying to use the elevator, no one will make room for her. At peak elevator usage, she told us that she sometimes has to wait up to 30 minutes in order to get on. Other times she has been forced to use the stairs, which is bad for her health. And this is just one student out of the entire population of St. Lawrence College!
But I’m not here to rant about that, I want to talk about what it was like working in a group. The biggest and most important tip (in my opinion) that I can provide in regards to group work is time management. Set a schedule that works between your group members and follow it. Know your deadlines! As for research, we found that doing a questionnaire turned up the most results. We got to know what our target audience was like in a short amount of time. Side note: we discovered that the biggest reason for people using the elevators is laziness! This was 37% of the people we interviewed. Gasp!
In conclusion, working in a group can be quite overwhelming, but if you stick to your time management schedule then it is not so bad. How do you feel about working in a group? Yay or nay? As well I would like to hear some opinions about elevator usage. Should able-bodied people take the stairs if they can? Are you yourself an able-bodied person who should be taking the stairs? Comment what you think!
’til next time, John.
John LeBlanc 