ENERGY STAR is an informational program administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. Its purpose is to assess products used by households and businesses and certify those that are energy efficient. Begun in 1992, ENERGY STAR provides information to the general public and to more than 18,000 private and public organizations and manufacturers of office equipment, building products, appliances, and home electronics.
Part of your job as an employee of the Department of Energy is to help maintain the ENERGY STAR website. Your supervisor, Rebecca Warnock, has asked for your help in planning for a focus group that she will be leading to assess the usefulness of one feature of the site: the public-information videos about how to save energy.
“We’re using video to try to connect with younger consumers, but our web manager is telling us we’re not getting much traffic on most of the videos. They’re kind of expensive to produce, so we don’t want to make any more of them if they don’t work,” she says.
“How can I help?” you say.
“Here’s one,” she says, clicking on a video about how to use a programmable thermostat. “I think there’s good information in there, but it isn’t very popular. Could you take a look at it?”
“Sure,” you say. “Are there any questions in particular you’d like me to keep in mind?”
“See if you can spot what’s not working. Is it the speaker? What about the information? What are we leaving out? Are we spending too much time on any topics?”
“Maybe it’s the medium,” you say.
“You’re the member of the video generation,” she says. “What do you think?”
Source: ENERGY STAR, 2013: Set & save with ENERGY STAR. Retrieved October 8, 2015: www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=vid_gallery.showGenYTVideo.
Watch the video and then begin your assignment.
Your Assignment
After watching the video, complete the assignment below.
1. Watch the video (Document 20.1). Write a 500-word memo to Rebecca giving your views on what works well in the video and what doesn’t work well. At the end of the memo, present your main conclusions and recommendations.
2. Write an outline for a script for a revised video that explains the main points about selecting and using a programmable thermostat. Start with a statement of audience and purpose for the video. For each main point to be covered, include a sentence or two explaining how you would decide on the scope, organization, and amount of technical detail you would provide. Briefly describe the setting for each scene in the video. For instance, would you use a speaker in a hardware store, pointing to the different types of programmable thermostats? What other settings might be possible?
3. Write an outline for a print document that explains the main points about selecting and using a programmable thermostat. Start with a statement of audience and purpose for the document. Either include graphics or briefly describe each graphic you would include. For each main point to be covered, include a sentence or two explaining how you would decide on the scope, organization, and amount of technical detail you would provide.
Reflecting on Your Work
Once you’ve completed your assignment, write a reflection about your work using the prompt below.