Class Notes

Independent Group Work Day

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April 23 will be an independent work day. We will not meet in the classroom. I will be on campus and will hold office hours as usual.

Your group should have chosen alternative plans for working today during the last class session. If you were absent during the last class session, someone from your group should have contacted you. If you aren’t sure what you should be doing, use the method for connecting with one another that you included in your Group Work Statement to contact your group and find out what you need to know.

Friday, we will meet in the class again to continue group work on the project.

In-Class Writing

Email me a group selfie of your group at work for an extra credit in-class writing grade for your group members. :)

The Rules

  • Images must be received by 8 AM on Friday, 4/25.
  • The image needs to show the majority of your group members.
  • Only people in the image get credit.
  • You may wear silly hats and feather boas, if desired.
  • The image needs show that you are working and not hanging out eating burritos at Moe’s or some similar silly pastime.

Successful group participants will receive the traditional 4/4 points for the extra credit activity.

Class Notes

Writing Recommendation Reports

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Monday, April 21, we’ll talk about the sections you should include in your group report. I also have the following examples for you to look at:

Written Reports

Slides

Remember as you look at the examples, that (1) none of them is perfect, (2) students were analyzing a larger website, (3) students had longer time slots for their presentations (7 to 10 minutes, where you have 5 to 7), and (4) the formatting is off in a few places because of Google Drive conversion.

After I we talk about these resources, you will have the rest of the session to work on your reports. You will need to plan how you will work together for our independent work day on 4/23. I will check with each group to hear what your plan is.

Wednesday, 4/23

April 23 will be an independent work day. We will not meet in the classroom. Your group may connect online or choose an alternative meeting place. You might also choose to work on sections of the report independently that day. I will be on campus this day and will hold office hours as usual.

Friday, 4/25

By the end of the day, your group should email me the Google Share Links to your Progress Report. The report should include all your accomplishments through Friday. Check the examples and additional details (including your textbook) for more information. In addition to writing a progress report, you will continue working on the recommendation report and presentation during this session.

Week of 4/28

You will have all the class sessions this week to continue and finalize your recommendation report as well as plan and practice your oral report. Your group will be able to sign up for an oral presentation time slot on Monday, 4/28 in class.

Week of 5/5

You will present your oral reports in class. On the last day of class, you will work on your Individual Evaluation of Group Members, and we will discuss the final exam activity.

Class Notes

Turning In Project 4 Memos

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Today, Friday, 4/18

Work? I is on top of itBy the end of the day, your group should email me the Google Share Links to your Group Work Statement, Audience Analysis, and Website Analysis Checklist, which will be worth 3 in-class writing credits. Just one of you needs to email for the group, but please do include all your names and CC all group members. Refer to the assignment and to the examples in the blog post for last class for more information.

If you finish your three documents before the end of class, I suggest you move on to evaluating the information that you find on your section of the Career Services website. You can gather your first impressions of the section, and then move on to using your checklist as you make a thorough review of the site’s strengths and weaknesses.

Monday, 4/21

On Monday, I’ll talk about the sections I will expect to see in your group report, and I will have some example reports for you to look at. After I present that information, you will have the rest of the session to work on your reports. You will need to plan how you will work together for our independent work day on 4/23.

Wednesday, 4/23

April 23 will be an independent work day. We will not meet in the classroom. Your group may connect online or choose an alternative meeting place. You might also choose to work on sections of the report independently that day. I will be on campus this day and will hold office hours as usual.

Friday, 4/25

By the end of the day, your group should email me the Google Share Links to your Progress Report. The report should include all your accomplishments through Friday. More details and some examples will be available in class. In addition to writing a progress report, you will continue working on the recommendation report and presentation during this session.

Week of 4/28

You will have all the class sessions this week to continue and finalize your recommendation report as well as plan and practice your oral report. Your group will be able to sign up for an oral presentation time slot on Monday, 4/28 in class.

Class Notes

Final Exam Logistics

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The final exam for this course will work as extra credit. I'll share more details on how it will count during the last week of class. For now, you need to know the following details:

  • The exam is an optional, extra credit assignment.
  • The exam is a take-home, online assignment due by the end of your exam period.
  • The exam will take you 15 to 30 minutes to complete.
  • The exam will open the last day of classes.

Note that the exam will open before I will post the grades for Project 4. If you are unsure whether you want to complete the final, I suggest you go ahead and plan on doing it. It cannot hurt your grade.

Here are the exam deadlines for all three classes:

CRN #13260 (9:05 MWF): Due by 9:45 AM on Tues, May 13
CRN #13261 (10:10 MWF): Due by 3:05 PM on Fri, May 9
CRN #19530 (1:25 MWF): Due by 5:25 PM on Tues, May 13

Class Notes

Getting Started on Project 4

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You and your group will work on Project 4 together from today through May 2. This week, I expect you to be reading the resources listed on the Project page, exploring your section of the website, and working on the three documents that are due on Friday, April 18.

Examples for Project 4

These examples were written by students who took Technical Writing in the Fall. They are uncorrected student work. Some are better than others. Use them to get a general idea of the kinds of information that you should include in your group documents.

Group Work Statement

Website Audience Analysis

Website Analysis Checklist

Work This Week

The readings for this project are Chapter 13 (“Writing Recommendation Reports”) and the section on “Designing Web Sites” in Chapter 7 (pp. 169–174 of “Designing Documents and Web Sites”). You will also use Chapter 15 (“Making Oral Presentations”).

By the end of the week, your group should email me the Google Share Links to your Group Work Statement, Audience Analysis, and Website Analysis Checklist due, which will be worth 3 in-class writing credits. Just one of you needs to email for the group, but please do include all your names and CC all group members.

If you finish work on your three documents for the week, I suggest you move on to evaluating the information that you find on your section of the Career Services website. You can gather your first impressions of the section, and then move on to using your checklist as you make a thorough review of the site’s strengths and weaknesses.

On Monday, I’ll talk about the sections I will expect to see in your group report, and I will have some example reports for you to look at.

Class Notes

Intro to Project 4

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Today, we begin Project 4: Web Analysis Report. In this project, you will work with your group to analyze some online resources and write a recommendation report. Your group will present your findings to the class in an oral presentation during the last week of classes.

Daily Class Work and the Schedule

From this point on in the term, your group sets the schedule for what you work on in class. The remaining sessions in the course (from 4/14 to 5/2) will be in-class work sessions. The final week of classes will be dedicated to the oral presentations.

April 16, the 9:05 class will dismiss at 9:30 so that you have time to walk to the April 16 Memorial in front of Burruss in time for the Moment of Silence at 9:43 if you wish.

April 23 will be an independent work day. We will not meet in the classroom. Your group may connect online or choose an alternative meeting place. You might also choose to work on sections of the report independently that day.

Homework

The readings for this project are Chapter 13 (“Writing Recommendation Reports”) and the section on “Designing Web Sites” in Chapter 7 (pp. 169–174 of “Designing Documents and Web Sites”). You will also use Chapter 15 (“Making Oral Presentations”).

By the end of the week, your group should email me the Google Share Links to your Group Work Statement, Audience Analysis, and Website Analysis Checklist due, which will be worth 3 in-class writing credits.