Yesterday, I finally settled on the general assignments and their connections among one another. There was still one tricky issue however. I needed to figure out the specific focus sites or documents that students would use for their assignments. I…
Category: Teaching Prof Comm
Potential Assignment Sequence
I could just think my plans through and go implement them. I’m better though if I think them through by writing them out. Just trying to think in my head means I may not consider everything. So these Ramblings posts…
What to Focus on for Fall Writing Assignments
You might say that I’m a little overwhelmed as I try to set things up for the fall, and I really need to figure out my fall assignments. First the requirements. There are three units (arranged in Canvas Modules) that…
Decoding Racist Language in Technical Writing
Yesterday’s Marketplace broadcast included a story that demonstrates the power of racist coding in less than 2.5 minutes. “Can changing home appraisal language help close the wealth gap?” examines how the word choice in home appraisals, which are essentially technical…
Making Outlines Work in Tech Writing
I am not a fan of outlines. I never could figure out how someone was supposed to know all the bits of their document before they wrote it. Sure you can make a working sketch of what you want to…
Midterm Course Progress Report Assignment
It feels like just yesterday I was setting up my course for the summer session–and now, suddenly, midterm is upon us as we begin the third week of this six-week course. By the end of the week, students will turn…
Weekly Work Logs
Background and Goals To support the anti-racist assessment system in my course, I am using Weekly Work Logs, where students track the work that they have done. The idea for these logs as they are used in anti-racist assessment comes…
Teaching Students About Headlines, Titles, and Subject Lines
This classroom activity shows students how to write a strong headline, title, or subject line by using Guy Kawasaki’s Alltop site to find attention-grabbing blog titles.
BP’s Unintended Lesson on Visual Rhetoric
It’s politically correct to be disappointed with BP and their little oil well problem in the Gulf. But how can I be angry when they provide me with such wonderful gifts? First, BP America digitally enhanced some of their oil…
Résumés That Stand Out the Right Way
There are right ways to dress for a job interview. Sure, you want to stand out to an extent. You don’t want to blend into the sea of suits that march before the hiring committee. But, um, you don’t want…