This is the post for the week of December 6, 2016.

Course Evaluation

Please fill out the Student Perceptions of Teaching (SPOT) survey for this course. I do not see the feedback until after grades are submitted, and your comments are anonymous.

The feedback helps the department make important decisions about teaching methods, course content, and faculty promotion. Written comments help me decide what to keep or change the next time I teach the course.

Need More Participation Evidence?

You can count completing the SPOT survey on the "Other Participation" tab of your Participation Log. I will look for indication that you have completed the survey in the content of your final exam, but do NOT tell me what you responses were. Your responses in the survey must remain anonymous.

Remaining To-Do’s

Submit any remaining responses to 11/29 Group Discussion by 11:59 PM on Wednesday, 12/07 (end of grace period)

1. Submit any remaining Open Projects or the Genre Analysis Report, following the project submissions instructions, by 11:59 PM on Wednesday, 12/07 (end of grace period)

2. Submit any remaining Open Projects or the Genre Analysis Report, following the project submissions instructions, by 11:59 PM on Wednesday, 12/07 (end of grace period)

3. Complete any additional discussions by 11:59 PM on Wednesday, 12/07 (end of grace period)
   • Comparing Self-Assessment Examples (small group)
   • What Makes a Good Presentation? (large class)
   • Email vs. Hard Copy (small group)
   • What Makes a Good Piece of Technical Writing? (large class)

4. Review how your participation grades will appear in Canvas, the Final Exam assignment, and the checklist for the final exam.

5. Submit your Final Exam by 11:59 PM on Monday, 12/12 (no grace period)

6. Watch the site next week for a post when all work has been graded.

This is the post for the week of November 29, 2016.

Connecting with Your Writing Group

We only have one more week of classes, so this is your last chance to get feedback and help from your group. You can post drafts of your remaining work in the 11/29 Group Discussion. Be sure to provide feedback on these drafts to your group members before you leave for Thanksgiving break so that you can work during break if desired.

Revising Projects After Grading

I have encouraged you to turn your work as early as possible, so that you would have time to revise. We have come to the point in the term when time for revision is no longer a given.

At this point, I will grade your work as quickly as possible, but I cannot guarantee that I will be able to return work fast enough for you to revise. Everything depends upon when you submit and how many others have submitted work. I have about 100 students, so logistically, if everything comes in during the last days, there’s no way to get it all graded before the 7th. The sooner you turn things in, the better your chances.

Additional Discussions Opportunities

If you need additional participation evidence, you can post comments and replies in these new Discussions:

• Comparing Self-Assessment Examples (small group)
• What Makes a Good Presentation? (large class)
• Email vs. Hard Copy (small group)
• What Makes a Good Piece of Technical Writing? (large class)

These Discussions are all due Monday, December 5. The end of the grace period for these discussion posts is Wednesday, December 7 (the last day of classes).

Including Evidence of Participation in Your Final

You will propose the grade you should receive for the participation portion of your course grade in your Final Exam. To support your proposal, you can use the information in your Participation Log and your Discussion Posts. To do so, you can include the share link to your Participation Log and links to contributions in Discussion Posts. You can also include screenshots or copy and paste relevant information.

Continue Work on Your Projects

Continue work on your projects, following the schedule you set in your Coursework Proposal.

• Follow the project submissions instructions, if you are ready to submitting one of your remaining major projects.
• All your work is ultimately due by November 30, with a grace period that ends on December 7 (the last day of classes).

Calendar for the Rest of the Term

Day	Date	What’s left to do?
Tu	Nov 29	Post your group discussion during the week, according to the schedule on the Writing Groups page.
W	Nov 30	Major Projects due at 11:59 PM. Follow the project submissions instructions.
W	Dec 7	End of the grace period for remaining Major Projects at 11:59 PM. Follow the project submissions instructions.
M	Dec 12	Final Exam: Completion Report Assignment due by 11:59 PM. No grace period.

 

This is the post for the week of November 15, 2016.

Connecting with Your Writing Group

We have only 12 class days left in the semester, so the time to get feedback and help from your group is quickly coming to an end. Ideally, you will have drafts of your remaining work to post this week in the 11/15 Group Discussion. Be sure to provide feedback on these drafts to your group members before you leave for Thanksgiving break so that you can work during break if desired.

Unsure Whether to Participate in Optional Discussions?

The optional discussions (listed in the Nov 1 post) contribute to your Participation grade. Look at the Participation Log you set up the week of September 6. Your goals are listed on each tab (e.g., 10 class contributions, 10 small group contributions).

If you do not have enough evidence of participation or of a particular kind of participation, you can contribute to the optional discussions to improve your participation in the course. The end of the grace period for all optional discussion posts is Friday, November 18.

How Participation Grades Will Appear in Canvas

You will propose the grade you should receive for the participation portion of your course grade in your Final Exam. To support your proposal, you can use the information in your Participation Log and your Discussion Posts.

The current course grades in Canvas are not accurate, since you will propose the Participation grade. You can see the categories that contribute to your grade in the Grades section of Canvas. After the last day of classes, the weights for these categories will change in Canvas in these ways:

• The Participation Evidence category of your course grade will switch from 15% to 0%. All of the information for the Participation Artifacts will still be available in Canvas, but they will no longer contribute to your course grade.

• The Participation category of your course grade will switch from 0% to 15%. The final exam is the only assignment in this category. I will read the proposal that you make in your final, and assign a grade based on how realistic* and convincing you are as well as how well written your proposal is.

To be realistic, you need to look at your participation as a teacher would. For instance, everyone misses an activity, but if you have missed a number of activities, you are not doing A work on the participation portion of your grade. Likewise, A-level participation is consistent, taking place across the entire semester. If your activities were only in the last weeks of class, you are not doing A work on the participation portion of your grade.

Continue Work on Your Projects

Continue work on your projects, following the schedule you set in your Coursework Proposal.

• Follow the project submissions instructions, if you are ready to submitting one of your remaining major projects.
• All your work is ultimately due by November 30, with a grace period that ends on December 7 (the last day of classes).
• I encourage you to turn your work in earlier, so that you can revise if you need to.
• Note that I do not grade projects during Thanksgiving Break.

Calendar for the Rest of the Term

Day	Date	What’s left to do?
Tu	Nov 15	Post your group discussion during the week, according to the schedule on the Writing Groups page.
F	Nov 18	Post a second self-assessment in your Participation Log (see the Nov 1 post). End of grace period for all open Discussions at 11:59 PM.
Th	Nov 24	Thanksgiving!!!
Tu	Nov 29	Post your group discussion during the week, according to the schedule on the Writing Groups page.
W	Nov 30	Major Projects due at 11:59 PM. Follow the project submissions instructions.
W	Dec 7	End of the grace period for remaining Major Projects at 11:59 PM. Follow the project submissions instructions.
M	Dec 12	Final Exam: Completion Report Assignment due by 11:59 PM. No grace period.

This is the post for the week of November 8, 2016.

Assess Your Remaining Work

In addition to the regular discussion with your writing group this week in the 11/8 Group Discussion, please post a progress report that tells us

• what you have completed
• what work you still have to do
• how you plan to complete the remaining work for the project.

Include any questions or concerns you have that may affect your progress. Use headings and design to make your report easy to read and understand. Aim for about 150 to 200 words. Specifically, go beyond simply saying, "I’m on track," to state exactly what is done and what is still on your to-do list.

I have two goals for your progress report:

1. I want you to create a "to do" list for the work you still need to accomplish. In my experience, students find such a list useful whether they plan to work during Thanksgiving break or when they get back to campus. Either way, it’s helpful to know exactly what you still need to do.

2. I need to know if you have any challenges in finishing the work for the course. We still have time to fix anything that we need to at this point. After Thanksgiving time will seem to move quickly. I want you to alert me now, rather than then.

Continue Work on Your Projects

Continue work on your projects, following the schedule you set in your Coursework Proposal.

• Follow the project submissions instructions, if you are ready to submitting one of your remaining major projects.
• All your work is ultimately due by November 30, with a grace period that ends on December 7 (the last day of classes).
• I encourage you to turn your work in earlier, so that you can revise if you need to.
• Note that I do not grade projects during Thanksgiving Break.

Calendar for the Rest of the Term

Day	Date	What’s left to do?
Tu	Nov 8	Post your group discussion during the week, according to the schedule on the Writing Groups page.
F	Nov 11	All open Discussions (listed in the Nov 1 post) are due. These optional discussions can contribute to your Participation grade.
Tu	Nov 15	Post your group discussion during the week, according to the schedule on the Writing Groups page.
F	Nov 18	Post a second self-assessment in your Participation Log (see the Nov 1 post). End of grace period for all open Discussions at 11:59 PM.
Th	Nov 24	Thanksgiving!!!
Tu	Nov 29	Post your group discussion during the week, according to the schedule on the Writing Groups page.
W	Nov 30	Major Projects due at 11:59 PM. Follow the project submissions instructions.
W	Dec 7	End of the grace period for remaining Major Projects at 11:59 PM. Follow the project submissions instructions.
M	Dec 12	Final Exam: Completion Report Assignment due by 11:59 PM.

This is the post for the week of November 1, 2016.

Check Your Participation and Prep for the Final

The final exam report isn’t due until December, but you will find the project easier if you have been tracking your participation throughout the term. With that idea in mind, take time this week to check your progress.

Review the Final Exam: Completion Report Assignment and your Participation Log to make sure that you are on track. If you find that you are behind on Class Discussion and/or Small Group Discussion, take advantage of the many optional discussion opportunities in Canvas. Replying to classmates in these discussions is an easy way to improve your participation. The due date for all additional discussions is November 11. The grace period ends on November 18. These discussions are available:

• Ethics: Using Images in Your Work
• Ethics: Details in a Progress Report
• Ethics: Faking Images in PhotoShop
• Ethics: Disclosure of a Security Flaw
• Ethics: Engineering Specifications
• Improving Networking Advice
• What Would You Propose?
• Comparing the Design and Layout of Two Textbooks
• Evaluating a Factsheet for User Friendliness
• Status Reports vs. Progress Reports
• Finding a Code of Conduct on a Web Site

By this point you should also have written one self-assessment of your performance. The instructions are on the last tab of the log spreadsheet. The idea is that you look back over the entries in your log and evaluate how you’re doing. You should focus on your strengths and how you can improve. Use the requirements for the final to help guide the information you look for in your log.

Continue Work on Your Projects

Continue work on your projects, following the schedule you set in your Coursework Proposal.

• Post and reply in the 11/1 Group Discussion, following the instructions on the Writing Groups page. Share any drafts and questions that you have.
• In order to get feedback from your writing group before Thanksgiving, be sure to post your drafts in the next week. That will give classmates a week to provide you feedback.
• Follow the project submissions instructions, if you are ready to submitting one of your remaining major projects.
• All your work is ultimately due by November 30, with a grace period that ends on December 7 (the last day of classes).
• I encourage you to turn your work in earlier, so that you can revise if you need to.
• Note that I do not grade projects during Thanksgiving Break.

This is the post for the week of October 25, 2016.

Halloween!

Since Halloween is next Monday, I am not adding any critical work that is due Monday night. You have the usual instructions below to check in with your group and continue work on your projects. If you have any questions, email me.

Work for the Week of October 25

• Post and reply in the 10/25 Group Discusssion, following the instructions on the Writing Groups page. Share any drafts and questions that you have.

• The grace period for the Midterm Exam on Readings ends on October 31 at 11:59 PM. The midterm logistics are different from the quizzes, so read the guidelines in Canvas carefully before you begin.

• Contribute to the additional Ethics discussions in Canvas if you need to improve your participation grade. The due date for all additional discussions is November 11. The grace period ends on November 18. These discussions are available:

  • Ethics: Using Images in Your Work
  • Ethics: Details in a Progress Report
  • Ethics: Faking Images in PhotoShop
  • Ethics: Disclosure of a Security Flaw
  • Ethics: Engineering Specifications

• Continue work on your projects, following the schedule you set in your Coursework Proposal.

  • Follow the project submissions instructions, if you are ready to submitting one of your remaining major projects.
  • All your work is ultimately due by November 30, with a grace period that ends on December 7 (the last day of classes).
  • I encourage you to turn your work in earlier, so that you can revise if you need to.
  • Note that I do not grade projects during Thanksgiving Break.

This is the post for the week of October 18, 2016.

Readings for the Week of October 18

For this week’s session, please read or watch the following:

• Writing Groups
• Final Exam: Completion Report Assignment
• No One Writes Alone: Peer Review in the Classroom, A Guide For Students (video, 6m 34s)

Work for the Week of October 18

• Post and reply in the 10/18 Group Discusssion, following the instructions on the Writing Groups page. This week, be sure that you establish any group guidelines you want to follow, in addition to sharing your status on your projects and any drafts you want feedback on.

• Finish the remaining quizzes by 11:59 PM on Monday, 11/24 if you are taking advantage of the grace period. The readings and quizzes are listed on the 11/4 post.

• If you decided to take it, the Midterm Exam on Readings is due by October 24 at 11:59 PM. The grace period ends on October 31 at 11:59 PM. The midterm logistics are different from the quizzes, so read the guidelines in Canvas carefully before you begin.

• Continue work on your projects, following the schedule you set in your Coursework Proposal.

  • Follow the project submissions instructions, if you are ready to submitting one of your remaining major projects.
  • All your work is ultimately due by November 30, with a grace period that ends on December 7 (the last day of classes).
  • I encourage you to turn your work in earlier, so that you can revise if you need to.
  • Note that I do not grade projects during Thanksgiving Break.

This is the post for the week of October 11, 2016.

Course Plan Notes

Remember that your work at this point on in the course should focus on the projects that you outlined in your Coursework Proposal. That means that you should follow the schedule that you set for yourself and begin your work.

Your work on your projects is self-paced because everyone has a different project plan and schedule.

Also because you are all working on different plans, be aware that the Canvas gradebook may not reflect your actual grade. In particular, the participation grade may be off since some of the discussions are optional. You will argue for the grade you should receive for participation in your final exam.

Work for the Week of October 11

• The readings and quizzes that you need to complete by Monday, 11/17, are listed on last week’s post.

• Continue work on your projects, following the schedule you set in your Coursework Proposal. I will provide instructions for turning in your work in next week’s post. All your work is ultimately due by November 30, with a grace period that ends on December 7 (the last day of classes). I encourage you to turn your work in earlier, so that you can revise if you need to.

• During the second half of the course, you will be working on your own projects and at your own schedule. There will not be readings to discuss in Canvas, but I will provide some optional discussion questions for those of you working on meeting the expectations in your Participation Logs. Here are the first six:

  • Improving Networking Advice
  • What Would You Propose?
  • Comparing the Design and Layout of Two Textbooks
  • Evaluating a Factsheet for User Friendliness
  • Status Reports vs. Progress Reports
  • Finding a Code of Conduct on a Web Site

These discussions are all due on November 11, with a grace period of November 18 (the Friday before Thanksgiving break). I am giving you as much time as I can to complete the work, but I urge you not to wait until the last minute.

This is the post for the weeks of October 4, 2016 and October 11, 2016.

Overview

From this point on in the course, you are working on the projects that you outlined in your Coursework Proposal. That means that you should follow the schedule that you set for yourself and begin your work.

During the next two weeks, you should also finish reading the chapters in Markel.

Readings for the Week of October 4 & 11

• Chapter 10 of Markel, “Writing Job-Application Materials”
• Chapter 12 of Markel, “Writing Informational Reports”
• Chapter 13 of Markel, “Writing Recommendation Reports”
• Chapter 14 of Markel, “Writing Definitions, Descriptions, and Instructions”

Work for the Week of October 4 & 11

• Begin work on your projects, following the schedule you set in your Coursework Proposal.

• Complete the quizzes or responses for the week’s readings:

  • Chapter 10 Quiz OR Chapter 10 Response
  • Chapter 12 Quiz OR Chapter 12 Response
  • Chapter 13 Quiz OR Chapter 13 Response
  • Chapter 14 Quiz OR Chapter 14 Response

This is the post for the week of September 27, 2016.

Readings for the Week of September 27

• Chapter 8 of Markel, “Creating Graphics”
• Chapter 9 of Markel, “Writing Correspondence”
• Chapter 15 of Markel, “Making Oral Presentations”

Work for the Week of September 27

By 11:59 PM on Tuesday (9/27)
Post your draft, following the instructions on the course website. There is no grace period on this activity.

By 11:59 PM on Thursday (9/29)
Give feedback to the two classmates who are assigned to you, following the instructions on the course website.

After 12:01 AM on Friday (9/30)
Revise your draft based on the peer feedback you received, using the Canvas Documentation to find your peers’ feedback.

By 11:59 PM on Monday (10/3)

• Submit your revised Coursework Proposal draft, following these instructions. If you need more time, use the grace period and turn in your work by 11:59 PM on September 26. 

• Complete the quizzes or responses for the week’s readings:
  • Chapter 8 Quiz OR Chapter 8 Response
  • Chapter 9 Quiz OR Chapter 9 Response
  • Chapter 15 Quiz OR Chapter 15 Response