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English 414: Technical Communication I, Spring 2003

Schedule: Tuesdays, 5-7:40 p.m.
Email: [email protected]
Dr. Jordan's home page: http://www.tnstate.edu/jordan/default.htm
Location: We will start out in McCord 8, then move to the Holland Hall lab (3rd floor).
Office: TBA. The best way to reach me will be via email.
Format: A hands-on, workshop format will predominate. Quizzes will usually take place at the beginning of the class sessions and will not be made up. During general discussion of issues, students are expected to be present and not to walk in and out of class. See the class rules handout for attendance policies. Much of the work will be team-based. Most -- perhaps all -- of student work will be published on the Web. We may invite guest speakers to provide real-world perspectives.

(This syllabus will continue evolving during the semester. The page was last edited 03/07/03)

Objectives

Our overall objective is to learn and practice the basics of effective on-the-job in a Web-centric world. We will learn and practice writing associated with Web-centric professions.

Specifically, we will learn and/or practice the basics of the following:

Writing on-the-job materials related to Web careers.
Writing for the Web (How to create effective written information for publication on the Web -- includes some basics of HTML tags. Every student will create his or her own home page and will work on a team project to create a Web page for a client organization or department. Both effective HTML AND effective English will be important to student success.
Writing a variety of short proposals and/or memoranda.
Writing effective documentation -- each team will write both print and online instructions on how to maintain their team's Web page.
Using presentation software (PowerPoint) -- each team will present its team page. We may also have presentations for the team documentation projects.

Texts

Elizabeth Castro, HTML for the World Wide Web with XHTML and CSS: Visual QuickStart Guide, Fifth Edition (Peachpit Press; ISBN: 0201354934. Castro has plentiful examples online at http://www.cookwood.com/html5ed/examples/

Grading

Students must do ALL of the written assignments to be eligible for passing grades. Students who do outstanding work will earn grades of A; Students who do above average but not outstanding work will earn grades of B. Students who do average work will earn grades of C. Etc. . .

Prerequisites:

Completion of freshman and sophomore English is required.
Completion of English 300, 310C, and/or 310E is strongly recommended.
Comfort level with windows-based PCs and the Web is essential.

Schedule:

Week one: January 7

Course introduction and overview.
Preparation for the application writing assignment due Thursday, January 14, at the beginning of class.
(Log on to NT accounts -- this assignment will depend on how TSU has set up student Web pages this year,
if at all).
Email. By noon Thursday, January 9, everyone should have sent to [email protected] an email message with English 414 on the subject line telling me you are enrolled in the class. Be sure to tell me your name. Send me an email from any address you check regularly and that you want added to the class email distribution list. I will build a class email distribution list from emails students send me. Note: Do not send attachments. Unless we have made prior arrangements, I will delete (without reading) email messages that have attachments.
Some Web basics:
- View source: Seeing how Web pages work
- Using a text editor (Notepad) to create Web pages
- Fundamentals of HTML. See a handout on a basic Web page.

Week two: January 14

Due at beginning of class: professional application assignment (letter and résumé).
Preparation for the memorandum report due Thursday, January 21, at the beginning of class.
In lab: creation of simple home pages on the TSU Web server
Discussion of HTML basics and of possible hosts for student Web projects.

During the week, January 15-20, participate in the class discussion group at http://www.tnstate.edu/English414/disc1_frm.htm

Week three: January 21

By Monday, January 20, create a simple start page on the TSU Web server AND on some other Web server, and email me the URLs of these two pages. These are linked at http://www.tnstate.edu/jordan/414-student-sites-s2003.htm.
By this date, students should have discussed forming teams of 3-5 persons each. Each team should choose a team leader. In class, we will try to finalize teams and discuss possible ideas for team Web projects.
Review application assignment. Some comments are online.
Prepare for the memorandum report due next week.

Week four: January 28

Due at beginning of class: A memorandum report evaluating different possible hosts for your personal professional Web site.
Possible quiz
Discussion of personal professional Web sites
Formation of teams / discussion of team projects
Overview of writing weaknesses handout.
Some HTML issues
Discussion of doc plans for team Web page projects.

Week five: February 4

Draft doc plan for team Web page project due, in print, by 5 p.m.
Review student team projects.
Review/return memorandum report (second written assignment)
Some HTML issues
Other topics TBA

Week six: February 11

Possible quiz
- A quiz might cover writing weaknesses, especially issues noted in the review of the memorandum reports.
- Students should know how to create and link to anchors (see Castro, Chapter 7). They should also know how to create simple numbered and bulleted lists. And any of the items covered in past quizzes, including creation of simple Web pages, might come up.
Review draft doc plans turned in last week.
Discussion of team documentation projects and of doc plans for those projects.
Images: Castro, Chapters 5 and 6.

Week seven: February 18

Final drafts, doc plans for team Web projects due beginning of class. In addition to turning in a print version, teams should convert the doc plan into HTML format, put it on the Web, and email me the URL.
Discussion of individual (personal professional) Web sites
Discussion of images

Week eight: February 25

OUT OF CLASS QUIZ, DUE AT 5:30 p.m.! Write a memorandum to me answering the questions I pose in the Web Practices questionnaire.
Possible quiz (but unlikely, given the out of class quiz due at 5:30)
- Images
- Anchors and targets
- More practice on writing issues
Discussion of effective documentation -- specifically, discussion of team documentation projects.
Introduction to tables
Preview of midterm quiz.

Week nine: March 4

First draft, Doc plans due, team documentation (instructions) projects (bring these in on paper but also post them on the Web and email me the URL).
Midterm quiz/exam, content and format TBA
HTML: introduction to frames
Link to a simple frames page
Before the evening is over, students should email me the URLs of their personal professional pages AND of their team Web sites. I am not expecting these sites to be complete: they can be simple place-holder, mostly empty sites for now. But I will create links to these sites so that we can all stay aware of individual and team progress.

(March 10-14, Spring break)

Week ten: March 18

Frames: targets and names
Intro to Front Page
Review of individual Web sites (Students should have a start page and at least one additional page online by tonight).
Review of team documentation doc plans.
Review of team Web sites. Rough draft of site should be online, including at least four different pages.
Work on team documentation projects -- advice on effective documentation.

Week eleven: March 25

Beta version of team Web site should be online, with most of the pages working.
Topics TBA

Week twelve: April 1

First draft of documentation project complete

Week thirteen: April 8

Review of drafts of documentation projects
Intro to PowerPoint

Week fourteen: April 15

Week fifteen: April 22

Team Web pages complete
(Probable: presentations by graduating seniors)

Week sixteen: April 29

PowerPoint presentations from each team. Give an overview of your team Web page (the documentation project may also be part of this presentation) as if you are presenting it to your actual clients.
Team documentation project due! Both put it on the Web and turn in a print version.

Final exam: (If we follow the Spring 2002 schedule, the final will be Tuesday, May 6, at 5 p.m.)

Individual and team projects due during the semester (partial list as of 03/07/2003 -- this may be expanded)
Note: Hold onto all written projects returned to you! I will want to see the originals of these projects, complete with my original comments, as part of the final package you submit at the end of the course.

Professional application package (due in print January 14)
Memorandum report on Web hosts (due in print January 21)
Individual professional Web page
Doc plan for team Web project
Doc plan for team documentation project
Team Web project
Team documentation project (a set of instructions to your team's clients on how to maintain and update the Web site you have created for them).
PowerPoint presentation (a presentation to your team's clients explaining the features of the Web site you have created and how that Web site fits their needs).

Links, Spring 2003

A partial knowledge base for English 414