The year is 2018 and for some inexplicable reason, I am loafing about in my introductory business management class in order to start what I presumably considered would become a lengthy and rewarding but inevitably unfulfilled career as an accountant. If I had ever read the syllabus to this class, I had swiftly and intentionally Read More…
Category: Accessibility
Cathartic Realizations: Other TCP Teachers Struggle, Too!
As instructors of technical communication, I wonder if you’ve ever considered that our university doesn’t offer an undergraduate program specifically for technical communication. Our English department is growing and evolving and every year we gain new interest and new students, but like many collegiate institutions, we only offer undergraduates a taste of technical communication through Read More…
Plain Language and How it Relates to Technical Writing
Something we always teach our technical writing students early on in the semester is the art of plain language, and why it’s a valuable skill when dealing with a broad audience. Kira Dreher, author of “Engaging Plain Language in the Technical Communication Classroom” does an incredible job at breaking down the benefits of plain language Read More…
An Invitation to Participate: What, How, and Why
Charles Dickens bored the crap out of me in high school. I missed a section of reading one night, and even though I knew our English teacher wouldn’t allow me to retake her reading quiz, I went to class the next day in fine spirits. Looking down at five open response questions I couldn’t answer, Read More…
Meme it Till You Make It; Using Internet Communications in The Contemporary Classroom
By James Mellen In the age of mass communication and mass reproduction, internet memes have become an increasingly important “memes” of communication, especially among the Millennial and Zillenial generation. So, how does one make use of this emerging means of communication in an effective teaching practice? How does someone take a look at the meme Read More…
Creating opportunities for participation and student involvement.
– by Amanda Beres Cartoon of students engaging with each other in an online format. Student participation is a struggle to assess and the collegiate level is no different. Walking in the classroom that first day was nerve-wracking, especially in terms of student participation. Thankfully, my experience so far has been positive! My students are Read More…
Redefining “Participation” in the Age of COVID-19
by: Amanda Rioux How do we gage classroom participation? More importantly, how do we gage classroom participation in the throes of a deadly pandemic? While the former drives Critel in her research, the latter remains our current predicament.
Another Approach to Teaching Technical Communication to Students: Through MMoRPGs
Pedagogy, as related to teaching technical communication, can benefit from adapting based on the needs of the user, and one way to understand this is through “massively multiplayer online role-playing games,” or “MMoRPGs,” such as World of Warcraft (WoW). Video games that bring forth so much online culture, like WoW, result in plenty of technical Read More…
Thinking about Accessibility and Inclusion
Blog Post #2 By: Michaella Lesieur I am stepping back to last semester in this blog post as there was one particular chapter that resonated with the setting in which we are all teaching in now… I remember seeing the word of “accessibility” and yes… it can be an overly broad term; however, one that Read More…