Essential Music For Reading this Blog Post In the 1990s the Odyssey was rebranded for the silver screen and titled Terminator 2: Judgement. Odysseus was named Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), and her long journey home is now aided by her tough guy teenaged son and a previously evil cybernetic organism from the future (played by Arnold Read More…
Category: Student Engagement
Yes, Student A, The Group Assignment is Important
Business Communication students stare down the barrel of group work with general disdain and resentment. The main questions I receive, (paraphrased for readability) particularly in reference to assignments where students are working together yet graded individually, are: Why do I need to do this? How can I get this assignment done if my team members Read More…
Social Justice Advocacy in the Classroom
In her chapter for the book Citizenship & Advocacy in Technical Communication, Sarah Warren-Riley argues for the use of social media in the classroom as a way to teach students how to critique the messaging they see and how to advocate for themselves and others. While Warren-Riley is focused on the technical/professional communication classroom, her 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…
What do we want? Microinternships!: Micro-internships as a possible solution to providing more students more opportunities.
Internships are an integral part of the undergraduate collegiate experience. Many programs require one, and students gain valuable skills from this hands-on learning. Students often seek multiple internship opportunities throughout their academic career, yet few are available for those in the first or second year of undergraduate studies. Micro-internships may be a solution., There is Read More…
Teaching Technical and Professional Communication Through Interstitial Design
By Amanda Beres The field of technical and professional communication is changing to include a focus on social justice issues. More interconnected, wide, and vast, employers are looking for people who can think on a global scale. Now more than ever, technical and professional communication focuses on user experience. In fact, it almost is a 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…
How Does Student Feedback Influence Class Participation?
As an instructor, walking into a classroom full of students who are eager to participate is always the goal, however, it is not always achieved. While we understand that, in some circumstances, coaxing participation from our students may often be out of our hands, as rainy days, early morning classes, or the occasional off day Read More…
Queering Student Participation
How does a classroom build around the identities of it’s queer students? “Queering Student Participation: Whispers, Echoes, Rants, and Memory,” by Matthew Cox explores the way in which queer idenitfying student’s classroom experience is impacted by their identity.
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…