WR 227
WR 227 introduces technical and professional communications by paying particular attention to concepts of web design, usability, and accessibility, in addition to the more typical concepts of audience, document production, and design. No prior knowledge of web design, usability, or accessibility is required. You will be working with and creating both traditional documents—reports, memos, etc.—as well as with web pages. It is my hope that you will find this course useful to your future career endeavors, even if you don’t end up writing the exact same things I ask of you for this course. I try to design the course in such a way that the skills you must use to complete your writing assignments for this specific course—such as learning how to identify a document’s purpose and write for specific audiences—will transfer to different contexts.
The course is structured around three major projects: the Professional Email, the Usability Report, and the Accessibility Report. To help you gain/develop the skills needed to accomplish each major project, I will assign several supporting assignments to be completed before each major project. Supporting assignments vary, but are typically interactive readings and discussion primary and secondary posts. Student work is assessed using a grading contract. [https://writingcommons.org/article/so-your-instructor-is-using-contract-grading/?doing_wp_cron=1635441724.6528089046478271484375]
My online version of this class has been dynamically formatted to include interactive readings and videos, meaning you will be able to practice the skills you are learning as you are reading about them/watching them be explained.
My remote version of this class has required weekly Zoom meetings.
Required textbooks: I use Open Educational Resources (OER) and provide materials through our course learning management system (D2L Brightspace).
Required technology:
- Microsoft Office (free for students) or equivalent (e.g. Google Docs). You must be able to save files as doc, docs, rtf, or pdf format
- Firefox, Chrome, or Safari browser
- You must be able to work with documents and upload to Assignments in D2L. Directions to use Google Drive in D2L Brightspace.
- The technical requirements for most online classes include access to a computer with a modern operating system and a supported web browser