Intro to Technical Writing

This is the post for Tuesday, July 7, 2015.

This site is the official home for our Summer II 2015 course (CRNs #71608). Information on all assignments, daily activities, and related resources will be posted here. Check this site every week day for the details on what to do for the course.

Readings for Tuesday, July 7

For today’s session, please read the following:

Work for Tuesday, July 7

Today is about making sure you understand the course policies and getting set up. If you have technical difficulty with today’s class work, send me an email to tengrrl at vt.edu and let me know what you need help with.

Please complete these tasks:

  • Hand-drawn map with location pointerFill out the online survey to tell me a bit about yourself. I especially need to know where you are in the world to make sure that I take timezones into account as I set up things for the course. Last summer, I had students everywhere from Virginia to Alaska. Most students were also doing internships while taking the course.

  • Complete the following on the forums:
    1. Conversation bubbles, as from a comic strip (indicating forum activities)Register on the forums.
    2. Please choose a professional, classroom-appropriate username.
      • This is a public site, so realize that the name you choose will be publicly available.
      • If you do not want to use your real name on a public forum (for instance, because you are in the witness protection program), use a pseudonym, and email me to tell me that pseudonym and your real name.
    3. Add a reply to the “Syllabus Verification Thread” that confirms you have read the syllabus. Your post will serve as confirmation that you are enrolled in the course. If you do not reply with confirmation, you will be dropped from the class.
    4. If you have any questions about the syllabus, course policies, or anything related to the class, create a new topic on the Syllabus, Policies, & the Schedule board and ask your question.

    If you have questions
    Question Mark IconAlways post any questions you have about the course in the forums so that everyone in the class can benefit from the answers.

    The protocol for this course is always to read the forums first to see if someone else has asked the question, and then ask in the forums if no one has. If you have a question about your grade or another private matter, you can email me.

  • Google Drive Icon

    Get familiar with your Google Drive account, which is connected to your vt.edu email address. (If you have forgotten your password for your VT Google Apps account, follow these instructions.) If you have never used Google Drive before, you can learn more by watching relevant portions of Google Drive Essential Training with Jess Stratton. (Login required; lynda.com resources are free to VT students.)

  • Hand-drawn open book icon

    Go to Tests & Quizzes in Scholar, and complete the reading quiz on Chapter 3 of Markel by 11:55 PM on Friday, July 10. See the policies for quizzes on the course logistics page.

  • When I’ll reply to any questions: I am at West Virginia University this week, at a digital publishing and accessibility seminar. I am in sessions during the day. Look for replies after 9 PM Eastern.