ETC 324: Electronic and Online
Communication
MWSC
Division of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Department
of English, Foreign Languages, & Journalism
MW
11:00-12:30
JGM
119
Instructor: Dr. Cynthia Jenéy
Office:
S/SC 222K
Phone:
271-4447
Email:
jeney@missouriwestern.edu
Office
Hours: Mon. 12:30-3:30|Wed. 12:30-2:30 | By appointment
WebBoard:
http://miranda.cailab.mwsc.edu:8080/~etc324
Required Textbooks:
1.
Siegel, Kevin. RoboHelp 200: HTML Edition.
2.
Selected readings Handout, Library
3.
Selected readings online: http://wac.colostate.edu/books/selves_societies
Required Materials
-
A working MWSC email account to which you
know the exact address.
-
3.5” PC-formatted floppy disks labeled with your
name and ETC 324
-
Zip disk. Zips will be returned, but store only
your assignments for this class on them (not miscellaneous files).
Recommended:
-
A good college dictionary
-
A good style handbook (MLA, APA, AP)
Course
Objectives:
Study of communication
assignments likely to be encountered by entry-level professionals in various
technological settings. Students will practice communication requiring careful
on-the-job analysis, planning, preparation, writing and editing. Cases will be
used to demonstrate the crucial interaction of elements such as writer’s
professional role, the audience, the technical and managerial problem, the
available information, and the communication assignments. Prerequisites: ENG
108 or 112 and ETC 200. LAS Writing; Computer Literacy.
About the course:
This course will be conducted as a writing, writing theory, coding, and
pre-professional workshop. We will do some writing for nearly every class
period, using both local software and electronic forum. You should print and/or
save on disk all of your posts to the
electronic forum. The overall plan is to spend the first half of the semester
on theorizing and practical application of writing in various electronic
environments such as electronic mail, the worldwide web, and real-time chat
conferencing. The second half of the semester will be devoted to developing
skills and abilities with RoboHelp HTML, the industry-wide standard application
used for creating help files in computer/online environments. Throughout the
semester, we will be reading and commenting on each other’s writing both as a
class, and in small groups.
Class meetings: Class meetings of upper
division courses are conducted under the assumption that students are
well-versed in the conventions of college classrooms and academic
environments. Come to class prepared,
and plan to participate and remain engaged with the materials for the entire
class period. In the unlikely and
unfortunate event that you find yourself unprepared, come anyway, but I expect
you to arrive doubly-prepared the next time. Should the situation become
chronic, you may wish to re-examine your priorities for the semester, as this
is a writing- and participation-intensive course. In short: develop good
academic habits now, or pay later.
This Syllabus: Read this syllabus very
carefully, and refer to it often. All information presented here is regarded as
part of your own knowledge. All answers to your questions about the class will
be based on an assumption that you understand the syllabus and seek further
clarification. The teacher reserves the right to alter this syllabus and to
make announced changes as need arises during the course of the semester.
Due Dates: Dates for handing in all
required assignments are listed in the course schedule. There is no room in the
semester calendar for late papers or projects. I do not plan to be accepting
late papers, due to the content and pace of the nature class and its
assignments. Make a note of all due dates early, and plan accordingly.
Attendance: A student with more than 4
(M-W) unexcused absences will automatically be given a failing grade for the
course. It is your responsibility to
keep track of your own attendance in the class. Please see the student handbook
for the definition of "excused absence" (i.e., I do not wish to see
doctor's excuses or obituaries). If you
miss class it is your responsibility to contact a classmate (and of course
refer to the class schedule) regarding announcements, assignments, changes,
class notes, and additional readings or writing.
Students
who consult with me in advance of known conflicts will be given the option
of pre-arranged make-up work on a
case-by-case basis. DO contact me in the event of unforeseen hardships and
illnesses. Serious efforts to complete the work for this class will be given
fair consideration, especially in cases of earnest dedication and hard work.
Note:
Weddings and vacation trips to Orlando do not
constitute “hardships” or “emergencies.”
Contacting
the Instructor: Email is a wonderful thing. It does not, however, replace class
attendance. Emails asking “What did I miss?” are inappropriate in the college
setting. (The answer, by the way, is “You missed class.”) Email or telephone
your instructor when:
Electronic Forum: Each student will be
required to post various written assignments to the class electronic forum.
Posts to the forum will be full-length drafts, peer critiques, summaries,
analytical questions, and commentaries, based upon the reading and writing
assignments in the class. All members of the class will have posting and
reading access to the forum on the web, but may also choose the additional
option of receiving posts via email (posts will always remain on the web site).
Although the forum works technically like an email listserv and web-board, it is not to be used for
“Yeah, man. I agree” type messages.
You
must have a stable college email
account established in order to satisfy this writing requirement for the
course. Do not shift around with Yahoo and Hotmail account subscriptions when
logging into the WebBoard, as this will confuse the moderator, and possibly
cause her to delete your membership accidentally. As moderator, I will do my
best to insure that you do not receive advertising or other unwanted messages
in your account. Expect the usual glitches and snafu’s when first getting
subscribed to the electronic discussion group. I tend to use different
technologies as time goes by, and as internet services evolve. I will try to
make it as painless and easy as possible for you, but there is a certain amount
of meticulous attention required at the outset, in order to get the forum up
and running efficiently for us all.
Assignments:
The assignments scheduled for this class are weighted by percentage toward the
final grade. They are minimum requirements for passing the course. Failure to
complete one or more of them will result in a failing grade. One assignment may
be revised and resubmitted, should you wish to improve an assignment grade.
Revisions:
Each student may, after consulting with the instructor, revise and resubmit one
assignment during the semester, should s/he wish for an improved assignment
grade. I do not guarantee an improved grade when an assignment is resubmitted,
but I do guarantee that I will not lower the original grade given for that
assignment, should the revision somehow take a turn for the worse.
A
note about the writing in this course: although we will all encourage each
other to be open and to explore ideas, experiences, thoughts, emotions, and
beliefs, assignment drafts and electronic WebBoard posts shall be
considered public texts. Therefore I have a strict policy against writing
about any un-prosecuted crime or suspected illegal activity which you have
witnessed, or in which you have been involved. When in doubt, I will always err
on the side of safety.
Grading:
I expect project assignments to reflect principles and concepts learned in
class and in the reading. During the course of the semester you should
integrate the stylistic features we have been practicing. I also reward
experimentation, for those who have demonstrated competence in the primary
skills and theories we are learning. If you want to try an unconventional
approach to your paper or project, please see me with a draft and explain what
you are attempting, so I will be able to help you succeed with the assignment.
Academic honesty: “Electronic and Online Communication” is NOT about cutting and pasting
other people’s web sites or electronic posts to UseNet or listservs and handing
them in as our own!
“Since honesty in the classroom is required, cheating,
plagiarism, or knowingly furnishing false information to the college
constitutes a violation.” Policy Guide II, B, C. In short, the work you turn in
must be your own.
Disabilities: Any student in this course
who has a disability that prevents the fullest expression of abilities should
contact the MWSC Special Needs Office as soon as possible so that we can
discuss alternative ways to satisfy class requirements: Coordinator:
Lois
E. Fox
Location:
SS/C Building, Room 202
Office
Hours: 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday
Phone:
(816) 271-4330
Grading
Plan:
20% Report #1: Rhetoric of Email (analysis)
20% Report #2: GUI Usability Analysis
20% Report #3: WWW User Analysis
10% WebBoard Participation and RoboHelp Modules
20% RoboHelp: Project
10% In-Class presentations and discussion
100% Total
ETC 324 Electronic and
Online Communication
TENTATIVE CLASS SCHEDULE
SPRING 2002
January
21 Introduction; syllabus
26 Intro ETC 324 WebBoard.
28 Burke; Baron. Handbook: “email”; assign
email analysis. WebBoard. Possible Quiz.
February
2
Sims;
issues in electronic communication. WebBoard.
4 Post Analysis to WebBoard. Hawisher
& Moran; Smart (http://wac.colostate.edu/books/selves_societies/smart/).
discussion
questions. Peer review workshop.
WebBoard.
9
Intro
GUI, Usability. Wieringa, et. al.; Jakob Nielsen. WebBoard.
12 Report #1 Due. Norman. Intro GUI,
Usability.
16 Presidents’ Day – No Class Meeting
18 Dautermann. Usability Workshop.
WebBoard.
23 Usability (cont.) Geisler
(http://wac.colostate.edu/books/selves_societies/geisler/).
25 Report #2 Due. Intro User (Audience)
Analysis. Jones; Bereano
March
1 Spinuzzi.
(http://wac.colostate.edu/books/selves_societies/spinuzzi/) WebBoard.
3 Henderson; WebBoard.
8 User (Audience) Analysis, cont. Jones,
Bereano, Spinuzzi, Henderson.
10 RoboHelp HTML 2000
15 SPRING BREAK – NO CLASS MEETING
17 SPRING BREAK – NO CLASS MEETING
22 RoboHelp HTML 2000
24 Report #3 Due. RoboHelp HTML 2000
29 RoboHelp HTML 2000
31 RoboHelp HTML 2000
April
5 RoboHelp HTML 2000
7 RoboHelp HTML 2000
12 RoboHelp HTML 2000
14 RoboHelp HTML 2000
19 RoboHelp HTML 2000
21 RoboHelp Project
26 RoboHelp Project
28 RoboHelp Project
May
3 RoboHelp Project – Presentations
5 STUDY DAY—NO CLASS MEETING
12 11:30-1:20 FINAL EXAM