Using Multimedia for Instructor Presence in Purposeful Pedagogy-Driven Online Technical Writing Courses

2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-52
Author(s):  
Heidi S. Harris ◽  
Michael Greer
Keyword(s):  
Course Design ◽  
Technical Writing ◽  
Instructional Materials ◽  
Engaged Learning ◽  
Writing Courses ◽  
Course Materials ◽  
Instructor Presence ◽  
Course Outcomes ◽  
Writing Instructors ◽  
Student Projects

Teaching and composing with multimedia humanizes online technical writing and communication classes. However, students do not always see the connection between multimedia instructional materials, multimedia assignments, and the course learning outcomes. Purposeful pedagogy-driven course design uses multimedia instructional materials to connect assignments, course materials, and assessments with course outcomes. Technical writing instructors can integrate synchronous and asynchronous multimedia elements to address not only the what and why of online technical writing instruction but also the how of multimedia instructional materials. Example multimedia instructional materials and student projects discussed in the article can increase student retention and promote engaged learning.

Using Multimedia for Instructor Presence in Purposeful Pedagogy-Driven Online Technical Writing Courses

2020 ◽  
pp. 004728162097836
Author(s):  
Heidi Skurat Harris ◽  
Michael Greer
Keyword(s):  
Course Design ◽  
Technical Writing ◽  
Instructional Materials ◽  
Engaged Learning ◽  
Writing Courses ◽  
Course Materials ◽  
Instructor Presence ◽  
Course Outcomes ◽  
Writing Instructors ◽  
Student Projects

Teaching and composing with multimedia humanizes online technical writing and communication classes. However, students do not always see the connection between multimedia instructional materials, multimedia assignments, and the course learning outcomes. Purposeful pedagogy-driven course design uses multimedia instructional materials to connect assignments, course materials, and assessments with course outcomes. Technical writing instructors can integrate synchronous and asynchronous multimedia elements to address not only the what and why of online technical writing instruction but also the how of multimedia instructional materials. Example multimedia instructional materials and student projects discussed in the article can increase student retention and promote engaged learning.

Teaching Intercultural Communication in a Basic Technical Writing Course: A Survey of Our Current Practices and Methods

2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 387-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Matveeva
Keyword(s):  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Technical Writing ◽  
Writing Curriculum ◽  
Writing Courses ◽  
Research Article ◽  
Writing Course ◽  
Writing Instructors ◽  
Goals And Objectives ◽  
Current Practices

This research article reports the results of an online survey distributed among technical writing instructors in 2006. The survey aimed to examine how we teach intercultural communication in basic technical writing courses: our current practices and methods. The article discusses three major challenges that instructors may face when teaching about intercultural communication. These challenges concern teacher preparation, time and proposed goals and objectives, and teaching materials and methods. This article provides some suggestions for addressing the challenges and enriching a technical writing curriculum.

Modified Immersive Situated Service Learning

2017 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natasha N. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Professional Communication ◽  
Professional Writing ◽  
Pedagogical Approach ◽  
Writing Courses ◽  
Agents Of Change ◽  
Traditional Service ◽  
Course Outcomes

Distinctions between traditional service learning and critical service learning with a social justice focus are important when structuring professional writing courses and defining course outcomes. This article presents a hybrid pedagogical approach for designing a critical service-learning course that integrates a social justice curriculum while focusing specifically on reflection, context, and positionality. Detailing the course design and sharing reflections from students and the instructor, the author argues that the modified immersive situated service-learning approach provides professional communication students the opportunity to become agents of change.

Training Teachers and Serving Students: Applying Usability Testing in Writing Programs

2007 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 323-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather McGovern
Keyword(s):  
Novice Teachers ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Teaching Assistants ◽  
Technical Writing ◽  
Usability Testing ◽  
Student Feedback ◽  
Student Experiences ◽  
Writing Programs ◽  
Course Materials

Teachers often test course materials by using them in class. Usability testing provides an alternative: teachers receive student feedback and revise materials before teaching a class. Case studies based on interviews and observations with two teaching assistants who usability tested materials before teaching introductory technical writing demonstrate how usability testing can make novice teachers more confident about and help them predict student experiences with their assignments. By helping to train teachers, usability testing can also help better serve students.

scholarly journals Curriculum creation: Reflection as a tool for enhancement

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 2
Author(s):  
Cameron J. Harris ◽  
Jackie D. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Pedagogical Practice ◽  
Professional Skills ◽  
University Environment ◽  
Curriculum Creation ◽  
Course Outcomes ◽  
Past Experiences ◽  
The University ◽  
Required Courses

Reflection plays an important role in the development of new courses and curriculum. Professional skills development is the focus of two newly developed and required courses, one of which uses reflection as a primary pedagogical practice. These foundational courses are scaffolded by design. The scope of this presentation will be on the first of these two courses, designed for students entering the university environment and serving as early exposure to the field.  Presenters will share the role that reflection played, and continues to play, in the development of these courses. One assignment, a product of this reflection, will serve as a focus of this presentation. It was developed to challenge students to consider past experiences and how they might apply to the development of their professional skills, both now and in the future. Peer review and feedback sessions serve as another instructional tool to facilitate this critical thinking process.The first focus of this presentation will be on continual instructor reflection on course and curriculum design as a method for enhancing the pedagogical approach, instruction, and assignments, and it will continue to play a role in the assessment of course outcomes. The second focus will be on the role that critical reflection plays as a pedagogical practice in course design and classroom instruction. Session attendees will be asked to reflect on their pedagogical practice and the role reflection has played in their approach to classroom learning.

Disrupting course design in online CALL teacher education: An experimentation

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 146-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis Bangou ◽  
Gene Vasilopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Research Data ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Computer Assisted Language Learning ◽  
Language Teacher Education ◽  
Course Materials

This article experiments with creativity, ambiguity, design thinking, research, and teacher education in computer-assisted language learning within the development of a distance teacher education course on computer-assisted language learning. By deploying philosophy of immanence, the associated agencements of teacher becoming in computer-assisted language learning, and design thinking, this article generates new ways of thinking about creativity, ambiguity, design thinking, language-teacher education, and research. Data collection included course materials, student interviews, and assignments. The paper uses rhizoanalysis to map affective connections within the research agencement, highlighting potential for transformation. It presents vignettes to palpate, disrupt, and encourage further concept creation.

Course Design Based on Students’ English Skill Cluster: A Case Study in a University Language Center

Jurnal METRIS ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (02) ◽  
pp. 67-71
Author(s):  
Eldwin Ilham Murpratomo ◽  
Amelia Kurniawati ◽  
Hilman Dwi Anggana
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Course Materials ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Prediction Test ◽  
Clustering Approach ◽  
Average Cluster ◽  
Cluster 2 ◽  
Different Levels

The English Proficiency Test (EPrT) is a prediction test for English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), which is a prerequisite for graduation at XYZ University. The Language Center provides a course for EPrT preparation. The course posttest data shows that only 74% of students met the graduation prerequisites. This study aims to develop an English course design based on the students’ English skill cluster. This study uses the K-Means clustering approach to classify the students based on English skills. The respondents are 397 students who joined the EPrT preparation course in October and November 2018. The 397 students are distributed into 3 clusters, which are 174 students in cluster 1, 116 students in cluster 2, and 107 students in cluster 3. Cluster 1 consists of students with the score below average. Cluster 2 consists of students with the total score above average, but the components score is below average. Cluster 3 consists of students with pre-test total score below average, but the post-test score are above average. Therefore, the EPrT preparation course is suggested to have different levels, instead of one level as now. The course materials are designed to be suitable for students’ initial English skills at each level.

Making the Virtual Real

2011 ◽  
pp. 224-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reneta D. Lansiquot
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Technical Writing ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Writing Apprehension ◽  
Writing Courses ◽  
Social Nature ◽  
The Social ◽  
3D Virtual World

The emerging critical global collaboration paradigm and the use of virtual learning communities can form structured domains that require complementary methods for educational research. The purpose of this chapter is to illustrate how the social nature of virtual worlds can be used to teach technical writing and the academic research process. A yearlong, mixed methodology, research study is used to demonstrate the effect of this blended learning pedagogical approach on writing apprehension in advanced technical writing courses. Students wrote manuals collaboratively for an audience of their peers. Second Life, the online 3D virtual world created entirely by its residents, was both their subject of study and a mode of meaningful communication.

Fair Use, Copyright, and Academic Integrity in an Online Academic Environment

2012 ◽  
pp. 298-309
Author(s):  
Kristine Holloway
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Academic Integrity ◽  
Educational Environment ◽  
Fair Use ◽  
Legal Issues ◽  
Instructional Materials ◽  
Academic Environment ◽  
Electronic Library ◽  
Online Instructors ◽  
Course Materials

Technology has changed the way Fair Use is determined in an educational environment. Administrators face issues of ownership and copyright when making instructional materials available electronically. Planning for copyright issues, negotiating fair contracts with faculty and vendors, collaborating with stakeholders, and re-thinking Fair Use policies for online learning must occur when transitioning to an electronic library. Instructors and school leaders must understand Fair Use and the legal issues involved. They must deal with issues of academic integrity in an electronic environment and offer instruction on how to avoid student and faculty miss-use of materials. Ownership of intellectual property should be clearly defined to avoid conflict between online instructors and administration. Administrators must understand fair use and copyright issues and create policies and plans for dealing with issues that will inevitably arise as they work with course materials, faculty, and students in an online environment.

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