Online Classes (Sections 022)SYLLABUS - english.unm.edu€¦ · Web viewEnglish 219 Syllabus-...

English 219 Syllabus-

Technical and Professional Communication: English 219

Online Classes (Sections 022)SYLLABUS – Spring 2019

Instructor: Rick Robb — BA UNM ’09. MFA UNM ‘12Office: Humanities Bldg. 347Online Office Hours: TBA – Check Learn for more details.Face-to-Face Office Hours: T&R 9:30-10:30 (subject to change) or by special appointment.Email: Email me at [email protected] for ALL communications and assignments. Every email must include:

1. Your full name and course+section (e.g. “This is Michael Montoya from 219.022”) in the body of the message.

2. The subject line must reflect the nature of the email. (i.e. “Question about class” or “Appointment request”.)

Failure to include the above may result in your email being missed or ignored. Unless it is a continued conversation, do not email me by replying to a previous email.

This Syllabus is subject to revision throughout the semester to meet the needs of the students and instructor. The most current version will always be available on the course Learn page. The syllabus was last revised: 5/24/23 7:30 PM

Welcome to English 219, Technical and Professional Writing (Online). The objective of the course is to help you learn how to write for the professional and academic communities that you expect to join after graduation (whether that means graduate school or being out in the “real world.”) However, since each professional and academic community has its own specific set of conventions and values, it is important that you take the general skills learned in this class and apply them in a discretionary and adaptable manner to your own particular field(s).

Course DescriptionEnglish 219 introduces students to the different types of documents found in the workplace. Students will focus on analyzing and understanding readers’ needs as well as developing a coherent structure, clear style, and compelling page layout. Students will learn useful writing and research strategies that they can use as they write correspondence, procedures, resumes, presentations, proposals, and multi-page reports. English 219 focuses on analyzing rhetorical situations and responding with appropriate genres and technologies; you will be writing for workplace situations, using both text and visual design to convey your messages. This class meets New Mexico Lower-Division General Education Common Core Curriculum Area I: Communications (NMCCN 1113). (EPW).

Spring 2019 ~ English 219 ~ Rick Robb Instructor ~ Office: Humanities 347 ~ Rev:5/24/2023


English 219 Learning Outcomes/Key ConceptsTo align with NM HED Area I Core Competencies and to assist students in transferring credits to other NM institutes of higher-learning, the following Student Learning Outcomes (SLO’s) have been developed. You will be expected to demonstrate an understanding of these outcomes through course assignments including a reflective analysis of your work. Note that, during the course and on your web portfolio, we will also refer to these SLOs as “Key Concepts.”

1. Project Planning means planning, researching, and composing technical documents (as a lifecycle process) in teams and individually.

2. Project Analysis means identifying a document’s readers and a document’s context relative to practices of composing for specific global, diverse, and multicultural audiences. Understanding how technical documents occupy and respond to social justice and community service contexts.

3. Content Development means understanding how genre conventions impact writing. Using contextual information to place specialized information into the appropriate genre.

4. Organizational Design means practicing strong research skills with primary and secondary sources to generate appropriate content. Generating strong research questions and developing clear research practices.

5. Written Communication means composing clear, stylistically responsible prose that avoids errors and pays attention audience needs.

6. Visual Communication means using visual design principles to develop audience-friendly data displays, including charts, tables, infographics, line graphics, and presentations.

7. Reviewing and Editing means, across media and contexts, ensuring final clear style, user- centered writing, and error-free spelling and mechanics

8. Content Management means gaining knowledge of the organization and management of digital and textual information and learning the basics of information architecture, web content management, and social networking

9. Production and Delivery means developing skills in presenting information in multiple modes and in various media: web, paper, oral, and video. Applying delivery skills to emerging technologies.

Required TextsTechnical Communication Today, Sixth ed. by Richard Johnson-Sheehan. Welcome to the future! At this point, the textbook for this course is only available as an e-text. You will be able to access the book through Blackboard/Learn. You may find it useful to view the textbook on another device (a tablet or smart phone) while working through course materials on Learn.Other specific texts as assigned by the instructor will be available on Learn.

Course PrerequisitesUnless your ACT or SAT scores exempt you from taking those courses (or you are a transfer student whose previous freshmen writing credits transferred to UNM) you must have completed English 101/110/112/113 and 102/120 before taking English 219. You have an option to submit



a writing proficiency portfolio in lieu of taking English 120 if you received a B or higher in English 101/110/112/113. In order to take English 219, you must send an email to [email protected] during the first week of class to enroll in the writing proficiency portfolio and the coordinator must notify me that you have enrolled. There are no exceptions.

Technical SkillsIn order to participate and succeed in this class, you will need to be able to perform the following basic technical tasks:

Be open to using software programs that may be new to you. While these aren’t required, you may want to use different programs to design your projects. NOTE: You will be required to build a public website using Google Sites (which is pretty simple).

Be able to follow written or video instruction manuals for multi-modal software. Use UNM Learn (help documentation located in "How to Use Learn" link on left course

menu, and also at http://online.unm.edu/help/learn/students/) Use email – including attaching files, opening files, downloading attachments Copy and paste within applications including Microsoft Office Open a hyperlink (click on a hyperlink to get to a website or online resource) Use Microsoft Office or Google Docs applications

o Create, download, update, save and upload Word/Google Doc documentso Create, download, update, save and upload PowerPoint/Google Slides

presentationso Create, download, update, save and upload Excel spreadsheetso Download, annotate, save and upload PDF files

Technical Requirements This course will require you to create a publicly viewable website using Google Sites.

This is not optional. While what we are working on is designed to be a fully-functional web-based portfolio for your professional use in the future, you do not have to include a photo of yourself if you do not wish and you do not have to use your actual name or contact information on the website or other materials.

Access to a computer; a laptop or desktop. An iPad or other tablet may be used in an emergency, but you will find it very difficult to use the latter for the full semester. Basically, you’ll want something that you can use to access the online class and complete your work — a cellphone is not acceptable technology except to access your etextbook.

A high-speed Internet connection is highly recommended. Note that “I don’t/didn’t have access to the internet” is NOT a valid excuse for not completing work. If you will be leaving town during the semester, it is your responsibility to ensure that you will have the ability to read content and submit work. This includes any group projects or peer review assignments.

Supported browsers include: Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. Detailed Supported Browsers and Operating Systems: http://online.unm.edu/help/learn/students/. I recommend having at least two browsers on your computer. Oftentimes, if you are having technical issues with Learn, switching browsers can fix the problem.

Any computer capable of running a recently updated web browser should be sufficient to access your online course. However, bear in mind that processor speed, amount of RAM


http://online.unm.edu/help/learn/students/)


and Internet connection speed can greatly affect performance. Many locations offer free high-speed Internet access including UNM’s Computer Pods.

For using the Kaltura Media Tools inside Learn, be sure you have downloaded and installed the latest version of Java, Flash, and Mozilla Firefox. They may not come preloaded.

You will be creating a web-based portfolio in this course using Google Sites. This works best if you have a gmail account and if you use Google Chrome. This isn’t an endorsement — I’ve just found I am better able to help you if you have issues with this configuration.

Microsoft Office products are available free for all UNM students (more information on the UNM IT Software Distribution and Downloads page: http://it.unm.edu/software/index.html)

For UNM Learn Technical Support: (505) 277-0857 (24/7) or use the “Create a Support Ticket” link in your course.

Spelling, Grammar, and Suchlike Stuff At this point in your academic career, you should have a reasonable mastery of English grammar. If you know now that you have trouble with some specific grammatical issue, you should be consulting a writing handbook and/or the Purdue OWL website (https://owl.english.purdue.edu/) and become acquainted with its content. In addition, I will strongly recommend that you visit CAPS (Center for Academic Program Support). (In person or via their online help center) on a regular basis. We will not be studying grammar in this course, but you will be expected to use proper grammar and spelling in your work. I will deduct points for grammar issues, but I will generally not go into details or mark up those errors. That said, a Guide to Corrections, available on Learn, may help you with some issues.In a similar manner, by now you should have mastered the basics of using Microsoft Word, UNM email, and Blackboard Learn. You should also have basic keyboarding skills. A familiarity with web-based applications will be useful as well. This course will rely heavily on using a computer and your success will depend on your ability to follow along quickly during class. If you have a disability or other special circumstances that will require special use of computers or

other assistance, please let me know as soon as possible.

Your ResponsibilitiesIn addition to participation and attendance, for this class, you are required to have full-time access to a computer with internet capabilities, a Blackboard/Learn-compatible browser, and a word processing program capable of producing .doc, .docx, or .rtf files.


https://caps.unm.edu/

http://it.unm.edu/software/index.html

https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/

https://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/

https://www.java.com/en/


Do not send .Pages files, or Google docs attachments. Do not send Word 365 links. Do not send OneDrive files. Your major assignments will be submitted via your website. Often these will be embedded files, images, or links. You must have set permissions for me to view them in order to receive a grade. I will have a video posted on Learn that will teach you how to do this. You may also visit me during office hours for help.

Files that I am unable to open because they were not sent as I asked may be rejected and marked as late. The majority of the graded assignments in this class will be turned in on Learn. In addition to certain assignments and online discussions, all assignment sheets, rubrics, syllabi updates, class notifications, etc. may be posted on Learn. You are responsible for understanding how to use the basic functions in Learn. Changes to this syllabus or the calendar will generally be posted on Learn. You are required to check your UNM email account daily. I will communicate with you individually and as a class via your UNM LoboMail account. “I don’t check my UNM email” is not excusable. Crashed computers or lost files are, likewise, not valid excuses. BACK UP YOUR WORK! I recommend using Google Drive, OneDrive or a similar cloud-computing method of ensuring your work is saved. Never use a flash drive as your primary backup.

Attendance and ParticipationAttendanceAll English Core Writing sections, including online courses, must follow the same rigorous attendance policy, even online courses. This policy is enforced because we, as a department, understand the very intimate connection that exists between classroom attendance and writing performance, indeed student performance in general. This policy dictates that no more than two week’s worth of classes (300 minutes) may be missed. For an online class, obviously you won’t be physically in class, but you will be required to be participating in the readings, assignments, discussions, etc. I do check to see if you’ve been doing this. As well, the Blackboard system alerts me if your participation lags. Just logging onto Learn is not enough; you need to be participating in discussions, journals, and projects. If you go more than two weeks without participating, you will be dropped. If you feel that you cannot abide by this attendance policy, you might consider taking a different course. This is not a punishment of some sort, rather it is because when you miss that much class time, you are not getting the information needed to achieve course outcomes.

Having said all that, I have the leeway to allow you to remain in the course if I decide you will be able to keep up with the work and achieve a decent grade. Staying in touch with me and keeping me updated go a long way toward convincing me to not drop you. If you are missing more than 10% of the assigned work and exceed the absence limit, I will not hesitate to drop you.Participation PointsThese points, part of your total grade, listed elsewhere, include such things as peer reviews, your journal entries and discussion boards. These are required assignments in this course; you cannot just blow them off and expect a good grade.



Schedule of AssignmentsThere is a schedule of assignments available on the course Learn page. It may be updated frequently. It is your responsibility to check for update.

GradingAssignments will be graded using the following scale:

Assignment Type Number of each Point value of each Total Points

Discussion Boards 5 15 75Journals 12 10 120Quiz 9 10 90Portfolio Setup 1 40 40Peer Review 3 15 45Projects 3 100 300Portfolio 1 330 330

Course Total 1000

IMPORTANT: While it may seem that some of these scores don’t amount to much and, therefore, can be safely ignored, they do add up. Students have either failed or had substantially reduced grades in the past because they falsely assumed that the lower-stakes assignment wouldn’t affect their grade. Each of the three main modules, for instance, add up to 180 points each. Each of the modules will contain one or more of the above-mentioned assignment types. If, say, you decided not to do the two 10-point journal entries for Module 1, even if everything else for the module got maximum points, you would only receive a B+. (180 pts – 20 pts = 160 pts. 160/180 = 88 pts or, according to the following grading scale, a B+.) That said, you want to strive for maximum points in all of your assignments. There are rarely opportunities for extra-credit to cover these losses.

Grading Scale F D- D D+ C- C C+ B- B B+ A- A A+0-

59.960-63.9

64-66.9

67-69.9

70-73.9

74-76.9

77-79.9

80-83.9

84-86.9

87-89.9

90-92.9

93-96.9

97-100

0.00 0.67 1.00 1.33 1.67 2.00 2.33 2.67 3.00 3.33 3.67 4.00 4.00

CourtesyTeam WorkIn the course of this class we will be doing some group/team/peer work projects. Whether you like this or not it’s a fact of life. I expect that each of you will do your part and participate fully in these projects. If I notice that you aren’t participating, I will deduct participation points for the day. I will also neglect to inform you that bananas are a good source of potassium.



Late PapersI do not accept late assignments, except in the case of dire emergencies. Please let me know as soon as possible if one exists that will prevent you from turning in an assignment; belated notification will prevent me from extending your deadline. Remember that not turning in assignments for an online class is like not attending a regular class: if you don’t submit work for more than two weeks you will be dropped.

PlagiarismPlagiarism is the using of another’s language and/or ideas without acknowledging the source or using an essay for more than one course. The University considers plagiarism a serious form of academic dishonesty. Plagiarism in this course results in one or more of the following consequences: failure of the assignment, failure of the course, and disciplinary action by the Dean of Students.

Positive Learning Environment The English Department affirms its commitment to the joint responsibility of instructors and students to foster and maintain a positive learning environment.

Access to EducationQualified DisabilitiesIf you have a qualified disability that requires some form of accommodation to ensure your equal access to learning in this class, please contact me as soon as possible so that we can work together to address your needs. For information on assistive technology available for student use and information on services available through UNM’s Accessibility Resource Center, see http://as2.unm.edu. Undocumented Immigrant StatusAs an educator, and as an immigrant myself, I fully support the rights of undocumented students to an education and to live free from the fear of deportation. I pledge confidentiality to any student who wishes to disclose their immigration status, and I will work with students who require immigration-related accommodations. For more information and/or resources, please contact the New Mexico Dream Team at [email protected].

Title IX: Sexual Discrimination, Harassment, Abuse, and AssaultTitle IX prohibitions on sex discrimination include various forms of sexual misconduct, such as sexual assault, rape, sexual harassment, domestic and dating violence, and stalking. If you or someone you know has been harassed or assaulted and would like to receive support and academic advocacy, there are numerous confidential routes available to you. For example, you can contact the Women’s Resource Center, the LGBTQ Resource Center, Student Health and Counseling (SHAC), or LoboRESPECT. LoboRESPECT can be contacted on their 24-hour crisis line, (505) 277-2911 and online at [email protected]. You can receive non-confidential support and learn more about Title IX through the Title IX Coordinator at (505) 277-5251 and http://oeo.unm.edu/title-ix/. Reports to law enforcement can be made to UNM Police Department at (505) 277-2241.


http://oeo.unm.edu/title-ix/

mailto:[email protected]


UNM Policies This course falls under all UNM policies for last day to drop courses, etc. (For Spring 2019, in order to receive a 100% refund, that date is Friday, February 1st, 2019.) Please see, https://unmevents.unm.edu/site/academic/ or the UNM Course Catalog for information on UNM services and policies. Please see the UNM academic calendar for course dates, the last day to drop courses without penalty, and for financial disenrollment dates.

One Last ThingUpon reading this syllabus, you must send me an email (following the directions noted in this syllabus) with the following message in the body: I, [your name], understand and agree to the policies and procedures laid out in the official course syllabus. You should also include a sentence that tells me what constitutes an excused absence for this course.Even if you do not agree with the policies and procedures, your continued presence in the physical or online course indicates your willingness to abide by them.

Una última palabraAl leer este plan de estudios, debe enviarme un correo electrónico (siguiendo las instrucciones indicadas en este programa) con el siguiente mensaje en el cuerpo: Yo, [su nombre], comprenda y acepte las políticas y procedimientos establecidos en el temario del curso oficial. También debe incluir una frase que me diga lo que constituye una ausencia justificada para este curso. Incluso si usted no está de acuerdo con las políticas y procedimientos, su presencia continua en el curso físico o en línea indica su disposición a acatarlos.

最后一句话阅读本教学大纲后 , 您必须向我发送一封电子邮件 [ 遵循本教学大纲中的指示 ], 并在正文中提供以下信息 : 我 ( 你的名字 ) 理解并同意正式课程教学大纲中规定的政策和程序。你还应

该包括一个句子 , 告诉我什么构成了这个课程的免责缺席。即使你不同意这些政策和程序 , 你在物理或在线课程中的持续存在表明你愿意遵守它们

لفظ حتمی ایک。 ( پیغام ( ذیل حسب کو جسم میں میل ای ایک بعد کے ہدایات کیا ذکر میں نصاب اس مجھے آاپ پر پڑھنے نصاب اس

[ ] : نے آاپ ۔ رکھی میں نصاب کورس سرکاری سے باہر ہیں متفق سے کار طریقہ اور پالیسیاں اور سمجھنے کو نام کا آاپ میں چاہئے بھیجنا ساتھ کے۔ چاہیے کرنا شامل بھی کرتے تسلیم کو موجودگی عدم کوساد ایک لئے کے کورس اس کیا کہ ہے بتاتا مجھے جو ہے جملہ ایک

آاپ اگر کہ تک ہیں یہاں کرتے نہیں , اتفاق طرف کی کورس لائن آان یا جسمانی ساتھ کے میں موجودگی مسلسل کی آاپ کار طریقہ اور پالیسیاں۔ ہے کرتا ظاہر رضامندی اپنی کو ان سے


https://unmevents.unm.edu/site/academic/

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