THIS WEEK1)Announcements2)Cautionary Notes3)In-class Activity4)Hybridness5)Reminders

ANNOUNCEI am in the process of grading Seq. 4.

You should have fully updated grades by mid-week at the latest. I will send an email when everything is updated.

Remember to keep an eye on your grade so you know where you stand.

ANNOUNCEAnd just some advice:

I helped each of you, during your conference, to make a plan for Seq. 5.

It is up to you whether or not you follow those, but remember that you’re going to have finals in most of your other classes. I tried to encourage all of you to be mostly done by next week. That will be of great use to you if you have to study for finals. DON’T PROCRASTINATE!

ANNOUNCELikewise, if you are afraid your research is lacking, or that you need some help developing your project, talk to me now instead of later.

You can email me to plan an IM conference at any time. I disabled the Tungle, because I don’t want to literally take appointments for any time, but if you email me, we can find a time that fits both our schedules.

GEAR SWITCH

IN CLASSYour in-class activity for this week is simple:

Pretend we’re doing presentations, and “present” your major project 5 to your group (of 3-4 fellow students).

After each presentation, each member of the group should write a paragraph or two in response (what you liked, what you wonder, etc.). These paragraphs will be given to the presenter to use as notes as they finish writing.

GEAR SWITCH

HYBRID This week I want you to spend your hybrid time thinking about one of the last things we really need to hammer home for the course: clarity in writing.

All of your hybrid work this week will be done on your Tumblr, but make sure you read these prompts carefully. They are different from your usual Tumblr assignments.

HYBRID Prompt 1:

Locate some article online (it can be a news article, a blog entry, a Wikipedia entry, etc.– anything, really) that you feel is written in a way that is particularly clear and concise.

Post a link to it, then write a paragraph or two explaining why it appeals to you as being particularly clear. What does the author do well? What can you learn about writing from it?

HYBRID Prompt 2:

Find a video on YouTube (or elsewhere, if you prefer) that somehow teaches you to do something (anything), that you feel is particularly effective.

Post the video, then post a paragraph or two talking about why you feel this particular video is so effective? What does it model that we can follow?

PROMPT 3

HYBRID This is really your major work for the week (other than your projects). What I want you to do is pick a computer-related task and write directions for someone to follow so that they can complete that task.

That shouldn’t sound too difficult but there are a number of things you will need to keep in mind. For example

REMEMBER 1) You have to balance giving too much

information and too little information.

This can be difficult, because if you say too little, clearly, the user can get lost. But if you say too much, you can be come needlessly complicated. Finding this balance in writing– enough detail to serve the reader without diluting your main point or confusing readers– is critical.

REMEMBER 2) IF you assume, you make an, well, you know this cliché, right?

The worst thing you can possibly do is make assumptions about your audience. For example, if you tell someone to “google” something, you already assumed that they know what Google is and how to use it. If they do not, you just lost them, and anything you say from that point on will be read through a filter of frustration (and perhaps disgust). Don’t assume anything you can’t be sure of.

REMEMBER 3) Sequence matters

When we write creatively, we might play with the order of events (see Pulp Fiction or Memento for examples). This is NOT a practice to use in giving directions or in any sort of hard academic writing. If you tell me to login after you tell me to access something I have to be logged in to access, you just confused me. So make sure you keep your sequence of events clear.

REMEMBER 4) You’re taking the role of “expert” when you write about something

I don’t mean completely. You don’t write about nuclear energy and become a nuclear scientist. But if you write a tutorial on how to remove the background from an image in Photoshop, people grant you the authority to know how to do it. Do not abuse this ethos– use it to your advantage, but remember that you have to live up to it. If you don’t, you’ll gain a bad reputation.

PROMPT3 So bearing that in mind, construct your set of directions. They should be COMPLETE (from the start of the activity to the end).

However to keep you from losing your mind and having to write things like “find a computer. Make sure it is plugged in. Turn it on,” etc., the next few slides will offer you things you CAN assume about the audience for this task.

ASSUME1) This user has a PC with Windows 7 and any of the software we have used in this course. The user also has access to a Mac with all the software we’ve used in the class, but the user isn’t as comfortable using the Mac, so you might have to go a bit slower with that platform. The user knows enough about computers that you don’t have to explain things like “clicking” or how to open software.

ASSUME2) This user has high speed broadband access, has access to a microphone headset for audio recording, and has a digital camera. The user cannot record video, so anything involving a video camera will need to instruct on how to obtain those resources.

ASSUME3) This user has MSU student access to online resources, the library, etc. and can be assumed to live on or around the MSU campus.

ASSUME4) This user is in a situation where it will be impossible to ask you questions, so these directions are all the user will have.

ASSUME5) This user trusts you, so your directions will be followed to-the-letter. Don’t assume that the user will attempt to outsmart you if you mis-word something or skip a small step because it should be obvious.

ASSUME6) This user is stubborn. Unless directed to do so, the user will look at nothing but your directions while completing the task.

PROMPT 3As you have noticed this semester, I have generally left your blog prompts alone. I haven’t responded to them, other than to speak with you about what you’ve written (don’t think I didn’t read– I’ve read every single post).

But this time, I will be responding to each of you, one-on-one. I will be testing your directions.

This will be due at 11:59 pm on December 5th

CLOSINGThis will be our last “normal” week of assignments. Next week we will have some loose ends to tie up (evaluations, a few final activities, etc.).

Remember you have that one big due date looming: Project 5 and Making 5 are due by 2:45 pm on December 16th. At that point class is OVER and nothing will be accepted after that time (I’ll make the drop-dead 3 pm so you can have a round hour).

CLOSINGAs always, email if you have questions, and keep your eye open for updates as we move forward this week.

Take care!