Week 1

Submitted by admin on Mon, 05/07/2007 - 10:36

By Monday, January 12, at midnight

  • Complete Getting Started 1: Registering on the Site
  • Review carefully the Course Description, paying particular attention to all requirements. It is important that you become very familiar with the course policies so you can understand what is expected of you in this class. It might be best if you read through the course description twice; ignorance of the course policies will not be an excuse for failure to complete an assignment properly. Please do not fall behind on the first day. This course will proceed at a quick pace, so don't wait a few days to get going!
  • Read Learning to Navigate the Site. Then explore the class website. Make sure that you login; some class website features are not available to guests. It'll be easier as we move forward if you take the time now to explore. Get familiar with where things are located, which links take you further into the class website and which take you outside to other resources.
  • Read through the rest of this page so that you know when assignments are due the rest of the week.

By Wednesday, January 14, at midnight

  • Now that you have had a chance to read the course description and explore the class website, email your instructor with a note letting him or her know that you have finished registering for the course. Your email should include a subject line, a greeting, a short message, and your real (full) name. (Make sure your email is in keeping with the course Email Guidelines.) It is important that you complete this task so that you know how to get in touch with your instructor. Your instructors' email addresses are either jtirrell@purdue.edu (for Jeremy Tirrell) or nrivers@purdue.edu (for Nathaniel Rivers).
  • Complete Getting Started 2: Logging in for the First Time and Getting Started 3: Editing Your Account for the First Time
  • Review How to Post to Your Individual Weblog and then How to Post Comments and Replies
  • There is a post on the course home page asking students to introduce themselves. Post a comment to that post in which you:
    • describe where you are from
    • give your course of study and year
    • talk about your career goals
    • tell what you would like to get out of this course
    • share at least one thing personal about yourself (a hobby, your favorite sport, a favorite activity, etc.)
  • Reminder: As you work on assignments for this course, always read ahead a few days to give yourself time to ask questions about future assignments.

By Friday, January 16, at midnight

  • Read: Chapter 3—Readers and Contexts of Use in Technical Communication Today (TCT).
  • Post (by midnight tonight): Reading Response (300 word) on Chapter 3. Focus your report on the chapter's discussion of the different categories of audiences and the different types of contexts for technical writing. Being able to distinguish between audiences and identify the specific requirements/constraints of the context will be important this semester. Please review Principles for Reading Responses before you write your report. Make sure to tag your blog post with the appropriate "Reading Response" week tag by selecting it from the "Reading Response" drop-down box when you submit your post.
  • You have until Monday at noon to submit your five (5) comments (e.g., follow-up responses) to the blog posts. Your comments can be on the blog posts of others, or they can be in response to comments made on your blog post. The point is to establish and participate in a conversation. Each comment should be, at minimum, 100 words. Please review Principles for Comments and Responses for guidance.