Now you can take the technical writing class but skip the tests

I just discovered the greatest course syllabus for a technical writing class, English 107, at Lehigh Carbon Community College in Schnecksville, PA. Makes me wish I was taking this class.

Course reading list (on a wiki, no less!)

Weeks nine and ten really have me excited. Because I’m a technical writing dork that way. Here’s a copy and paste.

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Week Nine: Web 2.0 and Education

1. Watch Web 2.0
2. Watch Tim O’Reilly’s Interview about Web 2.0
3. Watch Web 2.0 and Language Learning by Graham Stanley
4. Watch EdTrends
5. Watch Feel Again
6. Watch Greater IBM and Second Life
7. Watch IBM Second Life Highlights

Assignments

• Educators and businesses are using Web 2.0 and the 3D web to save money. What costs are saved by using 2.0/3D web technology? Write a memo and send it via WebCT.
• Create a semi-formal report comparing and contrasting the uses of Web 2.0 OR Second Life in Education and Business. Explore the advantages and disadvantages. Your report should have:
  • A Title Page
  • Overview
  • Background
  • Methodology/Criteria for research
  • Research findings
  • Discussion
  • Conclusion
  • Works Cited

Week Ten: Web 2.0 and Technical Communication

1. Read ” The Quick Web” for Technical Documentation by Anne Gentle
2. Read Writing Becomes Industrial by Neil Perlin
3. Read Complete Information Gets Used by Geoffrey JS Hart
4. Read Top Ten Tips for Writing Online Surveys
5. Read Managing conflicts within a Team of Writers
6. Read Open Source for Tech Writing Teams
7. Read Web 2.0 for Technical Communicators

Assignments
1. What is the role of the technical writer in business and industry? Send me an email detailing your ideas.
2. Create a web survey using Survey Monkey and ask everyone you know to complete the survey. Find out how they use technical writing in the workplace. Survey at least twenty people.
3. Create an analysis report of the data collected in the surveys and submit via WebCT.
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I’ve interviewed two graduate-degree earners, but neither of them would have looked at Web 2.0 in the way this class is headed.

I am setting aside some time to do the reading assignments myself. You may want to also. A highly successful director at BMC used to set aside two hours of reading time a week for articles like these (no emails, just uninterrupted reading time), and it showed in her forward thinking and leadership qualities.