TPC 12 - Writing, Representing, and Speaking (Drafting)

This sub-organizer contains the following sections:
Prescribed Learning Outcomes
Suggested Instructional Strategies
Suggested Assessment Strategies
Recommended Learning Resources

PRESCRIBED LEARNING OUTCOMES

It is expected that students will:

proficiently use a variety of technologies to facilitate and enhance writing, including:
- computer software
- telecommunications hardware and software
proficiently use a variety of technologies to facilitate and enhance representation, including:
- imaging equipment
- computer software
- multimedia technology
use appropriate conventions accurately and consistently to document sources
demonstrate a commitment to ethical use of information and language

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

Suggest that students select samples they have created in non-electronic forms. Ask them to word process samples, edit them, enhance them using electronic graphics, and transmit them electronically (e.g., on disk, by fax or modem, via e-mail) for assessment.
Have students create presentations on technical or professional topics, in multimedia formats (e.g., combining photographic equipment, video cameras, scanners, desktop publishing programs, animation software, graphics programs).
Provide opportunities for students to use simulation software to achieve simulation goals within specified time frames. Assign them to track one aspect of their performance and report on it.
Set up a Gallery Walk to introduce appropriate documentation. At each station provide examples of a single form of technical communication (e.g., posters, films, reports, research papers, product instruction manuals). Invite students to circulate the gallery, identifying examples of "using someone else's work." Have them share results with partners and develop sets of generalized rules for citing sources. Discuss as a class various documentation conventions (e.g., APA, MLA, CP), indicating fields in which each applies.
Have each student obtain information (e.g., opinions) from five different community members on a controversial topic. Suggest that before conducting the interviews, students develop and use release forms. Ask students to summarize each person's information and then verify its accuracy. Discuss with them the importance of avoiding plagiarism, fabrication of facts, deliberate misrepresentation, and subliminal manipulation. As an extension, students could research and report on one of these unethical activities, including definitions, samples, and consequences.
Invite a journalist to the classroom to discuss the practical, ethical, and legal aspects of her or his work.

SUGGESTED ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES

In assessing students' word processing of handwritten documents, consider the extent to which they use sophisticated features of the software such as:
- formatting (not autoformatting)
- graphic insertion and sizing
- indexing capability
- footnote and bibliography creators
- idea generators
Work with students to develop a list of specific technologies and techniques they will be expected to use over the course of a term. Have them insert the list in their portfolios or folders and check off the requirements as they use various technologies. Students could also rate their use of each technology, making notes about any specific techniques or adaptations they tried or want to record for future reference. At the end of the term, ask them to review and assess their work, summarizing:
- their overall strengths and weaknesses
- their use of technologies that seem most relevant to their current work
- two or three important things they have learned to do
- plans for continuing to increase their proficiency
Ask students to compile examples of their own work that illustrate their use of appropriate documentation conventions and their commitment to ethical use of information and language (e.g., instances where they have and have not attributed information to specific sources; various forms of acknowledgments, footnotes, endnotes, reference lists, copyright releases). Have them annotate each example to explain why it has been included. Look for accuracy and consistency in the way students apply conventions and for a clear understanding of the legal and ethical issues involved in drawing on others' work, ideas, and language.