WEBSITE USABILITY, Erik Ellis
A rhetorically informed introduction to technical writing that hones communication skills in the context of multidisciplinary design activities. The course treats design as a collaborative, user-oriented, problem-based activity, and technical communication as a rhetorical and persuasive design art. Taught as a writing workshop emphasizing critical thinking, revision, and oral presentation skills, the course will focus on a semester-long project for local nonprofits and charitable organizations. You’ll research website usability and will collaborate with classmates to evaluate a client’s website. As part of this real-world project, you’ll analyze the values, perspectives, and expectations of your client. Then you will conduct and videotape usability tests of people trying to accomplish common tasks on the client’s website. Finally, you’ll analyze the results and make recommendations for improvement. Your team’s recommendation report will be concise, precise, and highly readable. It will include a persuasive DVD with highlights from your usability tests. No software skills required. See Course Schedule.

WEB DESIGN: CONTENT DEVELOPMENT AND USABILITY, Anna MacBriar
Whereas other writing courses might ask you to “write about X,” this course asks you to draw on writing and speaking “to do X.” Taught as a writing workshop emphasizing critical thinking, revision, and oral presentation skills, the course focuses on semester-long design projects for real campus or community clients, and on effective communication with multiple stakeholders. You’ll research website usability and will collaborate with classmates to evaluate a client’s website. As part of this real-world project, you’ll analyze the values, perspectives, and expectations of your client. Then you will conduct and videotape usability tests of people trying to accomplish common tasks on the client’s website. Finally, you’ll analyze the results and make recommendations for improvement. Your team’s recommendation report will be concise, precise, and highly readable. It will include a persuasive DVD with highlights from your usability tests. No software skills required. See Course Schedule.

CLIENT PROJECTS, Rolf Norgaard
A rhetorically informed introduction to technical writing that hones communication skills in the context of multidisciplinary design activities. The course treats design as a collaborative, user-oriented, problem-based activity, and technical communication as a rhetorical and persuasive design art. Taught as a writing workshop emphasizing critical thinking, revision, and oral presentation skills, the course focuses on a semester-long design project for real campus or community clients, and on effective communication with multiple stakeholders. Whereas other writing courses might ask you to “write about X,” this course asks you to draw on writing and speaking “to do X.” See Course Schedule.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT, Erika M. Schreck
This course provides you with an excellent opportunity to learn proven strategies in both managing writing and design projects and working collaboratively in business and industry; it also allows you concurrent, actual experience with a semester-long project for an on-campus or community office. Because this course will “map” the workplace context in relation to writing and design projects, we will create a professional, responsible, communicative climate in our classroom and among team members. Taught as a writing workshop, the course will emphasize rhetorical awareness, critical thinking, written and oral skills, design effectiveness, team-building and collaborative approaches and professional, ethical considerations. See Course Schedule.

COLLABORATIVE DESIGN PROJECTS, Paula Wenger
Driven by semester-long collaborative design projects for actual campus or community clients, this workshop will integrate client and project-team communication, needs assessment, design, and presentation. Team members will explore the communication strategies necessary for translating the technical elements of needs-based design into effective, professional oral and written forms. An understanding of the rhetorical analysis and critical thinking required by professional communication will inform the processes of design and project development. See Course Schedule.