Students – Page 3

New and Better Computing

September 23, 2007 by gdoty

The English Department began developing ideas for a writing center in the 1990s. Dr. Elizabeth Cummins and Dr. Larry Vonalt were important forces behind the department’s request for a Center for Writing Technologies. Their project was finally realized in the establishment of the Writing Across the Curriculum Program, which includes the Dr. Beverley Moeller Writing Studio and the Center for Writing Technologies.

A pod of new computers in the Writing Center
Photo taken with the webcam on one of the new computers

While administratively separate from the Department of English and Technical Communication, the Writing Center and the department are close allies, especially concerning the Center for Writing Technologies (usually called "The Writing Center").
This summer, the department arrived at a plan to share licensing fees for new and upgraded hardware and software. I’m sure you are aware of the rate of change of software and hardware. To best serve our students, especially majors in Technical Communication, we need the best equipment and software available. The Writing Center was updated this August.
The updates this summer make the Writing Center UMR’s premier authoring lab. It was designed by a committee of faculty and staff from various departments: Todd Kreuger (Information Technology [IT]), Connie Melone (IT), Jim Turner (IT), John Sequin (Library), Kate Drowne (English and Technical Communication), Richard Hall (Information Science & Technology), and Ed Malone (English and Technical Communication). The new equipment and software were paid for by IT, Center for Technology Enhanced Learning, and English and Technical Communication
In the future, this lab will accommodate such courses as Web-Based Communication and Multimedia Development and Design. In TCH COM classes this semester, students are authoring help systems with RoboHelp and creating books with FrameMaker; next semester, they will be conducting usability tests and creating tutorials with Camtasia.
The lab has extended hours this semester (6-9 M-Th and 12-9 on Sundays) and hired a lab monitor to help patrons.
The new and updated software is available in two other locations on campus. In Computer Science 207, all of the Adobe programs — except RoboHelp — are available 24/7. One of the machines in the library also has all of the Adobe programs — including RoboHelp — so that a student can complete assignments on Friday evenings or
Saturdays. The library also purchased a collection of Adobe classroom-in-a-book tutorials for the specific versions of Adobe programs we have and other tutorials for RoboHelp, Camtasia, and so on.

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Filed Under: Courses, Department, Faculty, Students

Celebration

September 2, 2007 by gdoty

The fall semester has well and truly begun. The first wave of student questions and dilemmas is over. (That first wave ranges from trying to find a classroom to trying to get into a class to finding an instructor.) For all that the university has over 1200 new freshman, there were fewer problems of this kind this fall.
Now that enrollment and class schedules have pretty well settled down, faculty, students, and staff can take stock and focus fully on the tasks of teaching, learning, and facilitating. The Department of English and Technical Communication sponsored a "Welcome Back" reception on Tuesday, August 28. Students and faculty from several departments mingled and ate goodies. In this photo, Erin Cotita, English major and department student assistant, prepares to cut the cake for serving.
The reception ran from 1:00 to 2:30; those attending did more than eat, as shown in this photo of students (Irangi, Li and Tommy) talking with Professor Emeritus, Nick Knight, and parent, Glenn Cotita.
Together with the break in the heat we’re experiencing (highs of 85 F are much more pleasant than highs of 105 F) and the relatively smooth start of a new semester, this reception put, so to speak, the icing on the cake. (Or the dip on the crudités. if you will.)

Filed Under: Department, Faculty, Students

Reading, Writing, and Kimchi

August 27, 2007 by gdoty

Elizabeth Richardson ("Libby") is teaching English in The Republic of Korea this year. She has just begun her duties at Avalon Education in Suwon City, where she is Head Foreign Teacher. The title basically means that Libby is the go between for the foreign teachers (there are 8 right now including her) and the Korean administrators. Any information for or complaints from the foreign teachers get filtered through her first.
libbys bldng.jpg

Photograph by Elizabeth Richardson: the building where she works.

Libby is also responsible for editing any English documents, training new teachers, and substituting if another foreign teacher is ill. She also administers the oral placement exams, grades the essay placement exams, and delegates other work to the other foreign teachers. She also teaches speaking, reading, and writing classes for various levels. — teaching the highest level middle school students writing, the mid-level middle school students reading, and the lower level middle school students speaking.
In addition, Libby teaches one elementary class. This class is mainly a mixture of speaking, reading, and writing.
Libby says, "So I’m pretty busy so far and classes just started today! I’ve been here just over two weeks and I’ve really enjoyed myself so far. All of the Korean teachers here are super nice and very helpful. All of the foreign teachers get along and have pretty diverse backgrounds. The amount of importance the culture places on education is just amazing, especially considering that we’re in session from 4 p.m. – 10:40 p.m. after regular school has let out."

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Filed Under: Students

Student & Faculty Research

August 19, 2007 by gdoty

We at UMR — faculty and students alike — enjoy several research opportunities.
Dr. Ed Malone (Assistant Professor of English and technical communication and Director of technical communication) and Tara Gosnell (graduate student in technical communication) have recently received a grant for a project titled "The Role of Historical Studies in Technical Communication Curricula." The grant comes from the Council of Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication, of which both Prof. Malone and Ms. Gosnell are members.
A research project such as this allows the student to hone research skills and participate as an investigator in the faculty member’s professional research. (The history of technical communication is a main emphasis of Dr. Malone’s research.)
Prof. Malone and Ms. Gosnell have been meeting once a week this summer to write, design, and
test an online survey of technical communication program administrators and faculty. They plan to administer the survey in early September. They plan to present the results of the survey in an article.
In an article that will soon appear in IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, Prof. Malone notes that at least 200 historical studies have been published in the top five technical communication journals since 1990. These publications indicate an interest in and recognition of the value of historical research in technical communication. The research project will explore how academic programs in technical communication make use of the historical research.
Here are some examples of questions from the survey:

In your opinion, should a technical communication program offer, on a
regular basis, a course devoted entirely to the history of technical
communication?
Are students in your program expected to apply their knowledge of the
history of technical communication?
If so, how are they expected to apply their knowledge?
What is the value of historical studies to students of technical communication?
In your opinion, what benefits (if any) does a technical communication
student derive from studying the history of technical communication?

The results of the survey will enable program administrators and faculty to make better-informed decisions about the role that historical studies should play in their curricula. The findings may also benefit technical communication scholars who are researching the history of technical communication by giving them feedback about the value of their research.

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Filed Under: Faculty, Research, Students

Gold & Green Balloons

August 12, 2007 by gdoty

This week temperatures are to be well over one hundred. Despite the heat, a number of new freshmen and family members were on the UMR campus this morning. Today (Saturday, August 11) is the last PRO day for the 2007/2008 academic year. PRO is an acronym for "Preview, Registration, and Orientation." Students who attend a PRO session experience a variety of activities, including placement testing and registration for fall courses.
I went to PRO this morning to help a new student in English Education register for her fall courses. The opening activity occurred in St Pat’s Ballroom A in the Havener Center. At a couple of tables in the hall, PRO staff and student leaders answered questions and directed students and their parents into the opening activity. There were outbursts of laughter from the ballroom, so the activity must’ve been amusing as well as informative.
PRO events are cheerful — the student PRO leaders wear green shirts with gold trim; gold and green balloons float from the tables and, out on the campus, from the directional signs placed to guide students and their families on their treks across campus. ("Treks" because even at 10:00 AM today, it was very hot, with an intense sun and no breeze.) The student and I put together a good schedule for her to start her college career.
Each department has an advisor designated to advise PRO students. I did this for a number of years and enjoyed it. The PRO advisor gets to be the student’s initial contact with the specifics of the department’s academic program. The advisor usually can chat with the student, getting to know him or her a little better. Sometimes, the PRO advisor meets the student’s parents. Even briefly meeting the parents gives the advisor a sense of the student’s origins. While a young person almost always leaves home to go to college, taking the first steps in becoming an independent adult, faculty members too often see students in isolation from their origins. Having met one or both parents gives the faculty member a sense of who supports and encourages the student’s entering college.
The campus still isn’t fully populated yet. Saturday’s freshmen (65-70) are the first trickle of the flood to come.

Filed Under: Department, Students

"On Wikipedia Nobody Knows You’re an Idiot"

August 1, 2007 by gdoty

I’m still committed to posting two entries a week, at about noon on Wednesday and Sunday. (I may go to one a week when the fall semester starts.) Eating lunch, I realized I didn’t have an entry ready for today, and no topic sprang to mind easily; so, here’s a brief comment on a topic that lots of us think about.
How does the hardy web-surfer know which site is reliable and which is pure hokum? There’s problem a spectrum from completely reliable to utter hokum, but how does one know where a particular web page lies on the spectrum?
I’m not sure I can answer my own question, so if you have ideas about reliable web sites or techniques that can help rate them, please share them in a comment. I promise to post comments that address the issue without flaming or obnoxious language.
I used "Wikipedia" in the title for this post because that’s the site many first think of. I was visiting a freshman composition class that was discussing research. When the teacher asked where students would look for information, the first thing several said was "Wikipedia." I use Wikipedia myself; I’ve found it a useful source of information I want students to have. But when I use it that way, I know something about the topic and (hope) I would recognize hokum.
What if you don’t know anything about a topic you need to research? Consult several sources — even printed books and journals. Talk to someone who is knowledgeable. It takes some effort to learn something.
But suppose I hear a story on the news that piques my interest; I don’t want to do a lot of research to discover whether the assertion I heard is reliable or hokum. As the presidential campaign season begins, there are a number of questionable statements. How can I sort them out? Does anyone have an idea?

Filed Under: Blog Talk, Reflections, Students

"Say What?"

July 25, 2007 by gdoty

Do you feel overwhelmed when you have to do research and presents the results in a written or oral report?
Writing is an essential skill for professionals in almost any field. Speaking to people, in groups large or small, is also an important skill for professionals. Most of our department’s writing courses include a presentation, usually toward the end of the semester, on a topic that the student writes about and makes the topic of a presentation. In this year’s summer school session, Dr. Kris Swenson’s English 60 class explored representations of World War II. In the photograph, Andrew Jones begins his presentation on the importance of the US Air Force in winning that war.
English 60 — Writing and Research — builds on skills the student developed in Freshman Composition to develop substantial reports both written and oral. With networked computers and projectors in each classroom, students have ready access to technology such as PowerPoint to support their presentations. We’ve come a long way from overhead transparencies and flip charts.
This may be the last summer school entry for this year. Students in writing classes benefit from the concentration of summer school; working each day instead of every other day make for better continuity and focus.

Filed Under: Courses, Faculty, Students

"And the Winner Is . . . "

July 18, 2007 by gdoty

Last May, the UMR Writing Center presented awards to the winners of its annual student writing contest. Prizes were awarded in Short Story (General Topic), Short Story (Science Fiction/Fantasy), Analytical Essay, Research, Autobiographical/Personal Essay, Technical Writing, and Freshman Composition, with first, second, and third prizes in each category. This year was the sixth writing contest conducted by the Writing Center.
The majors of students who won awards in the contest range from English to Biochemical Engineering to Geology to Information Science and Technology. This list doesn’t include all the majors, but it should dispel the common notion that only English majors can (or will) write. While our English majors do write well, so do students in other majors. And students in majors other than English can excel in writing outside technical or scientific topics. For example, the first place in fiction, general topic, went to Anna Clausen, a junior in Geology and Geophysics.
The Writing Center is part of UMR’s Writing Across the Curriculum program. Why am I writing about it here? It’s pertinent in this blog because many—not all—of the winning entries were written for classes taught by the English and Technical Communication faculty and because the Writing Center Director, Dr. Kate Drowne, is a member of the English and Technical Communication faculty.
We are proud of all the students, English majors and others, who write so well, of Dr. Drowne, and of the Writing Center and its associated services and programs.

Filed Under: Students

What, Me Write?

July 8, 2007 by gdoty

Given the University of Missouri – Rolla’s strong reputation as an engineering school, you might be surprised to discover how many students write fiction, poetry, and personal essays. (They also write reports for technical classes, papers for history, literature, philosophy and other disciplines, and other academic and professional writing.) UMR students have many talents worth exploring.
I was surprised early in my career here to find that students in scientific and technological fields had interests and abilities in the arts and humanities. UMR has long had courses and events in music, art, and theater, in addition to writing and literature courses offered in English and Technical Communication. The student newspaper, The Miner, has been around for a long time. So has UMR’s student literary and arts magazine, Southwinds, which is over 35 years old. If one were to tabulate the majors of all the students who’ve contributed writing and graphic art to Southwinds over the years, one would find a surprising number of engineering and other technical majors represented.
The current issue of Southwinds was published in the spring of 2007. It is one of the best-looking issues, with a full-color cover and a number of b&w photographs. The contributors include current undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and staff, and alumni. Mzx Tohline (English 2007) was editor in chief, and Anne Cotterill (Assoc. Prof. in Englsh) the faculty advisor.
Southwinds 2007 costs $3.00 and is available in the English and Technical Communication office and in the UMR Bookstore. It’s well worth the price. Get one and discover a whole different side of UMR.

Filed Under: Students