Hayley in Higher Ed | Professor at UCCS

This is the biggest project of the semester and may take 10-15 active hours over the project cycle. You must conduct research, analyze sources, and write ~3,000 words of content (about 10-20 single-spaced pages total).

Requirements List: Imagine you work for a think tank in your field (a collection of thought leaders and researchers tasked with solving problems). You are focused on comparing solutions to an issue with sustainability, equity, or economic impacts. You’ve found the leading TWO solutions and are researching the best option given the current technological, social, and economic climate. 

You need to conduct primary (you generate data) and secondary research to directly compare the solutions on 3 standards (think effectiveness, costs, logistics, social perceptions, acceptability, etc.). You then write a formal recommendation report that details the results of your research, targeted toward decision-makers on the topic. You write a cover letter addressed to that stakeholder.

Follow along with all the assignment details in Canvas while listening to this episode. I talk through the timeline, milestones, requirements, and group project grading.

Introduction (00:18), Milestone/Progress Assignments (01:27), Support Level Choices (02:40), Due Date and Revisions (03:55), Expectations (05:02), Requirements (08:15), Grading (13:20), Skills to Practice (15:35), Rubric Overview (18:15)

It is due Feb. 18 and is worth 15% of your grade. Review Canvas for written details, supporting materials, and the rubric for this assignment.

This episode is the audio version/explanation of the recommendation report assignment sheet for TCID 2090 in the Fall of 2023.

Your individual design challenge is to create a useful, useable, and enjoyable recommendation report about a sustainability, equity, economic, or technological issue (in a field of your choosing) and the existing solutions. You will need to conduct primary (you generate data) and secondary research to find if or which option is best positioned to solve the problem at hand.

This episode offers and audio version of the user e-book instructions.

A user guide is a document or set of documents that provide specific instructions on how to use a product. It typically includes an overview of the product (remember from descriptions), step-by-step instructions for performing tasks, troubleshooting tips, and a reference section. User guides can be created for a variety of products, including equipment, software programs, and hardware devices.

Your design challenge is to create a useful, useable, equitable, and enjoyable manual (e-book) for students about a Microsoft 365 app to help them succeed. You will design a digital booklet with at (around) ten steps and visuals to walk them through a process. The e-book runs between 5 to 10 pages with the headings, visuals, tables, bullet points, and other design features included. This is not a hard page count, just an outcome of solving the writing & design challenge. Your e-book should be highly visual to practice showing users what to do.

This lecture introduces several common workplace and technical documents that document situations and direct future actions.  

Reference Sway: https://sway.office.com/ch4FsbxsKV6tZshO?ref=Link 

Slide Deck: https://pitch.com/public/3221b8cb-e324-4a40-b172-2fe0849eb3e6

This episode explains the hiring packet project with a recommended roadmap and the grading explanation.

This episode explains the project roadmap for the Thought Leadership Proposal for TCID 2080. See Canvas for the milestone details, inspiration, and grading rubrics.

This episode explains the research project to investigate the history, outcomes, and value of dei-related workplace policies for 2080.

This episode explains the finals portfolio project for TCID 2090. Use Canvas to find more details, the templates, and the grading rubric.

This episode explains the big picture for the recommendation report project. See Canvas for the milestone details, grading, and specific instructions.

This podcast explains the big action of the instruction set project for TCID 2090 in Spring 2023. See Canvas for the specific milestone rfps (instructions) and grading rubrics.

Your homework this week focuses on understanding the class goals, structure, and general context for professional communication. This episode overviews my general classroom policies, offers the foundations for technical communication and information design, and suggests 5 tips for writing this semester.

I want to be a collaborative work-leader who empowers you to grow. I value student self-efficacy—your belief in your abilities—and skill applicability in my classrooms, which is why I enjoy teaching strategic and technical communication. I also love creating courses that feel like a workplace (in a good way!). The assignments, activities, and grades reflect a combination of classroom best practices and my own experiences in content marketing, public relations, technical editing, professional development, and general office workplaces. I promise to help you feel confident sharing information for business and administrative contexts. I got you!

Associates in Technical Writing and Presentation will work in teams to create a user-guide for a technical task.

For the Technical Writing and Presentation course: audio lecture about definitions, descriptions, and instructions to frame the week's readings and video materials.

Teams of 2080 Business Writing Students will research a DEI topic related to a business process and create a workshop to teach their classmates.

The 2090 Technical Writing associates will down and revise a poorly designed report.

The 2080 Associates will analyze a piece of thought leadership published in the recent year about an industry they are interested in pursuing. 

2090: Teams of students will research the audience for several UCCS technical documents and assess the usability of the products.

Students who complete this activity will demonstrate their ability to create usable content by adopting rhetorical communication strategies. This project requires research techniques and a grasp of how different audiences interact with content. This assignment assesses nine (9) departmental learning outcomes.

1: Develop rhetorical communication strategies that enable end user to take action

2: Hone writing process strategies to enhance communication

4: Develop basic skills in communication tech and the effects

6: Demonstrate knowledge of best practices for specific rhetorical situations

7: Demonstrate empathy of diverse audiences

8: Demonstrate critical consideration of ethical issues in decision-making

9: Collaborate productively in group writing projects

10: Strategically use technology to collaborate productively

11: Research library and online sources

This episode is the recorded lecture from 4/25/2022 for Public Relations Techniques.

This episode is the recorded lecture from Wednesday April 27, 2022 for the Public Relations Techniques course.

Recording of lecture from 4/22/2022

Recording of lecture on Wednesday 4/20/2022

Recording of class on Friday 4/15/2022 with a discussion and brainstorming of how to handle different PR scenarios (from real examples).

Recording of the lecture from 4/13/2022 discussing some elements of ethics, creativity, and leading teams in PR.

A recording from lecture on Friday, April 8 where we workshop and consider common interview questions.

This episode is the recording of lecture from April 6, 2022. We review tips and strategies for writing resume entries.

Recording from the Friday, April 1, 2022 lecture for Public Relations Techniques

Lecture from 3/9/2022 with very basics of social media and PR including types of audience, types of partners, and core aspects of voice.

Provided an overview of podcast and radio in the PR toolbox

We review media training concepts and look at examples of press events.

This episode covers the lecture from Friday, Feb. 18 all about media training and how to prep a client for an interview.

This episode covers pitching and using contributing articles, blogs, and newsletters in our Public Relations campaigns.

The recording from Monday's lecture and activity with examples of PR at work in the world.

Lecture from Wednesday 1/26/2022. We discuss reasons for using a press release and look through examples from the community.