Spring 2009
Prof. Hassan Belhiah
Office: Room 101, Bldg 10
Office hours: Mon-2:30 to 5:30;
Wed-9:00 to 12:00;Thu-8:45 to 10:45
And by Appointment
E-mail: h.belhiah@aui.ma

 

Purpose and objectives of the course

This course focuses on technical communication practices and the skills necessary to create technical communication products. The course combines and consolidates skills taught in Introduction to Computer Science and Professional Communication. Students will be introduced to the discipline of technical communication and its various fields, including writing for specific audiences, usability studies, issues in digital communication, document design, and ethics in communication. These topics will be combined with practical training in related desktop applications, such as Microsoft Word, Adobe InDesign CS3, Adobe Photoshop CS3 and Dreamweaver CS3. Case studies and samples of multimedia material will be studied and analyzed in class.

At the end of this course students should have the ability to:

• define and write for specific audiences and workplace situations
• determine the level of technical detail to be used in a task
• write evaluation and feasibility reports
• understand the role of resumes and application letters in the employment application process
• identify different types of reports (e.g., primary research, recommendation, & background reports)
• use Adobe Dreamweaver to plan and design a website
• use Adobe InDesign to produce professional-quality, full-color documents
• use Adobe Photoshop to edit graphics and enhance picture quality
• use team skills to resolve common problems experienced in teamwork

Textbook

McMurrey, A. David. (2002). Power Tools for Technical Communication. Boston: Wadsworth.

Grading Overview

2 Team Presentations	10%
5 Short Projects	35%
Midterm Exam	20%
Final Project	15%
Individual Portfolio	10%
Participation	5%
Attendance	5%
Total	100%

Portfolio

The portfolio provides evidence of what you learned and how you learned it. Throughout the semester you will collect, in an organized way, all your course materials. Your portfolio should include:

• name and contact information
• chapter and lecture notes
• handouts
• worksheets
• homework assignments

For your portfolio, it is recommended that you buy a binder (ring) style notebook, along with plastic sleeves and 4-holed notepaper.

Attendance and Participation

Students will be rewarded for excellent attendance, punctual, neat, and complete assignments, as well as courteous, cooperative behavior in class.

• Bring books and other materials to every class.
• Take notes in class and store them in your notebook.
• Keep your notebook up to date, including class notes, handouts, and assignments.
• If you miss a class, you are responsible for getting class materials from a classmate, or from the web, if available. If you miss an exam, you must present a medical certificate if you wish to take a make up. It is your responsibility to see me to arrange the make up.
• You must hand in assignments on time. No late assignments will be accepted unless you present a medical certificate.
• All cell phones must be off during class.

Your instructors are required by the university to enter every absence into the university database regardless of whether it is excused or unexcused.  Absences will have the following impact on your grades: 

1 Absence - 1 point will be deducted from attendance score
2 Absences- 2 points will be deducted from attendance score
3 Absences- 3 points will be deducted from attendance score
4 Absences- 4 points will be deducted from attendance score
5 Absences- 5 points will be deducted from attendance score
6 Absences- Withdrawal from the course

Lateness Policy

Students who are late will be marked “late” in the attendance roster, and more than 2 latenesses will count as one absence.  This can make the difference between an "A" and a "B", or a "B" and a "C". If you come to class more than 10 minutes late, you will be marked as absent.

Assignment Submission

All homework assignments must be submitted in time following the dates stated on the course calendar. Timely submission means submitting the assignment during class time or before, not after. Therefore, if you do not plan to attend class for whatever reason, you need to make arrangements with your instructor to make sure that he receives your work by the due date. There will be a 10 % deduction for every day an assignment is handed in late. Homework assignments will not be accepted one week after they were due. Finally, if a take-home assignment is not submitted to turn-it in by the deadline, this will result in a 40% deduction from the final score you received in that assignment.

IMPORTANT:

Since this course emphasizes teamwork, you are encouraged to work together with your classmates in and out of class. However, projects handed in for credit should be the work of the group members only. In this regard, you are not permitted to carry out projects with anyone outside your group. Copying the work of others, OR letting someone else copy your work will be considered cheating. Handing in identical group assignments is considered cheating. Your grade will suffer accordingly, and you may be subject to other disciplinary action.

Course Calendar

Dates	Topic	Readings/Assignments	Presenters
Thursday, January 22	About this Course; Introduction to Technical Communication	Technical Writing: An Introduction (pp. 1-11)	H. Belhiah
Tuesday, January 27	Managing Team Projects/ Groupthink (PE*)/ Sample Schedule	Chapter 22	H. Belhiah
Thursday, January 29	Oral Presentations Oral Presentation Evaluation Sheet	Chapter 16	H. Belhiah
Tuesday, February 3	Informal reports/biased language (PE*)	Chapter 1	Hanan, Benichou, El Atiki Guennouni, Aakif
Thursday, February 5	Processes: instructions, policies, and procedures/Making ethical decisions (PE*)/ Sample policies-and-procedures document	Chapter 2 Project One Due	H. Belhiah
Tuesday, February 10	Primary research reports/Omission (PE*)/ Primary research reports activity	Chapter 3	El Basri, Oulad Benchiba, Benqadi, El Fethouni
Thursday, February 12	Recommendation Report/Anecdotal Evidence (PE*)	Chapter 4	H. Belhiah
Tuesday, February 17	Evaluation and Feasibility Reports	Chapter 4 Project Two Due	Fattachi, Nejmi, Hammi, Ndiaye
Thursday, February 19	HTML and Hypertext	Chapter 17	Oubraim, Reda, Khelloufi, Majdi
Tuesday, February 24	Dreamweaver CS3	LAB	H. Belhiah
Thursday, February 26	Dreamweaver CS3	LAB	H. Belhiah
March 3 to March 10	Mid-Semester Break and Aid Al Mawlid A-Nabaoui Holiday
Thursday, March 12	Dreamweaver CS3 FTP Instructions Review Session (6:30 to 7:50)--Make-up for March 31.	LAB Project Three Due	H. Belhiah
Tuesday, March 17	Midterm Exam
Thursday, March 19	InDesign CS3	LAB	H. Belhiah
Tuesday, March 24	My First Indesign Document	LAB	H. Belhiah
Thursday, March 26	My First Indesign Document (pdf)	LAB Project Four Due	H. Belhiah
Tuesday, March 31	Class Canceled--Make-up on March 12
Thursday, April 2	Background Reports	Chapter 5	Oubraim, Reda, Khelloufi, Majdi
Tuesday, April 7	Photoshop CS3	LAB	H. Belhiah
Thursday, April 9	Photoshop CS3	LAB Project Five Due	H. Belhiah
Tuesday, April 14	Photoshop CS3/ Manipulating Photos (PE*)	LAB	H. Belhiah
Thursday, April 16	Proposals and Progress Reports	Chapter 6	Hanan, Benichou, El Atiki Guennouni, Aakif
Tuesday, April 21	Audience and Task Analysis	Chapter 19	El Basri, Oulad Benchiba, Benqadi, El Fethouni
Thursday, April 23	Audience and Task Analysis Activities	Chapter 19	H. Belhiah
Tuesday, April 28	Business Letters and Memos	Chapter 13	H. Belhiah
Thursday, April 30	Application Letters Job Application checklist	Chapter 14	Fattachi, Nejmi, Hammi, Ndiaye
Tuesday, May 5	Resumes Resume checklist	Chapter 14 Individual Portfolio Due	H. Belhiah
Thursday, May 7	Formal Reports	Chapter 15	H. Belhiah
Tuesday, May 12	Final Presentations Final Project Due

* Practical ethics

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