Hayley in Higher Ed | Professor at UCCS

This episode reviews the Concept Blog Project for TCID 4065. Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRF19rJSvNhJ3NCwlSEPHyOOsp3AakrkP81S295mXZpVd9TAUSpbEkr_DXtEr29okaBt-MaM9gQObh9/pub

Our technical writing firm has been hired by Client experiencing a significant increase in customer complaints regarding the documentation for a recently launched product. Internal and external users find the documents confusing, poorly organized, and lacking essential information. The engineers find the content oversimplified, while the business side feels everything is too jargon-laden for most...

Our technical writing firm has been hired by a higher education advocacy group that wants to propose a new degree type to university officials through an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education. They have drafted a proposal and asked you to evaluate the document and provide feedback. You suspect that the group heavily utilized an LLM in creating the proposal, so you asked them to explain thei...

Our technical writing firm is working with a think tank in your field (a collection of thought leaders and researchers tasked with solving problems).  A client asked the think tank to help them decide between two potential solutions to an issue with sustainability, equity, or economic impacts in their field. Given the current technological, social, and economic climate, you’ve found the leading TW...

The Goals:  To create a persuasive pitch video that effectively communicates the project's value and potential impact. The Asks: Ask 1: Identify a pressing social challenge related to equity, sustainability, or other cultural issues. Ask 2: Develop a novel project idea that addresses the chosen challenge using STEM, education, or health-focused approaches. Ask 3: Create a persuasive pitch vide...

This episode explains the expectations for grading in the LLM Challenge: SOP. The Goals:  To provide the student success and advising center with a finalized Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for implementing the routine. The Asks: Ask 1: Generate a routine using generative AI (morning/evening, study, workout/physical activity, or mental health/emotional wellness). Ask 2: Follow the generated rou...

This episode describes the expectations when grading the Design Tools Challenge. The Goals:  Replicate the provided file as closely as possible to show your skills with information and graphic design software The Asks: Ask 1: Use the  Poster_Design_OSHA.pdf  to manipulate the provided copy using a design tool (like Canva, Adobe, etc.) Ask 2: Write a project completion report

This episode outlines the expectations and grading for the User Guide Analysis project. The Goals:  To assess the client's existing user guides for a specific product and notice adjustments The Asks: Ask 1: Thoroughly review the client's current user guides (find an example of a product guide to analyze) Ask 2: Conduct audience research to identify the target audience's demographics, t...

This file explains the expectations for the eBooklet project as I grade your work. The Goals:  To teach a "student success hack" using Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace tools. This implies you need to find a specific, useful technique that leverages these tools to help students improve their academic performance or organization. The Asks: The client specifically requested that you  do no...

This episode is a brief grading note and explanation of what I was looking for when reviewing your projects. Project Summary Below: Our technical writing firm has been hired by a Client to create a video demonstration for their products. You've been assigned to develop that video that guides potential customers through your product's set-up, instructions, and troubleshooting. Your audience...

This lecture covers an Introduction to Digital Accessibility as part of the Introduction to Technical Writing and Presentation series. Accessibility is the broad subject and term that describes the quality of being easily reached, entered, or used who have a disability. As technical writers we narrow that to digital accessibility, which is specific to information and content. The lecture is divide...

This project asks you to prompt a generative AI for a technical description of an object that you then draw. Transcript Your project will be graded on the following requirements: A formal memo as your project retrospective that details: Work Assessment: how you met the objectives of the project Process Reflection: why you made your creative choices and solved problems during the project Applicatio...

This project asks you to replicate a document to explore advanced formatting tools/features inside of Word or Docs. Transcript Your work will be graded based on the following requirements: A formal memo as your project retrospective that details: Work Assessment: how you met the objectives of the project Process Reflection: why you made your creative choices and solved problems during the project...

This project asks you to describe an invention with enough detail to support the development of the product or app. Transcript Your project will be graded on the required elements: A formal memo as your project retrospective that details: Work Assessment: how you met the objectives of the project Process Reflection: why you made your creative choices and solved problems during the project Applicat...

This project asks you to create a 3-6 minute highly edited/produced video that informs and entertains a general, interested audience about a technical topic. Transcript Your project will be graded on the following required elements: A formal memo as your project retrospective that details: Work Assessment:  how you met the objectives of the project Process Reflection:  why you made your creative c...

This project asks you to write a formal memo that contains a detailed proposal on what [you will do], when [you will do it], and how [you will do it] for your work in the semester. You should identify the grade you want to earn with a concrete plan for accomplishing that goal. Transcript Your project will be graded on the following required elements: Introduction:  Briefly state your overall goal...

This episode describes what I was looking for in the Usability Report assignment to help you reflect on your grade. The project asked you to: Submit a pdf between 15-25* single-spaced pages with all the standards of a formal report.  Letter of Transmittal to Client Front Matter Usability Report Sections Back Matter- * The document is longer because you add your testing materials and data scorecard...

An early step in the writing process (and most professional/technical projects) is developing a plan that captures your ideas, and it is common for stakeholders to request progress reports on the work. Project plans and progress reports promote transparency, accountability, and informed decision-making, ultimately leading to successful project outcomes. I expect documentation on your work so far-...

This voice note reflects on the expectations for a functional to very effective instructional eBooklet project. You were asked to create a digital booklet that guides your readers through the step-by-step process of completing your chosen task. The goal is to practice your technical writing skills by presenting clear, concise, and easy-to-follow instructions. Your digital eBooklet should be visual...

This project asks you to create a reference library using a wiki software for a company to organize technical descriptions about industry topics. Transcript Your project will be graded on the following requirements: A formal memo as your project retrospective that details: -Work Assessment: how you met the objectives of the project -Process Reflection: why you made your creative choices and solved...

Hey associates, this lecture is an introduction to document design as part of your larger visual strategy when presenting technical information to the reader. The emphasis on the design–the overall layout, color, and font choices on a document–is one of the key qualities of “information design.” The lecture has three sections: defining what we mean by technical graphics discussing specific types e...

Hey associates, this lecture is an introduction to presenting instructions and various command-focused documents in technical writing. It is those step-by-step explanations of how to do things with strong, commanding verbs: assemble, operate, repair. Today's content focuses on building more useful, useable, and enjoyable commands and instructions for your readers to accomplish the tasks. Trans...

Hey associates, this lecture is about technical graphics used in professional, business, and technical documents. The lecture has three sections: defining what we mean by technical graphics discussing specific types ending with tools and best practices for using graphics. ⁠⁠Follow the notetaking guide⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Read the Transcript/Textbook Chapter

Notetaking Guide: Slide Deck Hey associates, this lecture introduces structure and editing for technical documents, especially when you need to describe content to specific audiences…which is our “thing” in technical, business, and end-user communication. Read the transcript as a book chapter.

Notetaking Guide: Slide Deck ⁠Textbook/Transcript Chapter⁠ Hey associates, this lecture concerns project management strategies and genres for technical, professional, business, and personal productivity contexts. I will talk about documents to capture, document, and provide direction: three essential verbs for staying productive and accountable in project and collaborative environments.