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Instructor Resources
Introduction

Welcome to the Instructor Resources section of the Companion Website for Technical Communication, Ninth Edition. The content for this section has been developed by George Pullman, Georgia State University.

Here is an overview of Instructor Resources available to you:

Instructor Links
Teaching Notes
PowerPoint Presentations (downloadable)
Sample Syllabi
Teaching Strategies
Student Questionnaire
Instructor’s Manual: the complete print instructor’s manual for Technical Communication, Ninth Edition (downloadable pdf)

Instructor Links

This is an annotated list of select Web sites. They are grouped according to following topics:

Grammar and Writing
Technical Communication Resources
Organizations
Online magazines, journals, and newsletters
HTML/Web design

Teaching Notes

An annotated outline is provided for each chapter. This material should serve several purposes.

It will help you prepare lectures by giving you a ready outline.
It will give you online access to the basic content of the book so you won’t have to carry a copy of the text around with you.
It will accelerate the process of making overheads and using PowerPoint presentations.
It will save you the trouble of making your own notes, or at least speed the process up.

These outlines are not a substitute for reading the text, of course, but merely an aid to re-presenting what you’ve read.

Sample Syllabi

You could, if you wanted, simply cut and paste one of these syllabi into your institution’s rubric for syllabi. Each covers much of what is useful in text, though neither comes close to covering everything useful because the Lannon text has such a wealth of information. You may well prefer to use different assignments, or reorder the assignments. I jump around in the text; you might prefer to move in a linear fashion. I’ve excluded layout and design from the nine-week version; you may want to include it. I have also not been explicit about grading criteria and student outcomes, as I should be. I’ve been vague here because you will no doubt want to stress your own beliefs and commitments in this area. I encourage you to do so.

Teaching Strategies

These pages are simply my reflections on the process of teaching technical communication. You’ll find discussions about the syllabi, communication as a public act, problems inherent in collaboration and how to deal with them, connecting your class to other classes and to people beyond the classroom, and the role of technology in technical communication.

Student Questionnaire

At the beginning of every semester I ask my students about their use of technology, their goals for the class, that sort of thing. I ask them these questions to get a sense of my audience and I’ve included a sample questionnaire in this collection of pages. You are welcome to use it, or build on it. I would however, encourage you to develop by some means a regularly updated sense of who you are teaching.