[amended from Steve Krause]
ENG 345 Technical Writing is a mixed-mode course I will be teaching this Winter 2011 semester. I want to inform/warn you about a few things having to do with the class. I offer up the following not to get folks to drop. Instead, I offer them in order to make sure you have a greater awareness of what kind of course you signed up for.
To succeed in this course, you must be comfortable with doing your work on a computer and online. If you aren't already comfortable with online work (email, web-browsing, etc.), if you don't like trying to do new things with your computer, and/or you might describe yourself as "not really liking computers," you should reconsider taking ENG 345 this Winter 2011 semester.
Only you can be responsible for your computer and your internet access. While you don't have to have your own computer to take this course, you will need to be able to access course materials on a near daily basis (which means easy access to an internet-ready computer). Ideally, the computer you have for regular use should be less than five years old and have internet access through a DSL or cable modem connection. If you don't have this sort of computer set-up, you will have to spend time elsewhere with a computer that does have this level of access (like the library).
This is a mixed-mode class. We will see each other face-to-face eight times. It is of the utmost importance that you have reliable internet access. Telling me that you were unable to complete some assignment because of a technical problem (e.g., "My computer crashed," "I don't have very good access to the internet" or "My roommate/boyfriend/girlfriend moved out and took the computer") is unacceptable and will not be tolerated as an excuse for late work or incomplete assignments.
Once the term gets underway, you will see that the syllabus has some sort of activity due almost every day. So, there is also some amount of flexibility here in terms of how you manage your time for the course. If you are not very good at time management, if you function better with more explicit boundaries and requirements, this course might not be for you. Again, I am not saying these things to get folks to drop the course; instead, I simply want those enrolled to know what you're in for.
If you have gotten to the end of this message and are still thinking of taking ENG 345 with me, great! Please do me a favor, though: send me an email or leave a comment on this entry and let me know that you've read through this. Be sure to ask any questions you have; I'll be sure to address them during our first face-to-face session!
Thanks for your interest,
Dr. James Schirmer