Edward Tufte

One of my students in my Information Design Course reminded me of Edward Tufte and a course he had taken with Mr. Tufte. It reminded me of how inspirational and thought provoking his work is. I thought I would mention him because I feel he makes working in a technical field creative without losing focus. It reminds me we are visual creatures no matter how technical we get. His site is at http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/

Student surveys on their Digital Experience...

I have a colleague that shared the fact he conducts a survey at the beginning of the semester with his students on their digital experience. I thought this was brilliant. He shares the fact that he can use this information to better tailor the students' educational experience. He uses the survey results to assign study groups, let students see how their background compares to others, and as classwork to study.

I really like the idea gathering data to help students and allowing it to be multipurpose. As a teacher and adjunct faculty I think this could be a really great tool  to enhance the learning experience of many students. 

FEMA course materials for tech writing

I thought this was a great discovery. FEMA's Emergency Management Institute has a class in technical writing. There is free course materials as well. The core of the course promises to:

1.Identify the proper use of research in training project development.
2.Describe the various characteristics of written communications.
3.Explain the communication features of graphics and visual media.

IS-613: Technical Writing