Holiday weekend greetings and encouragement to novice bloggers

Good evening from Iowa. I hope that you all have a safe and restful holiday. Memorial Day is a good time to contemplate the importance of our families and spend some time with them.

For those of you that have not yet posted a blog entry, please do so before we meet on Wednesday at 7 pm.

Happy Holiday!

Sara Hastings

My name is Sara Hastings and I am currently beginning my 5th year of college in my 3rd major and my 3rd (and final) college. I am originally from Rochester, MN, and have attended school there & spent 3 years at Winona Sate. I have sort of blogged before, I keep a journal online in a different location, but it's a different style than this. Technical communication, to me, is basically explaining a process or giving out information and writing it in a way that your intended audience can understand it. That didn't make sense, but it's hard to explain. I'm currently majoring in dietetics (this class is required for my major), and my career goal is to eventually be a nutrition counselor - possibly with the WIC program. I have not taken an online class before, this is a new thing for me. I decided to take this online because it fit in better & allowed me to get more hours in at work this summer, and I thought it would be nice to not have to trek to campus all the time.

Syed Masood - Intro

Hi, I am Syed Masood. I am CS senior at MSU. I wanted to talk this course because of the fact that it was being offered online since I am not in town as well as it is required by my major. I have blogged a couple of times on at blogger before but nothing valuable i guess. Although a computer science major, I have a great interest in automotive technology, would probably be my next major.
Technical communication to me is developing a path between the producer and the consumer so that all the adequate knowledge is transferred over without the technical jargon.

Joey's intro

Hi, I'm Joey Hanrahan. I was born in Chicago and have spent sime time since in Minneapolis and Wichita, KS as well until moving to Mankato. I came to MSU to study in the Automotive Engineering program but soon found it was not the hands on experience I was looking for. I am currently trying to decide what else I would like to do. I would like to be involved somehow in the automotive/transportation industry for a career. I am taking this class to see if technical communication is something I might be interested in. When I think of technical writing I think of instruction manuals. I also think of the ability to explain a process step by step. This is my first time blogging and first online class as well.

Intro Blog (Lucas Russell)

My name is Lucas Russell and I am from Mankato. I spent 3 years in Japan in the US Navy. I have been back in the US since May of 2000.
I have never blogged before. I have done some online chatting via instant messengers and chat rooms. Lately my only form of internet communication has been with email. I don’t care much for chat rooms or internet postings. It’s not that I think they are bad, I just usually don’t choose to deal with people unless it is face to face or unless it is someone I have already met.
I think that technical communications is a way of expressing your idea’s in a very detailed and explicate way. I used to think that it was only about actual technical topics. After reading the first few chapters in the book I figured it must be any form of professional communication, regardless of occupation.
My career goals are on the fence right now. I had made my mind up to be a software designer/programmer when I left the military. My first technical job since being discharged was at KEYC Channel 12 here in Mankato. I have come to think that I may stay in TV and just move up to a bigger TV station. My main career goals are to be in a technical field and make lots of money. Life’s not as much fun without money. I know, I’ve been on both ends of the cash cow.
I haven’t taken any kind of online courses before. I didn’t realize until my second year at MSU that that was even an option.
I took this course because it fit into my summer schedule and is required by my major, CIS. Being an online course is just a coincidence. I do like the fact that I can spend less time running to campus to attend a class.

Wade Kahout Weblog1

Wade Kahout
05/26/04
ENG 271
My Introduction

Hi, my name is Wade Kahout, I am a senior at MSU majoring in AET. I am originally from Olivia, MN. I have never "blogged" before and quite frankly wasn't familiar with the concept until recently. Im not totally clear on the exact definition of technical communication, however from what I gather techcomm is taking some scientific gibberish and translate it to the level of technicality of the intended audience. I have taken classes in the past that involved taking a quiz or two online or homework that was posted on the professors URL. As for career plans, I plan to graduate from MSU in spring '05 and get a R & D job at a major auto company. I took this class because i need it for my major and i enjoy the convenience of taking the class from home.

First day of class, May 24th

Tonight we'll be having an optional meeting in Armstrong Hall. We'll go over the syllabus, the assignment timeline and work with Ucompass Educator.

We'll be in the Ucompass chatroom so join us there if you like.

https://ucompass.mnsu.edu/