Technical Writing facilitated by Barbara Greenstone
Published:February 8, 2011
Technical Writing Facilitated by Barbara Greenstone
Thursday Teacher Webinar
February 10, 2011 at 3:15 pm and 7:15 pm
When you buy a new appliance or gadget, do you read the manual? When you are learning how to use new software, do you use the Help menu? If so, you have encountered technical writing, a genre that requires high levels of clarity and consistency as well as brevity. Good technical writing takes advantage of text features, diagrams, illustrations, photos, and color to describe a product or a process in a straightforward manner that the reader can quickly and easily understand.
Typically we teach students narrative writing, persuasive writing and writing in response to literature, but we often neglect to teach them technical writing, the kind of writing they need for math and science classes where they must write precise instructions, descriptions, and explanations. Giving students opportunities to engage in technical writing can help them gain skills and confidence that will carry over to all the other types of writing they must do.
In Thursday’s webinar, we will discuss how technical writing differs from other types of writing and how we can engage even our most reluctant writers in this kind of activity. We’ll share strategies and scaffolds for helping students write clear, concise directions, descriptions, and explanations using Pages and other applications on the MLTI MacBooks. We’ll also demonstrate how students can use applications like OmniGraffle and Comic Life to make diagrams and illustrations for their technical writing pieces.
Please join us on Thursday, February 10 at 3:15 or 7:15 PM to learn how you can help your students gain writing skills that will serve them well in higher education and in the workplace.. To register for this webinar or view our calendar, select the Webcasts tab at the top of the Maine121.org page and register for the time desired.
If you have any questions, please contact Juanita Dickson.
Keep in mind:
- All of MLTI’s webinars are free and contact hours are available.
- Webinars are recorded and made available for viewing on the Maine121 Archives page.
- The current schedule of MLTI’s 2010-2011 Webinar Series’ can be found by going to Maine121.org and clicking on the WebCasts tab at the top of the page.
MLTI’s 2010 - 2011 Webinar Series:
- Feed Forward - Designed for teachers & technology staff, these occur on the 3rd Tuesday of each month at 3:15pm. These are facilitated by the MLTI Team.
- Principal Leadership - Designed for principals & assistant principals. These will run every 4th Tuesday at 4:00pm and are facilitated by Chris Toy.
- Thursday Teacher Webinars - Designed for classroom teachers, these webinars will take place every Thursday at 3:15pm and 7:15pm. These are facilitated by MLTI Professional Development Staff.
Thank you,
MLTI Project Team
mlti.project@maine.gov