English 106--Content Engineering

To jump right to the week-by-week class schedule, click here.

Overview

Content Engineering is a professional writing class this is designed from the ground up with awareness that electronic content is dynamic, searchable, measurable, researched, optimized, published, marketed, and monetized in ways that are radically different from static "writing." Students create websites on a topic of professional interest that they've researched for market viability. Students create content for their sites, place ads on the sites, and use the sites as Content Engineering laboratories. We experiment with different techniques to drive live traffic to the sites, and we learn tools of web analytics and search engine optimization. Students will also learn the underlying fundamentals of goal-oriented user-centric writing. Prerequisite: Junior Standing.

Student Learning Objectives

Students will learn how to:

• Create professional, reader-centric / user-centric documents, in both print and electronic media.

• Understand the basic protocols of professional communication, and research the specific communication expectations of their chosen career.  Create a resume and cover letter appropriate for their chosen career.

• Create unique and relevant content, which is targeted toward a specific audience.

• Research, analyze, and understand trends in search and social media, and recognize how this relates to market segmentation.

• Determine conversion goals for the content they create, and measure and assess the effectiveness of their content against these conversion goals.  Learn how to apply the results of their assessment, by refining their content creation strategies or re-engineering their old content.

• Develop a habit of analytical thinking about their writing.  Understand that all the content they create is fundamentally goal-oriented and measurable.

• Identify, assess, and use up-to-date tools of content creation, publication, and analysis.  This includes high-level applications like current blogging platforms, as well as some understanding of how to work directly with HTML and CSS.

• Acquire some proficiency with industry-standard tools of web analytics, specifically Google Analytics.  Understand the differences between different types of web traffic.

• Understand the basics of how search engines index content, and become acquainted with best practices and current tools of Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Students will also:

• Gain first-hand experience in how content is marketed on the web, both through traditional web marketing as well as social media marketing.

• Gain first-hand experience with how content is monetized on the web.  By the end of the course, students will be receiving money from Google Adsense from the traffic they have generated to their content.

To this end, students will create a blog/website/web presence on a topic of professional interest to them, a topic they have research for market viability.  Students will create a lot of content for these blogs, then use them as Content Engineering laboratories, experimenting with different techniques to drive real live traffic to their sites, and convert this traffic in different ways. A selection of former student blogs can be found here.

Be aware that this course is a lot of work, both in terms of the amount of writing you will do, and in terms of the new concepts, techniques, and tools that you will be exposed to.  The payoff, however, is that this set of skills is extremely practical, and very much in demand in the modern workplace.

There is no textbook for this class.  All your readings will be found within the Resources section of our Canvas page, or on the web.

Student work in this course might be retained for research purposes and to assess how course learning outcomes are being met.

Details

You will be responsible for actively participating in our online discussions and activities.  Active classroom participation will help you engage with the material, as well as learn and retain the skills of this class.  Active engagement with co-workers and with your supervisor is crucial to success in the business world.  Therefore, active engagement with me and with your peers in class is a part of your grade.

You will be responsible for turning in assignments when they are due.  As in the business world, deadlines matter, and nobody wants to hear your excuses.  Late work will be marked down 1/3 of a letter grade for each calendar day they are late.  I will consider giving short extensions on assignments if you contact me ahead of the due date and you have a good reason for wanting the extension.  All assigned work must be completed to pass the course.

A large part of the work for this class will consist of the publication and promotion of a blog or other website.  You need to be aware of this going into the class, and comfortable with the notion that you will be publishing your work on the web.

Preferred Pronoun. Knowing and applying the names and pronouns that students wish to use is a crucial part of developing a productive learning environment that fosters safety, inclusion, personal dignity, and a sense of belonging across campus. Please let me know your preferred name and pronoun anytime throughout the semester.

Recording Zoom Sessions. Live class presentations and discussions during this course may be recorded. As a student in this class, please note that your participation in live class discussions may therefore also be recorded. By participating in a live class discussion you are giving your consent to this recording. Access to these recordings will be limited to faculty and the students enrolled in the class and to assist enrolled students who cannot attend the live session.

Honor code. Please refer to your Student Handbook (Tiger Lore) for a complete statement of the University Honor Code, an essential element in the academic integrity of our campus community.  If I believe you to be in violation of the University Honor Code I will refer the matter to the Office of Student Life.  Penalties for violating the Honor Code can include suspension from the University.  In other words, if you plagiarize in this class, I will probably catch you, and you will probably end up in serious trouble.

Plagiarism is the attempt to pass off someone else's text or ideas as your own. If you copy or paraphrase from any outside source, even another student, and fail to formally acknowledge this in your text, you are guilty of plagiarism. If someone else writes a paper for you, or even part of a paper for you, you are guilty of plagiarism. If you are found guilty of plagiarism, you will receive an F for the assignment, an F for the course, and a letter will be sent to your dean. A student who is found violating the academic honesty policy (i.e.: cheating or knowingly plagiarizing) in a course will be prevented from dropping the course even if the deadline to drop has not expired.  There are no exceptions.

Grading

Grade Scale: A 100 to 93 ; A- 92.9 to 90 ; B+ 89.9 to 87 ; B 86.9 to 83 ; B- 82.9 to 80 ; C+ 79.9 to 77 ; C 76.9 to 73 ; C- 72.9 to 70 ; D+ 69.9 to 67 ; D 66.9 to 63 ; D- 62.9 to 60 ; F 59.9 to 0. 

Copies of student work may be retained for purposes including to assess how the learning objectives of the course are being met.

Discussion Board Participation

Class participation is crucial to your success and the success of this course, including how much you learn and how much fun you have with your classmates. Come to our online discussion activities having read everything assigned for that day. Be prepared to ask and answer questions about the readings, dissect the arguments, and figure out what you think about the material and why you think that, and express this in informal writing on the Canvas discussion boards.

How the Discussions Tool Works:

In our course’s Canvas site, click the “Discussions” tab on the left of the screen. You’ll find there will typically be a separate “Discussion” for each class session. When you click on that class day's Discussion, generally you will some prompts, in the form of questions or activities to get you started discussing that day's assigned reading(s). Discussions on Canvas are “threaded.” That means that answers to a question show up under the question, and replies to those answers show up under the answers, and so on, which keeps the discussion organized. You’ve probably seen threaded discussions before if you’ve ever seen a forum comment section, like on Reddit for example. When we’re using this together for a real-time discussion, remember to hit the refresh button in your browser pretty frequently, so you can see new replies and posts as they come up! It’s pretty intuitive, but here is a video tutorial for using the Canvas Discussion boards if you need it, and you can always email me or drop into the Zoom meeting if you’re having trouble!

What I'll be Looking For in Online Discussion:

I’ll be looking for participation that is engaged with the material in a meaningful way, that is thoughtful and nuanced, and that is helpful to and respectful of each other. For discussions, while it's totally fine to post some quick responses, for example agreeing with a point or providing a quick reference, your aim is to post substantive responses to the questions and to each other. This involves careful reading of what you are replying to, just as much as careful writing. It means actively engaging with the material and each other in a thoughtful and respectful manner. Aim to contribute meaningfully to the discussion, but not to dominate it. Above all, I’d like to see you be helpful. You are helping us, the class community, understand all the facets of the topics we are discussing, by bringing your own insights and experiences.

Some of the class sessions will be more about completing an activity, and posting the results to the discussion board, rather than about much active discussion (although giving some feedback might be part of it). On these days, I’m looking for your successful completion of the task.

This participation will be graded based on the level of your involvement with the conversation or the exercise/activity, your demonstrated mastery of the readings, your overall helpfulness, the quality of your contributions, and the originality of your posts (by “originality” I mean not repeating what others have said). Note that there is no “minimum number of posts” expectation or the like. It's all about quality, helpfulness, and the depth of your engagement.

A Note on Tone:

Online discussion faces some serious challenges that don't occur in face-to-face discussion. We can't hear your tone of voice when you type something out, so it is surprisingly easy to accidentally sound angry or condescending or dismissive, even when you didn't mean it that way. Add into the mix the fact that we are all under considerably more stress than we bargained for this semester, and the fact that some of us will be under a lot more hardship than others as the health, family, economic, and social ramifications of coronavirus ramp up. With this in mind, I hope that we all remember to try to be extra courteous, helpful, compassionate, and respectful when engaging in our discussions, especially when it comes to feedback on student performance. Just like in a classroom, it's totally OK (even expected!) for you to disagree with each other and with me, but always remember to frame criticisms in ways that are respectful and constructive, and remember to provide your evidence or spell out your argument for your position.

What A Great Discussion Post Should Look Like:

In a lot of ways, online discussion is better than speaking up in class, because you’ve got the time and space to really formulate your thoughts, to carefully consider and edit your replies before you post them. Since you’re typing, it’s also a great opportunity to provide a quote from that day’s reading (or another class reading) to back up what you’re saying. You’ve also got the opportunity to post links to outside information, articles, or other content. Find something online that is relevant to the text we are discussing? Give us a link in your comment, so we can check it out too, and talk about it.

Try to avoid “hit-and run” posting. That means two things. First, it means take the time to read what others have already said, asked, and responded. Flying in and posting more or less the same thing that other people are already talking about shows that you haven’t bothered to read their contributions. Second, it means hang around to answer questions or reply back to people that have replied to you. Think about what makes for polite, normal conversation: It’s a lot of listening, talking, and responding, perhaps with respectful disagreements and perhaps with consensus seeking. Be like that! Now think about what makes for really rude conversation behavior. Imagine a person that pushes into an ongoing conversation without really listening to anyone else, loudly says “Well, what I think...”, and then leaves before anyone can respond. Don’t be like that!

How We Will Use Zoom

While most of your class participation will take place on the discussion boards, we will also be using Zoom in three separate ways:

1. Some class sessions (or parts of class sessions) may involve a Zoom meeting/lecture. For example, our entire first week of class will be on Zoom. After the first week, Zoom class sessions are most likely to take place on a Monday, especially if we are introducing difficult new material.

2. From Week 3 through Week 10, I plan to use some of our class time for weekly individual one-on-one Zoom meetings with each of you. These will take place Wednesday and Friday, and it will let me check in on your progress on your blog, and other coursework.

3. At the start of every class, the class Zoom link will be open for optional drop-in help, or additional discussion, of that day's class material. Did you have some difficulty with that day's reading, or have some questions of your own? Drop into the Zoom meeting for additional explanation or help! Are you confused about the discussion board assignment? Drop into the Zoom meeting and ask! Did you get excited by the reading, and you want to talk about it more than the discussion board allows? Come on by.

Tentative Course Schedule:

As you can see, this schedule is still a work in progress.  There are 2 reasons for this:

1) This is an upper-level English class at Pacific.  That means that you, the student, are encouraged more than ever to help shape the direction and form of the class.  Student suggestions for additional topics, readings, assignments and/or changes to the course are strongly encouraged.

2) This is a class in a subject area that is changing rapidly.  I will make changes to the schedule, as new technologies and tools develop and emerge, and to help focus the class themes over the course of the semester. I guarantee that I will swap out readings (especially in the second half of the class) as new sources become available.

All readings are available through the Canvas site or online.

Spring Break

This web syllabus and associated content is copyright 2021, Eric Sonstroem