EDUC 270

Educational Communication
Section EC
Winter 2020
This syllabus is subject to change and any changes will be posted in the Announcements
section of your eConcordia portal.

Disclaimer: In the event of extraordinary circumstances beyond the University's control, the
content and/or evaluation scheme in this course is subject to change.

Instructor

The instructor for this course is Professor Elizabeth Johnston.

TA Contact Information: available through the course website

Note: Please email your TA with any questions or concerns you have, or if you require further feedback.
Also, allow for a 24- to 48-hour response time during the week (Monday-Friday).  Teaching Assistants are
not available at the weekends or during statutory or university holidays.

All other general inquiries regarding the course content can be e-mailed to: educ270@econcordia.com
during the semester.  This email address allows you to contact the Professor directly. If you have any
questions or concerns about the course, check this outline, the FAQ and announcements section. If you
can not nd the information you need, or if there is a delay in hearing back from your TA, please do not
hesitate to use this email.

About this Course

E ective communication is a vital skill. All environments—educational, occupational, and personal—can be

improved through the clear articulation of ideas and information. This course teaches the basics of
educational communication with an emphasis on a range of learning contexts. As the term progresses,
you will think about why and how communication matters, by thinking through the importance of knowing
your audience and your purpose for communicating with them and learning (and practicing!) how to
prepare information in appropriate formats.

Course Description

This course covers the basics of developing content for various types of programs in a broad range of
educational settings, primarily in higher education and adult education classrooms. Applying principles of
e ective textual, visual and oral communication, students will develop teaching materials for a variety of
instructional contexts, including classroom lessons, instructor and student manuals, online sessions, and
podcasts.
More speci cally, this course explains how to e ectively communicate content that may or may not be
familiar to learners by rst clearly de ning the audience and purpose of communicating. Through its eight
lessons, this course explains how to communicate speci c types of content, including de nitions,
descriptions, instructions, introductions and closings, and how to prepare content, in particular formats,
such as reference entries and how-to articles. Each of the lessons is accompanied by a related lesson on
“style”, which explains how to use language e ectively, as well as how to use visuals and page and screen
design to e ectively communicate a message.

Main Objective

After taking this course, you should be well-acquainted with the basics of educational communication, be
able to produce content for a particular target audience and communicate information in a contextually
appropriate format and style.

Supporting Objectives:

In support of the main objective, you should be able to:

Prepare content in a given format by

clearly de ning technical terms in any of the three de nition formats;

describing abstract concepts in accessible language;
creating straightforward curriculum and/or guidelines that can be completed with minimal
errors on the rst try;
providing productive feedback that supportively assists learners;
writing reference entries that conform to the template assigned to them;
preparing introductory materials for a lesson that engage and motivate an audience to
learn, and that preview the content of what is to come;
preparing material for the end of a lesson that summarizes content and facilitates self-
learning;
writing detailed and thorough how-to articles that provide learners with pertinent
information and clear directives.

Communicate content in an appropriate style by

using the active voice wherever possible;

choosing the words that most precisely communicate your intended meaning;
avoiding common errors in style;
replacing words with visuals when appropriate; and
designing pages that facilitate easy reading.

Texts and Website                                                                                                                          

Required Texts (No Purchase Needed: Available Online with the Rest of the Course Materials):

Markel, M. (2007). Technical Communication (8th ed.) Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

Selections from Driscoll, M. & S. Carliner. (2005). Advanced Web-Based Training: Adapting Real
World Strategies in Your Online Learning. Alexandria,VA: ASTD Press.

Website and Ongoing Electronic Discussions - Available through your eConcordia Portal.

•eConcordia Educational Communication course website:

(http://www.econcordia.com/courses/educational_communication/home/)

The course website includes video lectures, readings, exercises and re ections on the lesson topics, and
the Discussion Board.

Important Notes about Visiting the Course Website

 You are responsible for visiting the website regularly and for keeping up with
assignments.
If you have problems visiting the course website, contact the e-Concordia
Help Desk at one of the contacts below (open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
EST).

E-mail: helpdesk@econcordia.com

Your instructional sta can not assist with technical problems.

The eConcordia team takes every possible measure to ensure that your online learning experience
runs as smoothly as possible. There may be times, however, when you encounter technical di culties
that are simply beyond our control. This can include unforeseen network or server or connectivity
issues.

It is the responsibility of all students to ensure that they save a copy of all work submitted through the
system. This applies to any work sent via e-mail and uploads and textbox submissions to the course
website. Students are required to save copies of work both on a computer hard drive and an
external storage device.

In the event that a technical problem arises, please send a copy of the error message you received in
the body of your e-mail to helpdesk@econcordia.com.

A failure to start the course in a timely manner is not considered an

appropriate excuse for missing assignments.

COURSE GUIDELINES

1. Keep Up and Be Active: The evidence is unequivocal; students who do not participate actively
throughout the term in an e-course either do not nish it or, worse, do not pass it. This course is designed
to guide you through the lessons at a particular pace. By overlooking sections or skipping through a lesson
quickly, you might miss insights and tips that could strengthen your writing.

2. Be Prepared: Our time together will pass quickly. Prepare e ciently and thoroughly each week, and
complete your readings along with their corresponding guide sheet. ALL reading guide sheets will be
collected by your TAs, ensuring that you will be up-to-date with the course materials.

3. Contact Your Teaching Assistant When You Have Questions, Need Clari cations, Need a Second
Opinion: Perhaps you have a question about the course material or about getting started or want a
second opinion to assess your approach to an assignment—your TA is here to assist you! Also, help your
TA help you: be clear and concise with your question so they are best able to address your needs.

4. Inform the Teaching Assistant of Your Special Learning Needs: Reasonable accommodations will be
made for students who have issues that may a ect their ability to participate fully in course activities or to
meet course requirements. The rst step is to contact the Access Centre for Students with Disabilities
(ACSD). Once you have been approved through the Centre, your next step is to contact your TA early in the
term to discuss your speci c accommodations.

5. Submit All Assignments on Time—No Late Work Is Accepted. None.  This is a strictly enforced

course policy. See grading policies below for further information on this.

GRADING POLICIES

Do Yes. Because your projects will be assessed according to academic and professional
Assignments standards, they must meet professional standards of submission:
Need to Be You will be submitting your work by uploading it to the
Submitted in
website. Submission procedures will be posted on the
a Particular
Way?
eConcordia website.
Although you are submitting papers electronically, you should
still include headers and footers with the name and page
numbers on the header of each page (unless requested
otherwise in the instructions).

Note: Title pages are not necessary unless speci ed in the instructions for the
assignment.

With all citations follow the APA style.

Will Late No.

Work Be
Absolutely no late work will be accepted. The only exceptions are emergencies, like
Accepted?
a hospitalization (yours) or death in the family. If you nd yourself in a true
emergency—do not contact the TA without also providing documentation to
support the request (such as a doctor’s a davit to a hospitalization).

Because we are a faceless learning group, additional information is required that

might not be required in a classroom to ensure that the request is a legitimate one.

TAs will deny all requests for submitting assignments late without proper
documentation.

Manage your time to make sure that you submit assignments on or before the
required day:

Organize your time e ectively to ensure that you submit your

work on time.

Vacations and travel plans (work-related or otherwise) are not

considered valid reasons for late submissions or an inability to
complete assignments, quizzes and exams. If you are planning a
vacation, submit your work in advance.

Please note that you are responsible for the version of the
work you upload to the website. If you upload the incorrect
version of your work to the website, you can resubmit the correct
version prior to the deadline. If you fail to meet the deadline, the
version of your work located on the website is the one that will
be graded.

If you are not able to get to a computer on the day an

assignment is due, it is your responsibility to nd a way to
submit the assignment on time. Local libraries (and Concordia’s)
are great resources in this regard.
 Final Exam This course has an in-person nal exam during the examination period. Notice of
when exactly the nal exam will be is only conveyed late in each session. Therefore,
students must be available during the entire exam period, and they must not make
vacation plans until after they have con rmation of when their exam will take place.

Exam Con icts – If a student has a con ict with the time of an exam or has special
accommodations through ACSD, it is the student’s responsibility to contact the
Examinations O ce to request alternate arrangements.

May I Submit Yes. This is a right assured to you by the policies of Concordia University.
Assignments
in French?

What are the Your work will be evaluated according to how well you communicate the assigned
Grading topic to the assigned audience. Please note that work is assessed by e ectiveness.
Criteria? Although producing writing that achieves its objectives takes time, merely investing
time in an assignment does not guarantee that it will be e ective. Generally:

A The assignment can be published (or used) as is, with little or no

additional revision. The designated audience should be able to
accomplish its intended goals with the project.

B The assignment can be published (or used), but requires some

revision. The logic might need to be strengthened (perhaps the
content needs to be reorganized to ow more smoothly or perhaps
some additional information or evidence is needed to strengthen a
claim or argument). With these minor revisions the designated
audience should be able to accomplish the intended goals.

C The assignment requires signi cant revision before it would be

suitable for publication or use. Passages might need to be rewritten
or extensively reorganized; or the assignment might contain
extensive grammatical, stylistic, or typographical errors. The
designated audience probably cannot accomplish the intended
goals without the suggested revisions.

F The assignment is not usable or adaptable. With near certainty, the

designated audience cannot accomplish the intended goals.

What is Your teaching team assumes that the work you submit--exams, papers, projects, and
Academic drafts of each of these--are your own work. Presenting someone else's work
Integrity and (including material found on the Internet) as your own is called plagiarism, and it is
How Does it a form of stealing, whether you lift an entire document or just parts of it. Plagiarism
A ect My violates copyright laws, the ethical guidelines for educational technologists and
Assignments? trainers, and the policies of this university. In accordance with University regulations,
all plagiarized work will be reported to the Dean of Arts and Sciences.

Note: Plagiarism includes information (text and images) lifted from websites. Like
printed material, the authors of this content are entitled to credit for their work. If
material is taken directly from the web, it must be cited as a direct quotation. If
material is paraphrased, it must also be cited. Software exists to assess the
likelihood of plagiarism from the web and I reserve the right to use this software
 with any assignment. If you have questions about how to cite material from the web,
please inquire, or consult the academic style-guides available via the Concordia
University library.

How Should If you have a question or concern about a grade, please contact your TA. You may
Questions contact the instructor if you have additional questions or would like a review.
about Grades
be Handled?

TIPS FOR SUCCEEDING IN THE COURSE:

1. Read the course outline closely. This is your contract for the course and indicates how you’ll be
assessed. The course outline is on the course website, to which you will receive access at the beginning of
the term. (This material is also covered in Lesson 1).

2. Closely read the instructions for each assignment. They state exactly how to prepare assignments
and the grading criteria for them.

3. Keep up with class work as no late work will be accepted. Repeating again—no late work will be
accepted.

4. Read the announcements page on the course website. From time to time, I’ll be posting tips on
completing the assignment and other important information there.  It is highly recommended that you
subscribe to the course mailing list through your eConcordia portal so that you always get noti cation of
these announcements in your email

Grading Scheme:

Please note that this distribution may di er from that of other

Concordia departments.

Letter Grade % Grade

A 80-100

B 70-79

C 60-69

D 50-50

F 0-40

Summary of Assignments

Graded Assessments
Assignment Purpose When Weight

Reading Guide Help you focus on the readings. Consult the course Agenda, 10%
Sheets Submitting them provides as they are due as you are
evidence that you are keeping doing your readings
up with the readings. throughout the class.

Contributions to the Ensure your active participation Consult the course Agenda, 15%
Class Discussion in the course. You will also be as there are deadlines to
(10%
Board, including called upon to mark one of post. Assessed both by
Discussion
both ‘Take Away’ your peer’s assignments quality and quantity of
Board / 5%
exercises and (Assignment 4), as an posts.
Peer
‘Discovery’ activities. evaluation of your ability to
Review)
provide constructive feedback
and to demonstrate your
capacity to assess writing
quality.

Assignment 1: Demonstrate your ability to Beginning of Lesson 3 10%

achieve the objective,
De nitions
concretely de ne a technical
term in any of the three
formats for a de nition.

Assignment 2: Demonstrate your ability to During Lesson 4 10%

achieve the objective and
Descriptions
describe an abstract concept so
that learners concretely
process it.

Assignment 3: Demonstrate your ability to During Lesson 5 10%

achieve the objectives:
Procedures and
Instructions
Prepare
procedures that
learners complete
with minimal errors
on the rst try.
Provide clear
feedback that
supportively assists
learners.

Assignment 4: Demonstrate your ability to Beginning of Lesson 7 5%

achieve the objective and
Reference Entries
prepare a reference entry that
conforms to the template
assigned to it.
 Final Demonstrate your ability to After Lesson 8 40%
achieve all of the objectives of
the course.

Assignment 4:

This is a two-part assignment. Part 1 is to post a reference entry to the discussion board. Part 2 is to
provide a peer review of the reference entry that immediately follows yours.

Be sure to post only one reference entry on the discussion board. If you do not post a reference entry, the
peer review cannot be completed and no grade will be assigned for this assignment. The requirement for
the peer review is to evaluate the reference entry that is posted immediately after your post on the
discussion board. No grade will be assigned to your peer review if you evaluate any post other than the
one that follows your entry. The last person to submit their reference entry will evaluate the very rst
submission.

In order to view your grades throughout the semester, click on the “My Grades” link in your eConcordia
portal. It is your responsibility to ensure your work has been received.

Important Information

Topic Link

Academic Integrity Academic Integrity

Educational
software or services
Educational Technology
developed and
Guidelines
owned by third
parties

Access Centre for Students with

ACSD
Disabilities

Concordia Library Citation & Citing - Help & How-

Style Guides to

Course Communication Tools Communication

eConcordia Policies Policies

Final Exams Information Final Exams

Helpdesk/Support FAQ

Refunds Refunds
 Technical Requirements Technical
Requirements

Tips for Studying Online Studying Tips

Third Party Software/Website

Here is an excerpt on Concordia's policy on Educational software or services developed and owned
by third parties, including those linked to textbooks, in-class surveys, lecture capture, virtual classrooms,
course assignments and quizzes can be invaluable tools for the development and teaching of courses.

Third-Party software/websites that require personal information (name, email,

student number, etc.):

Students are advised that external software and/or websites will be used in the course and
students may be asked to submit or consent to the submission of personal information (for
example, name and email) to register for an online service. Students are responsible for reading and
deciding whether or not to agree to any applicable terms of use. Use of this software and service is
voluntary. Students who do not consent to the use the software or service should identify themselves to
the course instructor as soon as possible, and in all cases before the DNE deadline, to discuss alternate
modes of participation.

Third-party software/websites for work submission:

Students are advised that external software and/or websites will be used in the course and
students may be asked to submit or consent to the submission of their work to an online service. Students
are responsible for reading and deciding whether or not to agree to any applicable terms of use. Use of
this software and service is voluntary. Students who do not consent to the use the software or service
should identify themselves to the course instructor as soon as possible to discuss alternate modes of
participation that do not require them to give copyright or the right to use their work to a third party.

By using the external software or websites, students agree to provide and share their work and certain
personal information (where applicable) with the website/software provider. Students are advised that the
University cannot guarantee the protection of intellectual property rights or personal information
provided to any website or software company. Intellectual property and personal information held in
foreign jurisdictions are subject to the laws of such jurisdictions.

Third-party technology to record a course:

Note that, as a part of this course, some or all of the lectures and/or other activities in this course may be
recorded. Recordings will be focused on the instructor and will normally exclude students. It is possible,
however, that your participation may be recorded. If you wish to ensure that your image is not recorded,
speak to your instructor as soon as possible.

Also, please note that you may not share recordings of your classes and that the instructor will only share
class recordings for the purpose of course delivery and development. Any other sharing may be in
violation of the law and applicable University policies, and may be subject to penalties.
 EDUC 270 - Educational Communication
Agenda
Winter 2020
All deadlines indicated are on the due date listed by 5:00 PM unless otherwise indicated.

Week 1: January 6 - January 12

Review the Course Outline and Agenda

Navigate the Course Website

Lesson 0: Getting Started

Lesson 1: What is Educational Communication?

Style Lesson: Copyright Issues

Readings:

Markel, Chapter 1: Introduction to Technical Communication

Markel, Chapter 2: Understanding Ethical and Legal Considerations
Markel, Chapter 3: Understanding the Writing Process

Also: Concordia Library’s Citation and Style Guides

(http://library.concordia.ca/help/howto/citations.html)

Participation on the Discussion Board

January 06 Discussion Board opens at 2 PM.

January 06 Classes Begin

Orientation Session – Online Webinar 1 of 4 – 2 PM 

http://connect.econcordia.com/educ270/
January 08
(Virtual room will be available at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the
session. Enter your name in the "Guest" eld to enter the room. Do NOT log-
in with your eConcordia account).

Week 2: January 13 - January 19

Lesson 2: Writing De nitions

Style Lesson: Active Voice

Reading:
 Markel, Chapter 9: Drafting and Revising De nitions and Descriptions (pp.
176-187)

De nitions - Assignment 1 (Details posted in the Fly on Your Own section of

the course website)

Participation on the Discussion Board

Week 3: January 20 - January 26

Lesson 3: Writing Descriptions

Style Lesson: Writing Concretely

Readings:

Markel, Chapter 9: Drafting and Revising De nitions and Descriptions (pp.

187-202)
Markel, Chapter 11: Writing E ective Sentences
Markel, Chapter 5: Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose

Descriptions - Assignment 2 (Details posted in the Fly on Your Own section of

the course website)

January 20 Last day to add or swap courses in this term

January 20 DNE Date: Academic withdrawal deadline (with tuition refund)

January 21 Reading Guide Sheet Lesson 1 DUE by 5 PM (You may submit early)

January 22 Reading Guide Sheet Lesson 2 DUE by 5 PM (You may submit early)

January 23 De nitions Assignment 1 Due by 5 PM

Participation on the Discussion Board – deadline to post for Lessons 1

January 24
and 2 is due by 5 PM

Week 4: January 27 - February 2

Continue with Lesson 3 (Descriptions)

Readings: Same as previous week

January 28 Reading Guide Sheet Lesson 3 DUE by 5 PM (You may submit early)

Participation on the Discussion Board - deadline to post for Lesson 3 due

January 30
by 5 PM

Week 5: February 3 - February 9

 Lesson 4: Writing Procedures and Instructions
Style Lesson: Communicating Ideas Visually

Readings:

Markel, Chapter 19: Writing Instructions and Manuals

Carliner, Preparing Procedures
Markel, Chapter 13: Creating Graphics

Procedures and Instructions - Assignment 3 (Details posted in the Fly on Your

Own section of the course website)

Participation on the Discussion Board

Check in – Online Webinar 2 of 4 - 2 PM 

February 06
http://connect.econcordia.com/educ270/

Week 6: February 10 - February 16

Continue with Lesson 4 (Procedures and Instructions)

Readings: Same as previous week

February 11 Reading Guide Sheet Lesson 4 DUE by 5 PM (You may submit early)

February 12 Descriptions Assignment 2 Due: 5 PM

Participation on the Discussion Board - deadline to post for Lesson 4 due

February 13
by 5 PM

Week 7: February 17 - February 23

Lesson 5: Writing Reference Entries

Style Lesson: Designing Pages and Screens

Readings:

Markel, Chapter 12: Designing Documents

Markel, Chapter 20: Designing Web Sites

Reference Entries - Assignment 4 (Details on Fly on Your Own section of the

course website)

Participation on the Discussion Board

Mid-Term Break: February 24 - March 1

February 24 Mid-term break begins.

February 28 President's Holiday - University closed.

March 01 Mid-term break ends.

Week 8: March 2 - March 8

Continue with Lesson 5 (Reference Entries)

 Readings: Same as previous week

March 03 Reading Guide Sheet Lesson 5 DUE by 5 PM (You may submit early)

March 04 Procedures and Instructions - Assignment 3 Due: 5 PM

Participation on the Discussion Board - deadline to post for Lesson 5 due

March 05
by 5 PM

Online Webinar 3 of 4 - 2 PM
March 05
http://connect.econcordia.com/educ270/

Week 9: March 9 - March 15

Lesson 6: Preparing Advance Organizers and Summaries

Style Lesson: Persuasion

Readings:

Carliner & Driscoll, Chapter 10

Markel, Chapter 8: Communicating Persuasively

March 10 Reading Guide Sheet Lesson 6 DUE by 5 PM (You may submit early)

Participation on the Discussion Board - deadline to post for Lesson 6 due

March 12
by 5 PM

Week 10: March 16 - March 22

Lesson 7: Writing a How-to Article

Style Lesson: Usage

Visit the sample how-to articles provided in the Reading Guide Sheet for this
lesson

Readings:
Markel, Chapter 7: Organizing Your Information
Markel, Chapter 10: Writing Coherent Documents

March 18 Reference Entries - Assignment 4 (Part 1 of 2) Due: 5 PM

 Participation on the Discussion Board

Week 11: March 23 - March 29

Continue with Lesson 7 (How-to Articles)

Readings: Same as previous week

DISC Date: Academic withdrawal deadline from winter-term courses.

March 23
(Without tuition refund) 

March 24 Reading Guide Sheet Lesson 7 DUE by 5 PM (You may submit early)

Participation on the Discussion Board - deadline to post for Lesson 7 due

March 26
by 5 PM

Week 12: March 30 - April 5

Lesson 8: Providing Feedback

Style Lesson: Careers in Educational and Similar Types of Communication

Providing Feedback to Learners and Handling Other Types of Assignments

Readings:

Carliner & Driscoll, Chapter 11

Markel, Chapter 14: Writing Letters, Memos, and E-mails
Markel, Chapter 21: Making Oral Presentations

Also, Visit the websites provided in the Reading Guide Sheet for this lesson

Participation on the Discussion Board

March 30 Course Evaluation released

March 31 Reading Guide Sheet Lesson 8 DUE by 5 PM (You may submit early)

April 01 Peer Review of Assignment 4 (Part 2 of 2) due at 5 PM

Participation on the Discussion Board – deadline to post for Lesson 8

April 02
due by 5 PM

April 04 Last day for instructor-scheduled tests or examinations

Week 13: April 6 - April 12

Continue with Lesson 8 (Providing Feedback)

Readings: same as previous week

April 08 Exam Review/Preparation - time to be announced
http://connect.econcordia.com/educ270/

Date subject to Change.

April 09 Last day of classes

April 10 University closed

April 11 University closed

April 12 University closed

Deadline to complete the course evaluation April 13

Examinations Period: April 16 - May 3

Exam Date, Time and Location to be posted in your MyConcordia Portal

Note: The only reason an exam may be rescheduled is a con ict with
another exam.  Therefore, do not make post-term holiday arrangements
until the exam schedule is announced.

Final Exam date, time and location is posted on your MyConcordia Portal