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Subject:Re: Student exercises - give it a rest From:"Cheverie, Paul [Cont]" <paul -dot- cheverie -at- GPO -dot- CANADA -dot- CDEV -dot- COM> Date:Mon, 11 Sep 1995 15:55:00 EDT
I am suprised at the number of people on this list who seem to have
missed the point entirely about student exercises. When you teach anyone
anything, you start from a place that they are familiar with and then expand
their horizons.
It does not matter AT ALL what is used as a teaching example or
exercise if the material, idea, or process serves the purpose it was
intended to serve. There are a number of things that I can see at a glance
that making a student write a technical manual about a pencil will teach:
how to organize a tech manual, what needs to be included in technical
instructions, how to begin the actual authoring process, etc., etc.
Getting all wrapped around the axle over the imagined insult to the
profession by using something as simple and familiar as a pencil is at best
overly sensitive.
Paul C.
paul -dot- cheverie -at- canada -dot- cdev -dot- com