Month: January 2016

Still Room in Survival ESL Class

A few spaces are still open for spouses of international faculty and scholars wishing to attend a basic English class starting Monday, February 1. Participants will meet from 7 to 8:45 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays through February 25 in Walker 138.

The course, also known as Survival English, will help beginners feel more confident and relaxed around Americans. Lessons will offer simple words and phrases for greeting people and shopping in Houghton.

The class is limited to eight participants. Besides faculty and scholars, spouses of graduate students are also welcome, space permitting. The course fee is $10.

To register, email comlanguage@mtu.edu.

 

(This article first appeared in Tech Today.)

North Woods Kids Reception and Awards Ceremony

Kids and their families and friends are invited to the North Woods Kids reception and awards ceremony from 6:30 to 7:30 p.mThursday at the Community Arts Center located at 126 Quincy Street, Hancock.

Nearly 200 submissions of art and writing composed by North Woods kids (ages 5 to 19) from nine Western Upper Peninsula schools will be displayed and celebrated. Judges are busy selecting first place, honorable mention and best in show winners (winners will be notified by tomorrow–maybe sooner!).

A special honor and surprise: Aimee Bissonette, author of picture book “Northwoods Girl,” will be an honored guest; and children will have the chance to visit with Aimee once again during the reception. Aimee wants all the children to know how very excited she is to reconnect with Copper Country children after visiting with them earlier this fall.

Live dulcimer music performed by Clare Zuraw performed and kid-friendly treats will be served. This ceremony is co-sponsored by the Copper Country Reading Council, the CC Arts Council and Michigan Tech’s English Education Program.
For more information please contact Evelyn Johnson at evjohnso@mtu.edu.
(This article originally appeared in Tech Today.)

Advisory Board Member: Monica Lester Vuorenmaa

Monica LesterMonica Lester Vuorenmaa is a technical writer at M.J. Electric, LLC. MJE is an electric construction company that has projects all across the United States. Her duties consist of assisting the company with internal and external communications including proposals, reports, and documentation. Organizing information and transforming ideas into content are some of her passions in the technical communication field. She also has experience in social media, marketing and journalism.

MTMC Holding Online Appointments

The Michigan Tech Multiliteracies Center is a free interdisciplinary resource for Tech students, faculty and staff working on diverse types of writing and presentations typically encountered in academic and professional life. We commonly assist with resumes, reports, essays, multimedia projects, speeches, document formatting and citations.

The MTMC is available for scheduled classroom workshops, and we are dedicated to working with instructors of all diciplines. Michigan Tech institutional research has found that students who sign up for MTMC appointments are more likely to receive higher grades and return the following year.

We hope all instructors encourage their students to visit the MTMC for writing and presentation assignments. In order to help instructors offer extra credit for MTMC attendance, we provide “receipt of appointment” slips to students on request.

This semester, the MTMC is starting a new email tutoring service. Students will be able to email their papers to the MTMC and receive written feedback. Because this service is new, it will have limited availability (six appointments per week).

For videos and written instructions about how to make an appointment with the MTMC, visit our website.

The MTMC offers students study teams, one-on-one sessions, graduate writing groups, standing weekly appointments and online appointments. We work with students on every stage of the writing and presenting process, from brainstorming to polishing.

Questions and requests can be directed to Bill De Herder, the MTMC Assistant Director. The MTMC is located in the Walker Arts and Humanities Center, Room 107.

 

(This article originally appeared in Tech Today.)