This course introduces students to current best practices in written and visual technical communication including writing effective email, short and long technical reports and presentations, developing instructional material, and learning the principles and practices of ethical technical communication. Course activities focus on engineering and scientific technical documents.

An introduction to communication contexts and processes emphasizing both conceptual and practical dimensions. Participants engage in public speaking, small group problem solving and leadership, and writing exercises while acquiring theoretical background appropriate to understanding these skills.

This course focuses on developing and improving verbal and written communication skills specific to the discipline of computer science. Topics include the different forms of writing in computer science (books, theses, journal articles, technical reports, manuscripts, etc.), writing styles of computer scientists, document readability and usability, documents for career readiness, effective presentations, teamwork and peer review, research methods, experimentation, documenting mathematics and algorithms, proper formatting of graphs, figures, and tables, and ethical, social, and professional issues facing Computer Scientists. This course is approved as Writing Intensive.

Students who have a background in Computer Science theories, algorithms, and data structures will be provided a look at the history of Computer Science from historical and current perspectives. Topics include an early history of Computer Science, a study of the people who shaped Computer Science, and a discussion of major milestones in Computer Science. Additionally, students will study current issues in Computer Science, including legal, ethical, diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility and privacy issues, and how past issues affect modern designs and decision making by computer scientists. Students will be required to work in teams on several assignments. Papers, presentations, and oral presentations are required.