Dear <x>,

I am writing to ask if you would be willing to report on the upcoming NERCOMP event <name of event>.  as part of our on-going series that provides the higher ed community with high-quality information about trends and issues in computing, information technology, librarianship, student learning, and faculty development. NERCOMP is a major sponsor of the Academic Commons, and has invited us to participate in this   in order to <tk> .The report that we want you to write will appear on Academic Commons (http://www.academiccommons.org) and will provide a summary of each session, links to relevant materials, suggested readings, and commentary. Examples of past reports that we have published can be found at <tk>.

What does this mean for you?

We would like for you to take extensive notes during the day, and to contact the speakers after the event or clarification of points made, suggestions for readings, and for any hand-outs or slides they may have used during their presentation. We have already informed the speakers that there will be a reporter in the audience why may contact them after the event.

A typical report includes:

1. Links to readings
2. Links to relevant mailing lists
3. Links to external resources/projects
4. Links to slides/websites
5. Links to bios of speakers
6. Notes from each session
7. Synthesis of how sessions relate to one another
8. Key questions that the day raised
9. News you can use: concrete actions you might take on your campus

The benefits of doing this work are multiple

1. It provides you with a way to develop new connections with the event organizer and speakers.
2. It gives you an opportunity to reflect on and organize your thoughts about the event.
3. It provides you a chance to publish your work in a widely-read forum.
4. It allows you to share the information shared at the event with a broad audience.
5. We pay $250 .

Please let me know ASAP if you are willing to do this work. If you have questions, please do ask.

-- mike