#13524
Annual Awards for Contributions to the Field of Technical Communications 
The ACM SIGDOC Executive Board welcomes letters of nomination for the SIGDOC Rigo and Diana Awards. The Rigo Award celebrates an individual's lifetime contribution to the field of information design, technical communication, and online information design; the Diana Award celebrates the contribution of an organization, institution, or business.
#19229
Compare the Anthrax technical information offered at the three major sites below. Where does the information seem most credible? Where is it the most complete and detailed? Where is it the easiest to navigate and read? Write a detailed analysis report comparing the information at the three different sites.
Lannon, John M. Pearson Education (2003). Academic>Course Materials>Biomedical
#13855
An Approach for Applying Cultural Study Theory to Technical Writing Research 
When the idea of culture is expanded to include institutional relationships extending beyond the walls of one organization, technical writing researchers can address relationships between our power/knowledge system and multiculturalism, postmodernism, gender, conflict, and ethics within professional communication. This article contrasts ideas of culture in social constructionist and cultural study research designs, addressing how each type of design impacts issues that can be analyzed in research studies. Implications for objectivity and validity in speculative cultural study research are also explored. Finally, since articulation of a coherent theoretical foundation is crucial to limiting a cultural study, this article suggests how technical writing can be constituted as an object of study according to five (of many possible) poststructural concepts: the object of inquiry as discursive, the object as practice within a cultural context, the object as practice within a historical context, the object as ordered by language, and the object in relationship with the one who studies it.
Longo, Bernadette. Technical Communication Quarterly (1998). Academic>Research>Cultural Theory>Technical Writing
#19224
This report is the result of research conducted into the arrangements that can be implemented by awarding bodies on behalf of disabled candidates in the UK. Findings are based on the procedures and advice made available by a selection of awarding bodies. Applications of technology in this area are of particular importance to the work of TechDis in enhancing access to learning, teaching and assessment.
Harrison, Sue. TechDis (2003). Academic>Accessibility>Technology
#19083
Assessing Existing Engineering Communication Programs: Lessons Learned from a Pilot Study
Increased support for greater accountability and assessment of engineering communication programs have led many schools of engineering and technology to initiate methods of assessing the quality of their students’ engineering communication abilities. In my institution, I have spearheaded the pilot year of such a program, and, as anticipated, have learned several valuable lessons that may be of interest to others interested in developing assessment procedures for engineering communication programs.
Rush Hovde, Marjorie. CPTSC Proceedings (2000). Academic>Education>Engineering>Assessment
#23244
Assessing the Credibility of Online Sources
Learn how to check a website's credibility.
Struthers, Kaaren. Webcredible (2004). Academic>Research>Online
#13549
ATTW Calls for Papers Database
This section of the ATTW site is available to all visitors. It allows you to post or view calls for journal articles, conference presentations, award nominations, etc.
#13548
This section provides all ATTW site visitors with information about ATTW's annual professional conference.
#10038
This site provides course syllabi and teaching materials for graduate and undergraduate courses in technical communication.
#14156
ATTW Teaching Resources: Syllabi
This section of the ATTW site includes course syllabi and teaching materials for graduate and undergraduate courses in technical communication. Faculty and staff may submit and view syllabi in HTML and plain text (ASCII) format. The syllabi in the categories cover such things as home pages used in the classroom, course assignments, textbooks used, and class projects. Many of the syllabi include links to other websites and teaching materials.
#14157
ATTW Teaching Resources: Teaching Tips
This section of the ATTW site allows visitors to view and post teaching tips, including effective class activities and course assignments.
#14848
Audience Analysis and the Rhetoric of User-Centered Design
This online course packet, along with the texts and lectures, should provide all the information you need for completing RHE 330C/TLC 331. It includes conventional information, such as a syllabus and course schedule, as well as links to articles and examples. See the navigation bar above for more information.
Spinuzzi, Clay. University of Texas (2004). Academic>Courses>Undergraduate
#14268
Audience Analysis of a Usenet Newsgroup
For this exercise, you will be working with and expanding on the concepts of audience discussed in the textbook by completing these preliminary tasks: · Selecting a Usenet newsgroup that discusses issues in your field · Writing and posting a relevant question to the newsgroup · Collecting responses to your question After completing these tasks, you will write a report in which you evaluate your success in adjusting your communication to your chosen audience. In the process of completing this assignment, you will gain a more sophisticated understanding of audience and get better acquainted with the kinds of interactions with professionals and students that are possible on the Internet.
Burnett, Rebecca E. Thomson (2001). Academic>Course Materials>Audience Analysis>Online
#15015
Austin T. Brown Technical Communication Scholarship Competition
The Washington, DC Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication (STC) invites high school students in the Washington metropolitan area to submit entries to its annual Austin T. Brown Technical Communication Scholarship Competition. The Chapter sponsors this competition to encourage the development of technical writing skills among students in grades 10, 11, and 12.
STC Washington D.C. (2002). Academic>Scholarships>TC
#18790
Australasian Online Documentation Conference
Since the very first Australasian Online Documentation Conference in Melbourne in 1998, the conference has developed a reputation as the premier event for technical writers, help developers, Web authors and documentation developers from Australia and New Zealand. Our speaker list reads like a Who's Who of documentation, as we strive to ensure that experts in techniques and technologies are available to share their knowledge and expertise. The conference is also a great place to network with other documentation professionals.
#10769
Academic writing in American institutions is filled with rules that writers often don’t know how to follow. A working knowledge of these rules, however, is critically important; inadvertent mistakes can lead to charges of plagiarism, or the unacknowledged use of somebody else’s words or ideas. While other cultures may not insist so heavily on documenting sources, American institutions do. A charge of plagiarism can have severe consequences, including expulsion from the university. This handout, which does not reflect any official university policy, is designed to help writers develop strategies for knowing how to avoid accidental plagiarism.
Purdue University (1997). Academic>Writing>Ethics>Plagiarism
#19507
The Big Chill: Seven Technical Communicators Talk Ten Years After Their Master's Program
Recounts the experiences of seven professionals entering the field and the ways their perceptions of the profession and roles within it have changed. Explores the variety of roles technical communicators are expected to assume
Wilson, Greg and Julie Dyke Ford. Technical Communication Online (2003). Academic>Education>Graduate
#26933
Bloom's Taxonomy in Technical Content Development 
Technical writers provide information enabling users to learn and apply various technologies. In the endeavor to enable users, technical writers often need to use different strategies of classification, presentation, and structuring for the different types of information. However, in most cases such classifications or decisions about the best method of presentation and optimum structure are guided by instinct and are rarely heuristic. In this article, we present an established classification of information called Bloom’s taxonomy (of educational objectives), which can help technical writers make decisions about content classification.
Robbani, Wasique. KeyContent.org (2006). Articles>Document Design>Academic>Contextual Inquiry
#24035
Book Layout, PDF Creation, Preparing Documents for Press
This is a 10 hour, 5 week course taught one-on-one or in a small group (2-5 people) that is an introduction to the Adobe InDesign application. In the course we will cover the fundamentals of designing rich documents, including books, pamphlets, and posters.
Newman, Rob. University of California San Diego (2004). Academic>Courses>Document Design>Printing
#29627
Bridging the Gap Between Industry and Academe
Using their own mentor-mentee relationship as a pilot project, the authors planned and implemented a successful mentoring program pairing professionals in the Orlando Chapter with graduating seniors in the technical communication program at the University of Central Florida. This paper (and presentation) provides a detailed description of the planning and execution of the new program, along with feedback from participants at the end of the first year, and an update on the program midway through its second year. It also provides a glimpse into the special trust that can grow between mentor and mentee--and the mutual personal and professional growth that can result from such a relationship. In addition, the session includes a turnkey package (both hard-copy and electronic) of administrative forms and materials that can readily be adapted to implement a mentoring program within another STC chapter or organization. The package is also available from either presenter or from the Orlando Chapter Education Committee.
Spivey, Bonnie and Daniel W. Voss. STC Proceedings (2005). Academic>Education>Industry and Academy
#19073
Building Consortia in Scientific and Technical Communication
When many of us began to establish our programs in Scientific and Technical Communication our main concerns were establishing a balance between technology and communication, establishing internships, and getting acceptance in whatever department in the university we happened to be part of. While those concerns still remain, we are faced with new, additional issues, as well as new problems associated with the older, but still present issues, in establishing and maintaining programs. This paper will note some of those issues and will make some suggestions for helping to approach them. I will not presume to have solutions, just ideas about which we can talk to perhaps help focus some discussion leading to some solutions. Rather than focus on each specific problem, I want to focus on a specific approach to new programs which, I think, might be a way to approach many of the problems and challenges we face in a global, electronic environment. The approach to a solution, which I'm proposing is developing 'joint ventures' or 'Consortia.' I'll herein explain my definition of joint venture or consortia programs.
Coggin, William O. CPTSC Proceedings (2000). Academic>Education>WPA>Collaboration
#25313
This course is designed for students who expect to write in their future employment. Successful employees know how to communicate clearly and effectively, changing writing style and content for varying audiences and purposes. This class will focus on the difficult task of meeting readers' needs while simultaneously representing your best interests and those of your employer. To meet that end, the assignments will cover a variety of tasks produced under different circumstances, some done quickly during class and some polished and perfected over time. Students completing the semester's work should see a visible improvement in their writing, especially in terms of clarity and precision.
Roy, Debopriyo. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (2005). Academic>Courses>Writing>Business Communication
#23530
This course provides an introduction to business writing, which includes business reports, memos, and letters; this course is particularly appropriate for students in business and related areas, although it is open to students from any major. The course requires critical thinking, problem solving, attention to detail, ingenuity, and a significant commitment of time to complete the writing assignments.
Clark, Dave. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (2003). Academic>Courses>Writing>Business Communication
#20558
ENGL 420 teaches students the rhetorical principles and writing practices necessary for producing effective business letters, memos, reports, and collaborative projects in professional contexts. The curriculum is informed by current research in rhetoric and professional writing and is guided by the needs of business, industry, and society at large, as well as by the needs of Purdue students and programs.
Clark, Tracy. Purdue University (2003). Academic>Courses>Writing>Business Communication
#10020
Calls for Papers: Technical Communication
The EServer CFP site is a database-driven collection of calls for papers in several fields, including TC.
