The Wisdom of Community

The web, with its low barrier to entry and permeable social boundaries, is the ultimate medium through which to explore the finer points of the wisdom of crowds. You’re surrounded by online examples: Google’s search results. BitTorrent. The “Most E-mailed” stories on your favorite news site. Each is powered by wisdom gleaned from crowds online. You need a few things to enable online crowds to be wise.

Powazek, Derek. List Apart, A (2009). Academic>Web Design>Collaboration>User Centered Design

Short Guide To Evaluation Of Digital Work

This short guide gathers a collection of questions evaluators can ask about a project, a check list of what to look for in a project, and some ideas about how to find experts for evaluators who are assessing digital work for promotion and tenure.

Rockwell, Geoffrey. Philosophi.ca (2009). Academic>Careers>Tenure>Assessment

Online Design

A graduate seminar in the theory and practice of structuring and designing information for web-enabled devices. This course emphasizes web standards, accessibility, and rapid prototyping.

Stolley, Karl. Illinois Institute of Technology (2009). Academic>Courses>Web Design>Information Design

Publication Management

A graduate seminar in intensive work developing and using systems to manage documents delivered electronically and in print using single-sourcing technologies. Theory and practice of managing publication projects across groups and organizations.

Stolley, Karl. Illinois Institute of Technology (2009). Academic>Courses>Document Design>Publishing

Electronic Research and the Rhetoric of Information

This class will explore the social and cultural role of information. We will pay particular attention to the ways in which the self and society shape and are shaped by our information networks, and will look at the structure of these systems. We will examine such topics as social and collaborative networking, information retrieval, database structures, tagging, and copyright issues. Throughout the course, students will be encouraged to understand the function and limits of rhetorical choices within information production and retrieval.

Arola, Kristin L. Washington State University (2009). Academic>Courses>Research>Online

A Phenomenographic Study of English Faculty's Conceptions of Information Literacy    

The purpose of this research is to identify UK English academics' conceptions of information literacy and compare those conceptions with current information literacy standards and frameworks.

Boon, Stuart, Bill Johnston and Sheila Webber. Journal of Documentation (2007). Academic>Technology>Ethnographies>United Kingdom

The Pedagogical Missions of Professional and Technical Communication Programs: What We Say in the Journals and What We Say on the Web  

This article examines the construction of the pedagogical missions of professional and technical communication (PTC) programs, focusing on two forms of professional discourse. Specifi- cally, I look first at discussions and debates about our pedagogical missions in the internally directed or private conversations of scholarly journals. Then, I examine the externally directed or public discourse of 123 PTC program websites. To compare these two discourses, I frame their differences in terms of the doxa, or unspoken beliefs, upon which they ground their approaches to teaching students the techne, or principled practice, of PTC. The main conclusion of my study is that these differences reflect more than mere genre variations; they reflect important internal conflicts within the attitudes and perspectives on the role of PTC programs as sites of pedagogy. I conclude with the recommendation that we consciously resist the doxa that values pre-professionalism for its own sake by designing websites that refer directly to the topics and themes that arise in professional journals.

Gordon, Jay L. Programmatic Perspectives (2009). Articles>Academic>Education

Master's Programs in Technical Communication:    

Reports on the current state of curriculum in 84 Master's programs. Answers questions about program location, degree names, course requirements, internships, and cumulative experiences. Suggests additional research areas to provide more information on how well academic programs are meeting the needs of students and other stakeholders.

Meloncon, Lisa. Technical Communication Online (2009). Academic>Education>Graduate

Applying to Graduate School in Technical Communication    

Provides extensive guidance on applying to Master's and PhD programs for practitioners. Provides tips on applying for current students. Provides tables listing current graduate programs in technical communication, organized by state.

Eaton, Angela. Technical Communication Online (2009). Academic>Education>Graduate

The Technical Communication Internship     

Experiential learning theory provides a theoretical foundation for studying technical communication internships. This study explores, through the perspective of the experiential learning cycle model developed by David Kolb, internships in technical communication. Participants in technical communication internship experiences were asked to provide, from their different perspectives, information that described the experience. Program directors, industrial supervisors, and student interns provided different views of what they had experienced, illustrating that most had entirely different perspectives on their level of participation in creating, supervising, and evaluating this form of educational experience. Besides describing technical communication programs in the United States more comprehensively, the results of this study raise questions about how the respondents perceived their experience and how the "reality" of these perceptions often conflict. When these findings are explored within the epistemology conceptualized by Kolb's experiential learning theory, a framework is established for more systemic procedures and standards that will enhance the internship as a credible learning experience.

Little, Sherry Burgus. Journal of Business and Technical Communication (1993). Academic>Internships>TC

A Call for Copyright Rebellion

Copyright law was originally intended to protect those who create for profit (Lessig used the example of recording artist Britney Spears). But academics also create original works, he said, and they are — or should be — motivated by a desire to advance human knowledge, not line their pockets. Therefore, sealing their work behind copyright barriers does no social good.

Kolowich, Steve. Inside Higher Education (2009). Articles>Intellectual Property>Copyright>Academic

Tips When Writing for the Web 

On the web, write in small digestible chucks, which fit into the information hierarchy. To create your hierarchy, outline the website as you would for printed material. Then examine the site’s purpose and outline the main sections (e.g. words people use to navigate) and the links within those heads. Test it before it goes online.

Walsh, Ivan. I Heart Tech Docs (2007). Academic>Web Design>Writing>User Centered Design