Technical Writing Taught Over the Internet

Is it possible? Can a writing course be delivered effectively from a distance, without interaction from an instructor? It’s not easy, but we think it can. In fact we are well into developing an online course which is entirely self-evaluated.

Moretto, Lisa A. TC-FORUM (2001). Articles>Education>Online

Techniques for Collaborative Technical Writing and Editing Projects Applied in a Technical Writing Classroom  

Collaborative writing and editing are common in business and industry, so they’re often taught in the technical writing classroom and the writing intensive classroom. However, more than dividing the tasks and sharing knowledge in a "real world" simulation is necessary to provide students with a "good" collaborative experience or writers and editors with good teamwork in business and industry. Technical writing students at Cincinnati Technical College worked in teams on developing a manual for prospective students, but they also applied more sophisticated collaborative techniques. They completed a battery of psychological tests and participated in experiential learning on group process.

Heilman, Christine W. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Education>Writing

Technology and the Learning/Teaching Divide  

When we put to one side technological responsibilities, we miss an important opportunity to build communities of workers and scholars.

Selfe, Cynthia L. and Richard Selfe. CPTSC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Education>Technology

Technology and the Rise of the For-profit University

The traditional university is all things to all people, but it is primarily a place for professors to learn, to study, and yes, to teach. The teaching follows the traditional model of pouring knowledge into the heads of obedient students. This is a teacher-centered model of education, one that has repeatedly been shown to be inferior. Aristotle showed how learning can be an exploration. Pundits ever since have continually rediscovered active ways of engaging the mind. The university has resisted, for these other ways were not conducive to the comfortable life of a teacher. And anyway, it didn't feel like teaching. But today, education remains one of the last remaining labor-intensive activities, and it is pricing itself out of the marketplace. Worse, it does so using a methodology known to be deficient. Enter technology.

Norman, Donald A. JND.org (2002). Articles>Education>Technology

Technology Transfer of Heuristic Evaluation and Usability Inspection

Participants in a course on usability inspection methods were surveyed 7-8 months after the course to find out what methods they were in fact using, and why they used or did not use the methods they had been taught. The major factor in method usage was the quality of the usability information gained from the method, with a very strong correlation between the rated benefit of using a method and the number of times the method had been used. Even though the respondents came from companies with above-average usability budgets (7% of development budgets were devoted to usability), the cost of using the methods was also a very strong factor in determining use. Other observations were that technology transfer was most successful when methods were taught at the time when people had a specific need for them in their project, and that methods need to have active evangelists to succeed.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (1995). Articles>Education>Usability

The TechOWL: A Resource for Technical Communication Students  

The Online Writing Lab (OWL) has been a popular pedagogical complement to writing labs in university academic environments since the mid-1980s. There is, however, a great deal of similarity among the generic functions of these OWLs. This paper presents a brief summary of the historical background of OWLs, and it offers a description of several different perspectives on a new subspecies of OWL – the TechOWL, which can be designed and implemented specifically for students and practitioners of technical communication. This blueprint for a TechOWL offers several suggestions and guidelines for identifying user communities for TechOWLs, for conducting a thorough needs assessment, for designing specific technical communication features, and for building, maintaining, and evaluating TechOWLs.

Shirk, Henrietta Nickels. STC Proceedings (2002). Articles>Education>Writing>Online

Ten Engineers Reading: Disjunctions Between Preference and Practice in Civil Engineering Faculty Responses    

Previous research has indicated that engineering faculty do not follow best practices when commenting on students' technical writing. However, it is unclear whether the faculty prefer to comment in these ineffective ways, or whether they prefer more effective practices but simply do not enact them. This study adapts a well known study of response in composition to ask whether engineering faculty prefer authoritative, form-focused comments, or whether they may prefer to write different sorts of comments. We asked ten civil engineering faculty to comment on a sample paper and then rank their preferences for provided versions of comments on the same paper. One provided version emphasized comments on content, one emphasized comments on form, and one was balanced. Comparisons of the respondents' preferences and practices suggest that the engineering faculty recognize and value content-focused, non-authoritative responses, but generally do not write comments that conform to these values. We consider the implication of these findings for research on response to technical writing as well as for technical writing faculty in their own course. While recognizing the need for more research, we also discuss ways in which writing professionals, including WAC administrators and technical writing professors, can encourage engineering faculty to enact their preferences for response styles that reflect best practices.

Smith Taylor, Summer and Martha D. Patton. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2006). Articles>Education>Engineering>Writing

Ten Ways to Engage Online Learners  

Online courseware is being simultaneously hailed and criticized by experts and learners. We're succeeding in delivery and accessibility, but failing in interactivity and interest. What makes online courseware work? This article looks at how online course authors engage their audiences. What kinds of interactivity are successful in Web-based courses? This article reviews strategies for pulling learners into scenarios, encouraging experimentation, and using gaming techniques in e-learning. This article also glimpses into the world of m-learning on a handheld device.

Grissino, Ann-Marie and Harman Singh. STC Proceedings (2004). Articles>Education>Online>Assessment

Ten Ways to Improve the Business of Online Education  

Online teachers must follow sound educational practices as they design courses for learners who have different personality types and learning styles. Educators also must develop policies suitable for adult learners. As online education becomes an increasingly competitive business, educators must develop marketable, high-quality programs that meet students’ expectations and set and maintain high academic standards.

Porter, Lynnette R. STC Proceedings (2002). Articles>Education>Online

Test and Exercise Learning: Tests, Quizzes, and Self-Evaluations

Feared by learners, discounted by educational pundits, short-changed by instructional designers, tests are, nevertheless, an essential element of learning. We may call them quizzes, drills, examinations, assessments, competence monitors, or demonstrations of mastery. We may cloak them as games or puzzles. Yet, they remain an essential ingredient for gauging a learner’s progress. Tests, along with other kinds of activities, give learners an opportunity to apply the concepts, skills, and attitudes they have learned. Well designed tests provide a reliable way to measure progress objectively.

Horton, William K. III. William Horton Consulting (2000). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Testing

Testing Visual-Based Modules for Teaching Writing    

A study of novice writers shows that instructional materials about writing that incorporate basic principles of visual design are more effective than those that are primarily verbal. Less-capable writers benefit most from materials that include the extra text-processing cues provided by the visual design. Narrative comments about the instructional materials show that writers are aware of the design elements and appreciate them. Technical communication practitioners, researchers, trainers, and instructors have a large role to play in improving the way writing is taught.

Markel, Mike. Technical Communication Online (1998). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Visual Rhetoric

Thank You, Thank You! Or: How External Reviewers Help Out

Conversations about assessment for technical communication programs often focus on evaluating features internally, through means such as course evaluations and portfolio reviews.

Rehling, Louise. CPTSC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Education>Assessment

The Fallacies of Collaboration: A Critique of Group Work in Technical Communication Pedagogy  

Collaboration through group writing assignments has become an accepted standard activity in most technical communication textbooks and classrooms. Some of the commonly-held fallacies connected with the view of collaboration’s benefits over individual efforts are that it produces better products, creates an equitable distribution of work, and provides greater motivation. It is also erroneously assumed that the success of collaboration depends on the study and effective practice of the principles of group dynamics and that collaborative techniques can accurately simulate “real life” readers and workplace experiences. Further research in group dynamics is required to accurately assess the value of group work in classroom settings.

Shirk, Henrietta Nickels. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Education>Collaboration

The Future of Technical Communication According to Those Who Teach It  

What do those who teach technical communication think about the present state of the field? How do they envision its future? This article answers those and related questions by presenting results from a survey of technical communication teachers in higher education. The Web-delivered survey was administered in 2003 by the author in collaboration with Stephen Bernhardt (University of Delaware). The data we analyzed came from 228 members of the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing (ATTW), almost half of the organization's members. Among the respondents were 185 teaching faculty. These teachers' diverse views about the future of technical communication reflect a fundamental fault line within the academic sphere of our discipline.

Dayton, David. STC Proceedings (2004). Articles>Education>TC

The Professional Email Assignment     

As the semester's first assignment in a first-year writing course, I have used the professional e-mail assignment for several years in both face-to-face (f2f) and virtual classes, and have experienced great success as well as positive feedback from students. I have also shared this assignment with colleagues who have remarked on the value of critically thinking about e-mail since the genre cuts across every class, every discipline, and almost all employment and home situations. The assignment also sets the tone for all of my assignments because it fits within my pedagogical/theoretical framework, incorporating three important principles: community, critical engagement, and application (Digital 231). As with all of my assignments, this one has a theoretical underpinning, is framed by readings, is distributed to students via a written document that itself serves as 'good writing,' provides scaffolding for later assignments, and emphasizes digital literacies that are crucial if students are to be engaged and empowered citizens.

Rife, Martine Courant. NCTE TETYC (2007). Articles>Education>Writing

Review: The Study Technology

A book covering the barriers to study and their handling.

Bruno, Elisabetta. Elisabetta Bruno. Articles>Reviews>Education

The Technical Writing Machine: A Model for Teaching Writers How to Develop Troubleshooting Procedures  

A hypothetical 'technical writing machine' was created as an aid in teaching writers how to develop troubleshooting procedures. Students use a schematic diagram of the 'machine' to determine possible faults and their causes. They learn to consider factors such as reliability and support equipment requirements as they determine a fault isolation strategy and presentation format. The 'machine' eliminates the need for students to have specific system technical knowledge and allows them to concentrate on the techniques of writing troubleshooting procedures.

Moran, Thomas E. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Education>Writing>Technical Writing

The Tie That Binds: Technical Communication in the High School Classroom  

Technical communication instruction prepares high school students for success in the workplace and life-long learning. It prepares the community to compete for business opportunities with an articulate, flexible, and motivated workforce. To succeed for the greatest diversity of students, a techcom curriculum should be an integral part of solutions to larger problems of student reading and language deficits, overpopulated classrooms, inadequate teacher training and administrative support, and limited resources. Innovative teachers use their lesson plans to direct their greatest creative resource--their students--to learning and service to their schools and communities.

Abbott, F. Thomas. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Education>TC

The Virtual Working Environment: A Challenge for Both Educators and Students  

With the increasing use of technological resources such as the Internet and World-wide Web, the concept of the 'virtual campus' where there is little or no face-to-face contact between colleagues is becoming commonplace. Students will be more attractive to potential employers if they are ready for this environment prior to graduation. To prepare students for this challenge, educators must work to ensure technical communication programs remain current with the technology field. Knowledgeable educators and up-to-date programs will produce graduates that are adequately prepared to enter the professional workforce.

Williams, Beth A. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Education>Workplace>Online

Theories, Techniques and Issues in Online Learning

This site describes what online learning is and identifies its major uses; identifies the four major types of online learning; provides an overview of the technology needed to make online learning happen; lists the project issues--that is, management and learning issues--that need to be addressed when developing materials for online learning.

Carliner, Saul. Saul Carliner Studio. Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Online

Theory Meets Practice: Using The Potter Box To Teach Business Communication Ethics  

This paper introduces the Potter Box, a grounded and easy to use method of ethical decisionmaking. The rationale for this technique is seen in the current crisis in business ethics and education in ethical behavior. The Potter Box was developed by Dr. Ralph Potter, Harvard University theologian, grounded in the work of sociologist Talcott Parsons. This device has been used in assessing journalistic and public relations decisions, but can readily be used in the practice and criticism of business communication. The four portions of the Potter Box are explained in terms of eight explicit steps. A case study is presented for use in the classroom.

Backus, Nick and Claire Ferraris. Association for Business Communication (2004). Articles>Education>Communication>Ethics

Theory vs. Practice: the Ongoing Battle  

George Hayhoe calls it the 'gulf between classroom and workplace,' Katherine Staples calls it 'the schism between academic theory and workplace practice,' Bonita Selting calls it the 'schizophrenia of the curriculum' and Carolyn Miller calls it the 'virulent praxis/techne and academic/industry polarities.' The debate immediately struck me when I returned from six years as a technical writer, but is it just a difference of teaching methods, or is it also a question of exclusionary politics, a class issue? In her historical summary, Teresa Kynell notes that technical communication has the ''tag' of vocationalism' and Staples dates it from the early 'conflict between career education and the humanities.' What is the distinction between pure academics and practical learning? Is it that college teachers have a higher social status than workers?

Johnson, Carol Siri. CPTSC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Education>Theory

This Is Not Your Father's Education  

Employees, whether they are hourly workers on a manufacturing line, salaried supervisors, or owners of their own businesses, often need to develop newsletters, make presentations, create WWW Home pages, and communicate via e-mail. Therefore, students enrolled in professional writing courses need to acquire skills in manipulating desktop publishing and presentation software, hypertext and multimedia authoring programs, programs that display numerical data graphically, and programs that integrate graphics onto a Web Home Page. However; the visual displays that the generation raised with Nintendo's Mario Brothers prefer differ from those of the textbooks. They are more glitzy, colorful, and busy.

Boiarsky, Carolyn. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Education>Visual Rhetoric