#21513
Collaboration Via Desktop Videoconferencing: Implications for Technical Communication 
From our case studies of technical communication college students collaborating via desktop videoconferencing (DTV) with high school students, we learned that DTV requires that collaborators manage a great deal more than text on a computer screen. Collaborators reliant on viewing computers as conveyors of text alone must learn new strategies for connecting interpersonally with people viewed on screen. Collaborators must macro-manage technology while they micro-manage dialogue about writing.
Duin, Ann Hill, Linda A. Jorn and Lisa Mason. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Collaboration>TC>Online
#18829
Computer-Mediated Communication as a Component of Technical Communication Education
Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) involves the application of compute r- based tools to transfer information among people over computer networks. CMC is becoming more prevalent with the rapid growth of the global network of networks known as the Internet. Because of this growth, the ability to communicate using CMC on the Internet is an important part of technical communication education. Communicating effectively using CMC involves appreciating the technical, social, and psychological factors of network use; gaining competence in using tools for Network Information Retrieval (NIR); and understanding how to communicate in CMC forums by analyzing audience, distribution medium, access methods, information-sharing practices, and social context. The rapid growth of computer and information technologies worldwide and their potential for advancing the functions of scientific and technical communication dramatizes the need for technical communicators who are competent in Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC). In this paper, I first describe CMC as a means of communicant ion on the Internet. Then, I review reasons for teaching CMC as a part of technical communication education. Finally, I outline a skill set for CMC.
December, John A. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Education>TC>Online
#18288
Digital Reference: An Overview 
Digital reference refers to a network of expertise, human intermediation and resources placed at the disposal of users in an online environment. It employs automated tools wherever possible, allowing human experts to concentrate on 'hard questions'. But human expertise is expensive and hard to find. Automated tools are less expensive to incorporate into online services and sites, allowing digital libraries to use tools that were, until recently, the province of a small cadre of people.
Silverstein, Joanne. D-Lib Magazine (2003). Articles>TC>Online
#14767
Finding What You Want on the Web
Fugate reviews a number of Web sites, search engines, and databases that self-employed technical communicators could use to track down information.
Fugate, Alice E. Intercom (2002). Articles>TC>Online
#20335
How to Provide Internet Communication Services
A new role for technical communicators is providing internet communication services such as web, FTP, and email. These services can enhance communication and collaboration, thereby increasing the quality of our organization and products.
King, Dusty. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>TC>Online
#30775
The Impact of Social Media on Technical Communication
In this podcast, I talk with Bill Albing, founder of KeyContent.org, about the impact of social media on technical communication. Bill talks about different ways social media helps audiences interconnect and interact. Good social media technologies enable professionals to collaborate easily, without being encumbered by complicated technology or even burdened by managing and filtering feeds. Bill explains that the web is more than just a venue for publication -- it's a medium that allows people to interconnect and work/collaborate with information. This is the direction we're moving towards, and technical communicators are starting to integrate social media, such as user forums, directly into their help.
Albing, Bill and Tom H. Johnson. Tech Writer Voices (2008). Articles>TC>Community Building>Online
#29219
Technical communication practices have been changed dramatically by the increasingly ubiquitous nature of digital technologies. Yet, while those who work in the profession have been living through this dramatic change, our academic discipline has been moving at a slower pace, at times appearing quite unsure about how to proceed. This article focuses on the following three areas of opportunity for change in our discipline in relation to digital technologies: access and expectations, scholarship and community building, and accountability and partnering.
Gurak, Laura J. and Ann Hill Duin. Technical Communication Quarterly (2004). Articles>TC>Multimedia>Online
#30263
Looking Toward the Electronic Future in the Classroom
The electronic tools available in the technical communication classroom have increased in number and sophistication over the last decade. Our three panelists examine the implications to the classroom of virtual reality, E-mail, and 'the information superhighway.'
Glover, Kyle S. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Education>TC>Online
#28767
Online Communities, Member Maps, Virtual Chats, Sparkpeople, Intercom, and More
In this podcast, Heidi and Tom talk about online communities, member maps, virtual chats, Sparkpeople, Intercom, and more.
Johnson, Tom H. and Heidi Hansen. Tech Writer Voices (2007). Articles>TC>Community Building>Online
#31358
Online Teaching Opportunities for Technical Communicators
Supplement your income and provide students with real-world knowledge and experience. Learn what kinds of online teaching opportunities are out there for technical communicators.
Petit, Angela. Intercom (2008). Articles>Education>TC>Online
#21509
Current focus on creating a National Information Infrastructure by increasing the capacity of the Internet computer network will have direct implications for companies who produce technical products and services. More and more organizations are already using the Internet to talk with customers, assess user needs, and provide product information. Yet corporations may not be familiar with the communication style of computer networks. A protest in 1990 over a Lotus Development Corporation product illustrates how the traditional fact-driven corporate communication style might clash with the more emotional and informal style often assumed on computer networks.
Gurak, Laura J. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Technology>TC>Online
#29148
The author has taught a distance education version of the undergraduate technical communication service course at Boise State University since 1997 and shares the strategies he has found to decrease the time instructors spend teaching online, thereby enabling them to use the time they do have to enhance their students' online experience. These strategies are distributed among four areas: management of collaboration, presentation of course material, grading, and interaction with students. For each one, the author presents the problems that may occur and approaches to resolving them. The article addresses a number of concerns expressed in the scholarly literature on distance education and is informed by surveys given to five sections of the author's course taught between 2001 and 2003. Interspersed through the article is an overview of some of the current research and commentary on distance education of particular interest to those teaching the technical communication service course via the Internet.
Battalio, John T. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2006). Articles>TC>Education>Online
#10302
Technical Communication in Cyberspace
This introduction to a special issue of Technical Communication focuses on how the profession is functioning in cyberspace. It represents a range of topics: teaching about the Internet and via the Internet; working within organizational constraints; thinking rhetorically when creating a Web page; and remembering the international issues inherent in using the Internet. The technology, as this special issue illustrates, has great potential, and we should keep our eyes open for the possibilities and promises of teaching and practicing technical communication in cyberspace.
Gurak, Laura J. and Christine M. Silker. Technical Communication Online (1996). Articles>TC>Online
#18289
The Technological Challenges of Digital Reference
Much has been written about the various tools for digital reference, technical issues associated with their implementation, and the potential for these tools to reach new patrons. In this article, the author focuses on the need to understand the technical environment within which digital reference occurs, from issues of patron definition and access, to the role of cooperative relationships and networks in meeting the shared needs of librarians and patrons. The author provides an overview of today's reference environment along with data and practical examples from services like QuestionPoint™, the Library of Congress, and Ask Joan of Art® to demonstrate the importance and effect understanding audiences, appropriately using technology, and working cooperatively can have for libraries in digital reference.
Penka, Jeffrey T. D-Lib Magazine (2003). Articles>TC>Online
#28575
Web technologies have changed the whole scenario of information generation, processing, and dissemination. Web resources have become the wave of the future. They have become, in the online world, an attempt to harness the power of the computer. Web resources have opened new vistas and opportunities to extend the reach of messages via novel and exciting channels and modes of communication. Almost all printed documents are now available online.
Gul, Sumeer. International Journal for Technical Communication (2007). Articles>TC>eBooks>Online
#30616
What Technical Communicators Need to Know About Artificial Inteligence and Expert Systems
Controversies characterize the study of artificial intelligence and expert systems. The varying opinions range from differences in defining these terms to arguments about their actual effectiveness when applied to practical problems. Technical communicators need to understand the different views on artificial intelligence, the types of expert systems currently available, and what the future impact of expert systems will be on technical communication in general, As a type of artificial intelligence, expert computer systems provide a technological solution to the problem of communicating specialized information and knowledge within business, technological, and scientific organizations. The computer can not only be a place to store large bodies of information, but it can also be programmed to interact with users as they attempt to apply this stored knowledge to specific problem-solving situations.
Shirk, Henrietta Nickels. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>TC>Online>Help
#33562
Technical communication practices have been changed dramatically by the increasingly ubiquitous nature of digital technologies. Yet, while those who work in the profession have been living through this dramatic change, our academic discipline has been moving at a slower pace, at times appearing quite unsure about how to proceed. This article focuses on the following three areas of opportunity for change in our discipline in relation to digital technologies: access and expectations, scholarship and community building, and accountability and partnering.
Gurak, Laura J. and Ann Hill Duin. Technical Communication Quarterly (2004). Articles>TC>Research>Online
