#30143
Analysis of Virtual Classroom Environments: Survey of Classroom Dynamics in RSVP Courses 
Students can earn Master's degrees or continuing education certificates by at tending courses offered live satellite or compressed video or on videotape for delayed viewing. This panel discussion evaluates the effects of the various forms of technology and modes of interaction on the classroom dynamics in a live satellite class offered by Rensselaer Polytechnic institute (RPI).
Brunner, Kirsten, Roger A. Grice, David F: Hans, Teresa L. Hood and Leo J. Smith. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Education>Online
#10145
Anthropology and International Education via the Internet 
Tomoko Hamada and Kathleen Scott describe a collaborative classroom experience between students at the College of William and Mary and at Keio University, looking at the pros and cons of this international experiment. Their research helps to assess that collaboration, and draw conclusions that can be useful in understanding how people use technology to communicate, and how cultural differences affect that communication.
Hamada, Tomoko and Kathleen Scott. Journal of Electronic Publishing (2000). Articles>Education>Online>International
#10757
A brief overview of evolutionary theory and its application to knowledge and learning in the theory of memetics is presented. The knowledge and learning structures that exist within a modern company are examined and significant failures within them are identified. It is concluded that harnessing and exploiting evolutionary learning can resolve many of these failures. Evolutionary learning is a natural precursor for the transition from training to performance support. For this transition to happen successfully it is necessary that the right corporate culture and knowledge infrastructure are present.
O'Gorman, Adam. EPSS (2001). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Online
#14798
Applying Audience Invoked Models to Instructional Design Methods
You should know what appeals to and motivates your audience before you approach them with a suggestion for action. The same point is also true for writers. The writer must have a good idea of who the audience is and what motivates them in order to create arguments that will convince his or her audience to not only to read the text, but also to behave in the desired fashion after they have read the text.
Cleman, Kelly A. Orange Journal, The (2001). Articles>Education>Instructional Design
#14988
Approximately "Real World" Learning with the Hybrid Model
Most workplace professionals write documents in a fairly mature way. They typically write: Independently or with collaborators, without direct or constant supervision; With frequent interaction with team members at remote locations, and not just with those at their own division or company; With computers and other electronic equipment; and With the freedom to make important decisions about project and time management, such as determining when and how to interact with others, how to collaborate with irresponsible writing partners, how to resolve unexpected problems that arise, and how to meet deadlines despite mishaps and obstacles. How can instructors of business and professional writing prepare students for the relative freedom and independence of this kind of thinking and writing?
Spilka, Rachel. Teaching With Technology Today (2002). Articles>Education>Writing>Workplace
#25432
Web logs (also called 'weblogs' or 'blogs') are frequently updated website commentaries, short or long, organized chronically and sometimes include the blogger’s personal life.
Berger, Pam. Scarsdale Schools (2004). Articles>Writing>Education>Blogging
#29028
Aristotelian Rhetorical Theory as a Framework for Teaching Scientific and Technical Communication 
Classical rhetorical theory has been used for relatively discrete, practice-oriented purposes in its application to teaching Scientific and Technical Communication. However effective these appropriations are, they isolate these resources from a comprehensive framework and from that framework's role in shaping disciplinary practice. Because these theoretical assets are integral to each student's preparation to be an effective, responsible practitioner, I have developed and taught an upper level rhetorical theory course for STC majors that is grounded in Aristotle s <em>On Rhetoric</em> and in his understanding that effective communication is a systematic <em>tekhne</em>/art.
Newman, Sara. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (1999). Articles>Education>TC>Rhetoric
#23885
As It Was in the Beginning: Distance Education and Technology Past, Present, and Future
As DE courses are being developed and carried out by an unprecedented number of university-level educators, it is time to reexamine the long history of DE in hopes of better understanding the ways in which seemingly revolutionary developments such as virtual classroom and e-mail collaborations have more in common conceptually with early iterations of DE than might be supposed.
Fishman, T. Kairos (2002). Articles>Education>Online
#18477
As It Was in the Beginning: Distance Education and Technology Past, Present, and Future
Many features of present-day Distance Education (DE) writing instruction would have been inconceivable when DE was first undertaken: On-demand instruction, nearly instantaneous content delivery, and virtual classrooms capable of facilitating real-time conversations between students on different continents about events that may have taken place only minutes ago, a half a world away. All of these things would have seemed as unlikely to early DE practitioners as holding classes on the moon, yet the many of the primary issues and concerns of twenty-first century DE, particularly with respect to the significance and effects of technology, have persisted throughout the many years of its existence. Now, as DE courses are being developed and carried out by an unprecedented number of university-level educators, it is time to reexamine the long history of DE in hopes of better understanding the ways in which seemingly revolutionary developments such as virtual classroom and e-mail collaborations have more in common conceptually with early iterations of DE than might be supposed. This work represents an attempt to identify some of those commonalities, with respect to both the ways in which DE technology has functioned in particular historical contexts and to their significance to the field of DE in a more global sense. It is hoped that through such investigations we will become better able to shape DE courses so as to take advantage of the functionalities of new technologies without losing the benefits of DE that have traditionally drawn students and teachers to it.
Fishman, T. Kairos (2003). Articles>Education>Online>History
#24200
Students learn by actively interacting with the material, and by interacting with each other along the way.
Doumont, Jean-luc. Intercom (2004). Articles>Education>Instructional Design
#30698
As college instructors endeavor to integrate technology into their classrooms, the crucial question is, 'How does this integration affect learning?' This article reports an assessment of a series of online modules the author designed and piloted for a business communication course that she presented in a hybrid format (a combination of computer classroom sessions and independent online work). The modules allowed the author to use classroom time for observation of and individualized attention to the composing process. Although anecdotal evidence suggested that this system was highly effective, other assessment tools provided varying results. An anonymous survey of the students who took this course confirmed that the modules were effective in teaching important concepts; however, a blind review of student work produced mixed results.
Katz, Susan M. Journal of Business and Technical Communication (2008). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Online
#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
#10259
The Association for Educational Communications and Technology
The mission of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology is to provide leadership in educational communications and technology by linking professionals holding a common interest in the use of educational technology and its application to the learning process.
#10195
The Association of Teachers of Technical Writing
The Association of Teachers of Technical Writing was formed in 1973 to encourage dialogue among teachers of technical communication and to develop technical communication as an academic discipline. ATTW today has approximately 1,000 members and includes both graduate and undergraduate students of technical communication as well as professional technical communicators in business and industry.
#24796
Assumptions About Technical Communication Programs
Survey data indicate that current academic programs in technical communication exhibit more differences than similarities in requirements, student support, faculty, schedule, and student support. Moreover, current programs are vigorous, continue to increase, and exhibit three primary needs: increased budgets, more new faculty, and increased involvement with industry.
Rainey, Kenneth T. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Education>TC
#31814
This case study documents how two business school professors worked together to design and implement a process for uniformly assessing learning outcomes across all sections of a managerial communication course. The study demonstrates and provides examples of the answers to the five questions in the school’s assurance of learning process model. The study also provides prescriptive tips for administrators and instructors on how to avoid the typical pitfalls of implementing an assurance of learning process.
May, Gary L. and Michael Tidwell. Association for Business Communication (2008). Articles>Education>Business Communication
#10196
#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.
#10144
The Authority of Experience: Assessing the Use of Information Technology in the Classroom
It is a truism to say that the Internet has made many kinds of information more easily accessible to more people, but scholars in many fields are still trying to figure out how to deal with the consequences. Not only are professionals losing their monopoly over specialized knowledge, but the Internet also allows information to be distributed more widely and allows different kinds of information to flourish. On the Internet as a whole traditional forms of scientific knowledge are not privileged over individuals' reports of their own experience. Professionals often fight back against this trend.
Mack, Pamela E. and Gail Delicio. Journal of Electronic Publishing (2000). Articles>Education>Online
#14653
Back to School: Convincing the Boss
Becker discusses how to convince skeptical bosses that allowing technical communicators to enroll in continuing education classes will benefit the entire company.
Becker, Lynn A. Intercom (2000). Articles>Education
#22864
Balancing the Elements in Job Aid Design
Job Aids offer the Technical Communicator a unique opportunity to present acquired product knowledge in a creative format. In order to produce a successful job aid, you must select and blend elements of material, color, graphics, text, typography, and ergonomics in a manner that will be most useful to the intended user. The information for the Job Aid is culled from the larger project deliverables such as User Manuals or Procedure Guides; the creativity for the Job Aid comes from within and is driven by the needs of the user and the limitations of time, money, and environment.
Houterman, John and Kristine E. Henriksen. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Education>Tutorials
#10110
The Bedford Bibliography for Teachers of Writing
We hope that this online version of The Bedford Bibliography for Teachers of Writing will be an efficient reference tool. In the future, we will be able to update the online version more frequently. Moreover, we will provide direct links when possible between bibliographic entries and online versions of the resources themselves. Note that we include annotated listings for six online journals. To go directly to the World Wide Web page for one of these journals, simply click on the highlighted address (URL) given immediately after its title.
Bizzell, Patricia, Bruce Herzberg and Nedra Reynolds. Bedford-St. Martin's (2003). Resources>Bibliographies>Education>Writing
#23377
A Behavioral Framework for Assessing Graduate Technical Communication Programs
Behavioral science, with its emphasis on association, reliability, and validity provides a promising set of models upon which to enhance further work in scientific and technical communication. Our proposed model is based on the five independent variables that, when constructed validly and measured reliably, may be associated with effective programs in technical and scientific communication.
Coppola, Nancy W. and Norbert Elliott. CPTSC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Education>Assessment
#20969
When she learned that I would be teaching a course in her department, the department secretary made a mailbox for me and made sure that I received a copy of every memo and announcement distributed to the rest of the faculty. Other part-time faculty appreciated this service, so it became a part of the secretary's standard operating procedures. But I never received the mail because the mailbox was in Crookston, Minnesota and I taught the course by instructional television (ITV) from St. Paul, Minnesota, approximately 350 miles away.
Carliner, Saul. Saul Carliner Studio (2003). Articles>Education>Online>Collaboration
#30714
Beyond Google: How Do Students Conduct Academic Research?
This paper reports findings from an exploratory study about how students majoring in humanities and social sciences use the Internet and library resources for research. Using student discussion groups, content analysis, and a student survey, our results suggest students may not be as reliant on public Internet sites as previous research has reported. Instead, students in our study used a hybrid approach for conducting course-related research. A majority of students leveraged both online and offline sources to overcome challenges with finding, selecting, and evaluating resources and gauging professors' expectations for quality research.
Head, Alison J. First Monday (2007). Articles>Education>Research>Online
