HCI Education and CHI 98

This year, the CHI conference placed special emphasis on three application domains: education, entertainment, and health care. The education domain included everything from pre-school for children through continuing education for working professionals. HCI education was well-represented, and was the focus of a paper and a panel.

Williams, Marian G. and Andrew Sears. SIGCHI Bulletin (1998). Articles>Education>Human Computer Interaction>Usability

HCI Education: Past, Present and Future?

The roots of HCI came from a number of separate disciplines, including computer graphics, human factors, ergonomics etc. (Hewett et al., 1992). In higher education, HCI was also represented as separate disciplines and sub-disciplines with separate courses or modules within the various disciplines. In contrast, the 1980's began to recognize the multi-disciplinary nature of the field. Conferences such as SIGCHI and books on HCI (e.g. Baecker & Buxton, 1987; Card, Moran & Newell, 1983; Norman, 1988; Shneiderman, 1987) appeared that brought the various disciplines together in new ways.

Gasen, Jean B. SIGCHI Bulletin (1996). Articles>Education>Human Computer Interaction>Usability

HCI Education: Where is it Headed?

As HCI continues to mature as a discipline, we must continue to question the bounds of the field. We must define what is within the realm of HCI and what is not. To begin, we can explore some of the proposed definitions for the discipline.

Sears, Andrew. SIGCHI Bulletin (1997). Articles>Education>Human Computer Interaction>Usability

Here Comes That Song Again: The Theory and Practice Blues  

An issue that continues to affect our strategies for developing undergraduate programs is the old contest between theory and practice, or, as it frequently occurs in technical communication programs, between theory and tools. Should we focus our undergraduate programs on understanding principles of communication in the technical world or should we focus on teaching the tools that are called for in the job ads for technical communicators?

Allen, Nancy J. CPTSC Proceedings (2000). Academic>Education>Undergraduate>Theory

Heuristics for Sustainable Distance Education  

Discusses eight conditions for technological change that can support innovation in educational settings. These conditions, which were first directed toward library contexts and then studied in a variety of education-related contexts, encapsulate the majority of sustainability issues associated with distance education. These eight conditions are not exhaustive, but programs that achieve many of them will probably experience a high degree of sustained success.

Selber, Stuart A. CPTSC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Online

Hither, Thither, and Yon: Process in Putting Courses on the Web      

Educational institutions are employing a variety of processes to support Web-based courses.  In our efforts to help faculty mount such courses, we found it helpful to divide course material into knowledge-based versus skill-based elements, and to develop activities that capitalize on the unique environment of the Web.  In this article, we discuss our successes and failures, and cover some legal issues we discovered that affect how we use both preexisting and student-produced materials.

Thrush, Emily A. and Necie Elizabeth Young. Technical Communication Quarterly (1999). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Online

Homegrown Technical Communicators: Developing a Technical Communication Program for Community Colleges  

How can business address a local shortage of competent technical communicators? Identifying and educating resources available within the community provides one solution. The intent of this paper is to give a brief account of a project that was undertaken jointly by participating businesses and the Dallas Community College System to address a shortage of technical communicators in the immediate area.

Schoemaker, Carlos P. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Education>TC

How Do Students and Practitioners (Actually) Analyze Users?  

This paper reports on some disconnects between best practice teaching principles about user analysis and actual student practice. This research documents the facts of these disconnects and indicates some of their causes. Recommendations for academia and industry are offered. stereotypes to derive a model of audience. To what extent, however, does principle inform practice?

Levine, Barbara J. STC Proceedings (2005). Articles>Education>Audience Analysis

How Document Design Helps English Learners Master Science

Explores how basic, scaffolded technical-writing exercises can help ESL students gain cognitive maturity, practice science literacy, improve their note taking, and use text signals and science idioms more effectively.

Girill, T.R. ACM SIGDOC (2005). Articles>Education>Document Design>Language

How Does the Institutional Home of a Program Affect its Development?  

Having the department of technical communication located within the School of Engineering has a significant impact on the program’s development.

Davis, Marjorie T. CPTSC Proceedings (2000). Academic>Education>Engineering

How Genre Choices Effect Learning in a Digital Environment    

Makes the argument that research into the impact of media on learning often misses the impact of genre choices on learning. The article presents a series of studies that imply that genre choices are more important than media choices.

Hailey, Christine E. and David E. Hailey. Journal of Engineering Educators (2003). Academic>Education>Multimedia>Bandwidth

How Much is Enough? The Assessment of Student Work in Technical Communication Courses    

The information that follows is the text of the web-based survey described in 'How Much is Enough? The Assessment of Student Work in Technical Communication Courses,' TCQ Winter 2003.

Cargile Cook, Kelli. Technical Communication Quarterly (2001). Articles>Education>Assessment

How the Web Is Changing the Role of the Service Course    

The service course is undergoing another change in its role in the Technical Communication program. Over the years, the service course has evolved from a way of providing students with mastery of genre and style to a way of introducing students to their role as communicators in the rhetorical situation. The Web drives the new role evolving out of this solid past. The service course now provides students with a basis for independent creation. Programs must fill four key needs for students entering the job market. Students must: learn to learn; master the processes involved in creating information; learn applications quickly and graduate having mastered several; and understand information design.

Riordan, Dan. CPTSC Proceedings (2001). Articles>Education>Writing>Technical Writing

How to Create Web-Based Training (WBT)  

The market for Web-based Training (WBT) products and services is expected to grow from $197 million in 1997 to $5.5 billion in 2002. Many technical communicators and trainers are already interested in creating WBT, but they do not know how to get started. In this session, I will explain the advantages and disadvantages of WBT, when to consider WBT, who is using it—and why, how much it costs to develop WBT, and design issues to consider. I will also share some WBT examples.

DeLoach, Scott. STC Proceedings (2001). Presentations>Education>Instructional Design>Online

How to Develop and Implement a Usable Training Database  

The results of a Motorola human resources survey revealed an inadequate procedure for selecting training programs pertinent to specific job functions and individual career aspirations. A cross-functional team was formed to remedy the situation within one division. The team selected skill and knowledge criteria for career paths (early, middle, and late) in specific technical disciplines, such as applications engineering, technical communications, applications support, etc. The new training database also includes training, book, and article evaluations that other employees can review. In addition, the database provides access to the Motorola University training catalog and the Motorola technical libraries.

LeVie, Donald S., Jr. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Databases

How to Figure Out Your Learning Style

Learning style refers to your natural preference for having new ideas and information conveyed to you. It does not mean that you can't learn in other ways, only that you have a particular manner that suits you best. When things are not presented in your preferred method, it can become frustrating for both you and your instructor as you struggle to understand concepts which seem to be clearly within your grasp.

OEDb (2007). Articles>Education>Instructional Design

How to Stage a Successful Student Competition  

One of the functions of the Society for Technical Communications (STC) is to promote and encourage the professional development of its members. A student chapter of STC has additional responsibilities; it must also seek to build bridges between the students and the professional community.

Bowman, Michelle L., Leonard B. Jones Ill, Winnifred R. Leonard and Marisa J. Mueller. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Education>Community Building>STC

How We Educate Technical Communicators in the United States

Schools sending a representative to the annual CPTSC meeting have increased over the years from 9 in 1974 to 39 in 1993. Approximately 10 to 12% of the Society for Technical Communication membership identifies itself as being associated with academic programs-- although not all these programs offer certificates or degrees in technical communication.

Warren, Thomas L. TC-FORUM (1998). Articles>Education>TC

HTML Teaching Tool

A collection of 23 HTML tutorials for students of web design.

Webmonkey (2001). Resources>Web Design>Education

Hybrid Classes: Maximizing Resources and Student Learning

Hybrid courses are courses in which significant portions of the learning activities have been moved online, a combination of traditional classroom and Internet instruction. Time traditionally spent in the classroom is reduced but not eliminated. The goal of hybrid courses is to join the best features of in-class teaching with the best features of online learning to promote active independent learning and reduce class seat time. Using computer-based technologies, instructors use the hybrid model to redesign some lecture or lab content into new online learning activities, such as case studies, tutorials, self-testing exercises, simulations, and online group collaborations.

Spilka, Rachel. Durham Technical Community College (2002). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Online

Hypermedia, Multimedia, and Reader Cognition: An Empirical Study    

In this article, we present the results of five tests done in a two-year project examining usability and instructional capabilities of modules developed in hypermedia and multimedia formats. Based on the results of these tests, we reinforce arguments that digitized media may be preferred by learners over traditional media and that learners tend to prefer a graphical user interface metaphor that is personally meaningful over the page metaphor typically used in computer based training. We also reinforce the argument that multimedia does no harm when used to replace more traditional approaches to instruction. On the other hand, we have determined that in some cases hypermedia and hypertext may be counterproductive as instructional media. In brief, we have determined that within the context of this study a majority of students have more difficulty learning in a hypermedia/hypertext environment than in an otherwise identical linear digital environment. In fact, in this study only the very best students were able

Hailey, David E. and Christine E. Hailey. Technical Communication Online (1998). Articles>Education>Multimedia

Hypertext in the Computer-Facilitated Writing Class  

The advent of new print-based communication technologies can facilitate the convergence of composition theory and praxis in the computer-assisted composition classroom.

Eyman, Douglas. Kairos (1996). Articles>Education>Hypertext

Power Tools for Technical Communication Instructors Manual  

A PDF version of the instructors manual for Power Tools.

McMurrey, David A. Illuminati Online (2001). Books>Education>Textbooks

Writing4Practice in Engineering Courses: Implementation and Assessment Approaches      

In this article, we analyze a two-semester effort to integrate writing instruction into a multi-disciplinary sophomore engineering design course in Northern Arizona University’s College of Engineering and Technology. Specifically, we describe the programmatic implementation and assessment approach to evaluate whether student writing improved over the course of the semester. After discussing the reasons for taking a writing-intensive approach to engineering, we analyze the results of a pre- and post-test administered over the span of an academic semester. Although the outcome of our assessment did not show significant improvement, we argue that writing instruction is important for increasing students’ overall learning skills. We conclude by pointing out several benefits and disadvantages of trying to assess writing improvement over two one-semester periods.

Gruber, Sibylle, Debra Larson, David Scott and Melvin Neville. Technical Communication Quarterly (1999). Articles>Education>Engineering