More on Education for Technical Communicators

For most readers of TC-Forum, technical communication is an activity undertaken by dedicated technical communicators, for whom writing, editing, illustrating, or page-making is their chosen vocation. Yet there is also a much larger community for whom technical communication is only a secondary activity, although it remains an essential part of their work.

Blicq, Ronald S. TC-FORUM (1998). Articles>Education>Writing>Technical Writing

Moving from Knowledge-Based to Performance-Centered Learning  

Combining training and documentation departments was the first step in one organization's move to true support for its clients' performance. This paper explores some of the success factors of that move and examines briefly two projects that exemplify how successful performance-centered learning support can be developed.

Hillegas, Julian and Alice Preston. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Education>Instructional Design

Moving Instruction to the Web: Writing as Multi-Tasking      

This study evaluates the effectiveness of presenting Web-based assignments within the technical communication service course. Current research on using the World Wide Web (Web) and Internet as a teaching resource investigates online writing courses, Distance Education (DE), and hypertext authoring. The literature indicates good reasons for moving instruction to the Web, but there is little description of why this migration is needed in terms of the kinds of learning achieved through Web-based writing, nor is there much specific discussion of what type of useful instructional space can be built with the Web. This study is intended to provide support for centering more instruction within the environment of the Web. This article describes a study using a Web site designed for technical communication instruction. It defines the types of learning students experienced when using the site and presents samples of student work representing a wide range of skill development, both traditional and digital, that support moving instruction to the Web in immediately useful ways.

Kramer, Robert and Stephen A. Bernhardt. Technical Communication Quarterly (1999). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Online

Moving to the Public: Weblogs in the Writing Classroom

Given that students have access to the Internet, weblogs can easily replace traditional classroom uses of the private print journal. While weblogs are normally public, free tools such as Blogger can be used for private, expressive writing.

Lowe, Charles and Terra Williams. Into the Blogosphere (2004). Articles>Education>Content Management>Blogging

Mutant Education

Up goes that hand and out pops that dreaded can-opener of a question: 'Why aren't we learning programming in this class?' A litany of responses begins to unfold in my now Prozac-pleading brain: Because it's not graphic design; because it's too specialized; because graphic designers won't be doing it or shouldn't be doing it because they'll end up as hacks if they do it and the profession will go to hell; or because it's another program - maybe even a department-unto itself. I'm feeling queasy. It used to be so simple, so clear: We knew what graphic design was and what it wasn't.

Sandhaus, Louise. AIGA (2004). Articles>Education>Graphic Design

Mutual Support: CAC Programs and Institutional Improvement in Undergraduate Education      

Writing- and communication-across-the-curriculum programs often develop as independent initiatives focused on improving students' writing and/or speaking by incorporating these activities into coursework and helping teachers to use them more effectively in their instruction. However, there is now much anecdotal evidence of the conditions that work against the cultivation of cross-curricular programs: faculty complacency; the weakening of a program's original spirit; reduction or elimination of funding; and the continued avoidance of involvement by some programs, administrators, or faculty (see White).

Anson, Chris, Michael Carter, Deanna P. Dannels and Jon Rust. LLAD (2002). Articles>Education>Writing

NCTE Beliefs about the Teaching of Writing

Just as the nature of and expectation for literacy has changed in the past century and a half, so has the nature of writing. Much of that change has been due to technological developments, from pen and paper, to typewriter, to word processor, to networked computer, to design software capable of composing words, images, and sounds. These developments not only expanded the types of texts that writers produce, they also expanded immediate access to a wider variety of readers. With full recognition that writing is an increasingly multifaceted activity, we offer several principles that should guide effective teaching practice.

NCTE (2004). Articles>Education>Writing

Needle - Haystack + You: How Undergraduates Search and Use the Internet  

This paper considers the current trends in information literacy in higher education and presents some of the results of a survey of in-coming college freshmen that sought to measure their information literacy in the area of Internet use. The twenty-question survey gathered responses from 1,184 students in a total population of 2,345. The data sought to determine students’ patterns of Internet use, their attitudes toward the reliability of information that they found via the Internet, and their competencies in structuring an Internet search and evaluating the data retrieved. The complete results and their implications are still being analyzed. Preliminary data analysis demonstrates that although many students self-report that they are advanced in their Internet expertise, they could benefit from systematic and cumulative information literacy instruction and be tutored in the important difference between research in a traditional library and research on the Internet.

Stern, Caroline M. STC Proceedings (2002). Articles>Education>Search>Online

New Accessible Web Design Program at Northeastern University

Web accessibility is a hot topic, and now there is a brand new place to gain the knowledge and credentials you need to succeed in this increasingly important field. Northeastern University, in Boston, Massachusetts-- already well known for its technical writing program-- is now offering a graduate certificate program in Interactive Design. This new program, one of the first in its kind, focuses specifically on topics surrounding web accessibility and design for interactive media of all kinds.

Gardner, P.J. and Lori Gillen. Usability Interface (2003). Academic>Accessibility>Education

The New Frontier: Conquering the World Wild Web by Mule  

This article offers a close examination of the effects that teaching hypertext markup language (HTML) has on students’ perceptions of class goals in a networked composition classroom. A networked classroom that requires students to send documents using a file transfer protocol (FTP) by command line and view the World Wide Web with a textual browser shifts the emphasis of the class from writing to coding. Helping students to identify a balance between computer technology and writing goals becomes essential to a successful classroom.

Gresham, Morgan. Computers and Composition (2000). Articles>Education>Computers and Writing

Notes Toward a Socially Informed Pedagogy for Computer Documentation    

This article extends Johnson-Eilola's main argument and then, using a thought experiment, examines an extended example of its implications. The experiment follows a student who learns how to produce technical communication artifacts following the philosophy that informs most technical communication classes and that leads to production of the functional but not conceptual systems Johnson-Eilola critiques. The article concludes by recommending changes in overall curricula and in individual courses that would better educate communicators to account for the social implications of their work

Selber, Stuart A. Journal of Computer Documentation (2002). Articles>Education>Documentation

Nurture Your Inner Expert  

Teich, STC's second vice president, advises technical communicators to develop in their professions by continuously setting goals and pursuing knowledge.

Teich, Thea. Intercom (2002). Careers>Education>Continuing

“Observable Objects”: Assessing a Study of Instructors’ Grading

We asked TAs who were using a common assignment sequence to turn in student papers responding to a prompt which asked for the analysis of information in a piece by Clifford Geertz.  We invited departmental instructors to read four unmarked papers and to grade them using the citeria for evaluation that had been given to the students and used by their instructors. These criteria were customized for the assignment from a one-page list of course criteria, not unlike the “outcomes” document recently published by the WPA.  Our idea was simply to see the grading by TAs, lecturers and tenured faculty.   We put the grades on a chart, which showed that there was not perfect consistency of grading for any one paper.  Some were very close, but some papers received a wide array of grades.  The departmental review took place just after we had collected these data, and we shared with the reviewers this interpretive but uninterpreted document.

Quandahl, Ellen. Lore (2001). Articles>Education>Assessment

Of Gurus and Godfathers: Learning Design in the Networked Age

Educators in a school of architectural design and researchers in a school of education explore the design of learning and the learning of design in this networked age. Their discussion revolves around a course on computer-aided design and the introduction and use of Eventspaces, an experimental, online 'neighborhood' for the students in the course. The conversation reveals how frameworks oriented towards improving educational practice—in this instance, a set of concepts known as Teaching for Understanding—hold the potential of offering a common language to probe the impact of innovation and point the way towards redesign. It also shows how reference to more than one framework may be essential to explore fully new arenas of educational practice.

Spicer, David Eddy and Jef Huang. Education Communication and Information (2003). Articles>Education>Design

"Oh that wonderful stuff": Selected Poetry by College and Middle School Students    

When students use poetry to imagine and explore academic subjects, they examine the topic in new, creative ways, resulting in interesting and lively writings that stimulate thought and class discussions. The following poems are examples of student poetry written in a variety of classes throughout the curriculum. I am pleased to showcase student writing in this section, and I hope reading these poems will suggest possibilities and adaptations for teachers and students elsewhere.

Apostel, Shawn. LLAD (2002). Articles>Writing>Education

Old Dogs, New Tricks

What if we could offer a course or two on usability, on thinking like a user, on design thinking, on the user-centered design process?

Sampson, Fred. Usability Professionals Association (2007). Articles>Usability>Education

On Becoming a Web Site  

The course Web site is a critical mediator between the instructor and students in online classes. This requires a shift in how instructors think of their presence and influence on the classroom. This essay, based on the author’s personal experience in designing and teaching online, argues that the design of the course Web site needs to carefully reflect the passions and pedagogical philosophy that drive the instructor. It is also an argument against one–size–fits–all approaches to online course design as instantiated in most course management systems.

Mishra, Punya. First Monday (2005). Articles>Education>Online

On Teaching Technical/Business Writing

Whether one teaches business communication or technical writing (or some amalgam of the two), the first statements an instructor makes in class should be to apprise students that the course upon which they are embarking is but a specialty within a larger field of writing, that their courses in English composition, philosophy and survey of literature (and the papers written for those courses) will all apply to the specialized communication field they now must address.

Wyld, Lionel D. Boston Broadside (1992). Articles>Education>Writing>Technical Writing

One Department for All? Revising a Technical Communication Program through Interdisciplinary Collaboration  

As faculty and administrators responsible for program implementation continue to explain to each other how engineers, computer programmers, business managers, and technical communicators view the world, I hope that a new and genuinely collaborative, interdisciplinary program will emerge. The resulting opportunities for students will--I hope--be worth the trouble.

Ecker, Pamela S. CPTSC Proceedings (2000). Academic>Education>WPA

An Online Approach to Teaching International Outsourcing in Technical Communication Classes    

The growth of international online access has given rise to a new production method--international outsourcing--that has important implications for technical communication practices. Successful interactions within international outsourcing require individuals to understand how cultural factors could affect online interactions. Today's technical communication students therefore need to understand how factors of culture and media could affect the success with which they operate in international outsourcing activities. This article provides technical communication instructors with a series of Web-based exercises they can use to familiarize students with different aspects that can affect intercultural online interactions. It also provides a series of online resources students can use to enhance their understanding of cross-cultural communication in cyberspace.

St. Amant, Kirk R. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2005). Articles>TC>Outsourcing>Education

Online Documentation in Reference-Based Instruction: A Practical Model for Integrating Help Systems Into Product Training    

Companies can improve customer satisfaction while reducing training time and product support costs by integrating online documentation with product training. Online documentation can be designed to be not only the reference at the point of use but also the primary instructional medium used during training. This use of the online documentation during training increases user acceptance of it and helps develop the required skills for its use. This expanded role for online documentation provides new opportunities for technical communicators to add value to their roles within their companies. This article defines reference-based instruction and outlines its benefits. It describes how reference-based instruction can be incorporated into an instructional system design (ISD) and provides specific examples of learning objectives and student exercises. It lists guidelines for how to structure usability tests for Help systems, and finally, it advises how technical communicators can use reference-based instruction to ex

Hughes, Michael A. Technical Communication Online (1997). Articles>Documentation>Instructional Design>Education

Review: Online Education

A collection of reviews of writings about online education.

Mantex (2002). Resources>Reviews>Education>Online

Online Education Horror Stories Worthy of Halloween: A Short List of Problems and Solutions in Online Instruction    

This article examines many surprising problems that arise in the process of distance education using the Internet and describes ways in which instructors and administrators can solve these problems. The information in the article is based largely on the experience of educators at Utah State University who have been exploring distance education for the past six years by teaching a wide range of online courses via the Internet. As a result of this varied online teaching, we have encountered a broad spectrum of challenges to which we have tried to respond and from which we have tried to learn. The solutions described are generalizable to other programs using online delivery for instruction.

Hailey, David E., Keith Grant-Davie, Christine A. Hult. Computers and Composition (2001). Articles>Education>Online>Collaboration

Online Ins and Outs: How E-learning Works

Online classrooms are the way of the future, and rather than discussing the benefits and drawbacks of e-learning, let’s look at how e-learning works on two of the top e-learning environments running today.

Haugh, Donald. Techniques (2003). Articles>Education>Online

Online Learning in China

Online learning, a new phenomenon in Chinese education, is developing at an unimaginable pace. According to China Internet Information Center’s (CNNIC) survey in June this year, there were 68,000,000 Internet users. Statistics also show that there were 59,100,000 more users compared with the first half of the year. Eighty-four percent of the users were between 18 to 40 years old, the ages for continuing education (China Internet Network Information, 2003). The survey indicated that taking online courses is one of the most important purposes of the users. The development of online learning in China has three tendencies: student-centeredness, more involvement in the nation’s education system, and collaborative effort by prestigious universities.

Dong, Qiumin. Techniques (2003). Articles>Education>Online>China