#14854
Technical Communication Practices
LCC 3401 provides information regarding the principles and concepts of technical communication and creates opportunities for students to practice technical communication skills in developing proposals, analytical reports, and related oral presentations. The course integrates information delivery through an interactive website with activities in production classrooms containing 25 students. Students will work with students in Russia and locally at Georgia Tech in interactive Internet environments to develop materials, gather responses, and engage in critical analyses while pursuing collaborative analytic projects.
Herrington, TyAnna K. Georgia Institute of Technology (2001). Academic>Courses>Undergraduate
#14904
Technical Communications Online
The course emphasizes practical knowledge of technical communications techniques, procedures, and reporting formats used in business and industry. Topics include methods of describing devices and processes, as well as the proper use of standards manuals, guides, specifications, and interpretations of data in report format.
Angelo, Caroline. Athens Technical College. Academic>Courses>Undergraduate>Technical Writing
#14124
Principles and practices of editing technical and scientific documents. Overview of the editing process; defining the editor's rules and responsibilities, revising at structural and sentence levels, and addressing stylistic conventions of technical fields. Application to technical and scientific documents such as reports, proposals, and user manuals. Students will learn to recognize and articulate specific problem areas in technical documents. Students will practice identifying and discussing differences between strong and weak technical documents. Students will revise technical documents at macro- and micro- levels of editing. Students will gain strategies for communicating effective and constructive criticism.
Grossenbacher, Laura. University of Wisconsin. Academic>Courses>Undergraduate>Technical Editing
#20711
A brief overview of the field of technical writing, including techniques and strategies of effective writing, and of conventions used in documents such as letters, memos, proposals, abstracts and reports. One lecture hour a week for one semester.
#15011
Course goals: to prepare you to communicate effectively, ethically, responsibly, and professionally in a business environment; to provide you with skills, strategies, and conceptual knowledge to help you address a variety of communication tasks; to help you understand the symbiotic relationships among form and content, and audience and purpose; and to give you practice in collaborating with other professionals in managing and completing group projects, and to improve your own individual communication and management skills.
Tovey, Janice. East Carolina University (2002). Academic>Courses>Graduate>Technical Writing
#14906
English 2309, Technical Writing, will introduce you to some of the types of documents that you will be likely to write in your careers. We will study audience-centered writing and writing as a series of recursive steps through which a writer moves in preparing a final draft. The students in this section will participate in the Texas Tech University Computer-Based Research Project by meeting class in the Macintosh Computer Classroom located in the English building (324A). The course will be VAX-based, but students do not need any prior knowledge of computers or computer skills. Because the course is computer-based, students will have to find time outside of class to work on a computer.
Hanson, Amy. Texas Tech University (1997). Academic>Courses>Undergraduate>Technical Writing
#14899
ENGL 202C, Technical Writing, serves students who are preparing for careers in the sciences and applied sciences (particularly engineering). This advanced course in writing familiarizes students with the discourse practices prized in their disciplinary and institutional communities—and helps them to manage those practices effectively in their own written work. In this way the course teaches those writing strategies and tactics that scientists and engineers will need in order to write successfully on the job.
Jones, Billie J. Pennsylvania State University (2002). Academic>Courses>Undergraduate>Technical Writing
#14851
This course offers an overview of the field of technical communication and provides practice in the composition of traditional technical writing forms, especially letters and memorandums, interim reports, feasibility studies and formal proposals.
University of Massachusetts (2001). Academic>Courses>Undergraduate>Technical Writing
#23618
Among the many effects of computer technology are dramatic changes in the ways we produce and disseminate written texts. These changes affect everyday uses of writing, in the classroom and the workplace, as well as the professions that focus on written language—print journalism, technical communication, and other areas of publishing and the media. New technologies affect the ways we read and permit new ways of manipulating and linking the written word.
Miller, Carolyn R. North Carolina State University (2002). Academic>Courses>Undergraduate
#14571
Theoretical Approaches to Technical Communication: Ethics
This course will teach students to: * investigate various definitions and philosophies of ethics pertinent to the field of technical communication. * examine the nature and scope of ethical dilemmas in technical communication. * determine possible solutions to the ethical problems encountered by technical communicators. * explain the applicability of theories of ethics to the field of technical communication.
Dragga, Sam. Texas Tech University (2000). Academic>Courses>Graduate
#13906
Theoretical Dimensions of Technical Communication
This graduate course studies theoretical constructs and issues that inform all technical communication. Inherently a multi-disciplinary activity, tech comm draws on theories from fields as different as rhetoric and science, psychology and philosophy, sociology and linguistics. This term we will focus specifically on rhetoric, on the relationships between author, text and reader, and on philosophies of science and language. The purpose of this seminar is to explore relevant theories in sufficient depth and detail to do justice to their complexity, and, at the same time to examine their applicability to technical communication. Students will be expected to comprehend and challenge these theories on their own terms as well as to understand their value for the interpretation and transfer of technical information. Such understanding is crucial to intelligent decisions in professional practice; it allows the technical communicator to look beyond surface issues and see the essential problems and possible solutions. Theoretical knowledge of the field distinguishes the professional from the practitioner.
Sauer, Geoffrey. University of Washington-Seattle (2002). Academic>Courses>Graduate>Rhetoric
#14049
Theory and Practice of Technical Communication
The aim, or purpose, of this course is to prepare you for a variety of job-related writing tasks. Success in technical writing, however, requires that you first know for whom you are writing and why. Consequently, this course will stress audience awareness and purpose in written communication. The course will also help you select the appropriate materials for a writing assignment and arrange the material in a logical and appropriate sequence. Additionally, you will learn to evaluate your products (and those of others) before submitting them for approval. In other words, you will develop your writing processes, much as you are developing other problem-solving tools necessary for success in your career. You will learn to anticipate the needs of your audience, to select materials and their arrangement to best meet those needs, to prepare the final product, and to analyze and revise until you achieve professional-quality work ready for submission to your audience.
Applen, J.D. University of Central Florida. Academic>Courses>Undergraduate>Technical Writing
#19071
Thoughts on Designing a Master's Certificate Program 
Despite the success of internship components, however, a common complaint from industry professionals still exists: that students still don't know how to write. Part of this complaint could be explained by specific industry practices for which students still need to be trained. Another part could rest in the need for more research about industry contexts. Still another, and probably the most likely, is the perceived differences in academe and industry expectations for theoretical components of curricula. Academics assume that industry professionals seek practical skills dealing with 'correctness' in language (e.g., grammar, spelling, punctuation) at the expense of theory; while industry professionals assume academics seek more conceptual components (e.g., philosophy) at the expense of practice. I think both parties are asking for the same thing: they seek students/employees who can develop an understanding of the how and the why of their work (Miller, 1979); that is, students who possess productive knowledge about a particular craft. In other words, they exemplify a techne (Atwill). In classical rhetoric, techne is associated with the 'knowledge of arts and crafts associated with the making of things' (Johnson, 1998, p. 51). In Technical Communication, one way to think of techne is through genre knowledge, that is, knowing which form suits a particular situation and why.
Bridgeford, Tracy. CPTSC Proceedings (2000). Academic>Education>Graduate
#19084
This paper discusses the phenomenon of a sense of timing as a sense of timely design and of timing as active response to unfolding demands as the key elements in making any program effective and durable. Indeed, I claim that timing is everything. Auburn's extended experience developing a new, high-profile Master's degree out of beginnings as a low-profile adjunct to a deeply conservative 'Great Books' English department has shown this clearly. Across the chronological stretch of a decade occupied with paying close attention to program elements, not only was effort required for time-keeping, or chronos, to establish and stabilize program elements, but a strong sense of timing, or kairos was also needed to meet and adjust to shifts in academic, political and industrial climates in and around the program. Rather than following a model or sticking to a set design, our decade of experience in transforming a 'concentration' program primarily serving undergraduates to a fully professional Master's degree has been a decade of improving our sense of timing.
Hundleby, Margaret N. CPTSC Proceedings (2000). Academic>Education>Graduate
#13970
Training Technical Communication Teachers in English Graduate Courses
In the mid 1970's, the bleak employment outlook for English Ph.D.'s and the increasing demand for writing teachers, particularly technical writing teachers, lead our department to develop a rhetoric and composition component within our traditional English graduate program. One of the courses developed for the graduate rhetoric program was Analysis of Technical Writing. When it was designed, the course had three goals: (1) to provide study in the rapidly growing area of applied rhetoric; 2) to provide training necessary for English doctoral students to begin teaching a basic course in business and technical writing on the junior or senior college level; and (3) to enhance the employability of these graduate students by preparing them to teach sections of our basic technical writing course while they were completing their graduate work. The department believed that providing interested students an opportunity to gain experience in teaching technical writing would give our graduate students a definite advantage in applying for college teaching positions.
Tebeaux, Elizabeth. JAC (1988). Articles>Education>Graduate
#19530
Usability Studies and Human Factors
This course focuses on two interrelated subjects of importance to the field of professional communication: human factors and structured user research. Class readings, discussions, and projects will provide you with opportunities to build on your existing knowledge about professional communication and how knowledge about human factors and user research can enhance your work. We will examine strategies for user interfaces in a variety of contexts, including both online and print publications.
Zachry, Mark. Utah State University (2003). Academic>Courses>Graduate>Usability
#22811
This course focuses on articulating rhetorical opportunities present in the visual turn; the role of perceptual processes, time, movement, and memory in the act of seeing; the interanimation of the verbal and the visual in representation; the circumstances of visual culture and art; visual communication in print and on the Web; and identification as a visual/rhetorical process. Is there potential to create critical verbo-visual literacy? The course explores what such definitions of literacy mean for communication, argumentation, persuasion and narration.
Salvo, Michael J. Purdue University (2004). Academic>Courses>Graduate>Visual Rhetoric
#14841
TC 437 is a project-oriented course in website design. Implementation is not emphasized. Students receive a grounding in rhetoric, hypertext theory, user interface design, graphic design, and project management as these apply to the Web. Students also study the societal and ethical contexts of the Web and Internet.
Farkas, David K. University of Washington-Seattle (2003). Academic>Courses>Undergraduate>Web Design
#19668
You Got Into Graduate School: Now What? 
You finally applied to that graduate technical communication program, and you got accepted. Congratulations! Now what? Whether you’ve been spending the past several years raising a family or working a full-time job, heading to graduate school after years away from college can be a daunting experience. If you’re ready to return to campus, here are some tips to help you become a successful student and a better technical communicator along the way.
Taylor, Savita A. Intercom (2003). Articles>Education>Graduate
#35283
Global Visions: Promoting Excellence in the Education of Professional Communicators and Translators
Despite the increasingly unified and multicultural consciousness of the world today, and the tendency of authors such as Hoft or Weiss, on the side of professional communication, and Nord or Risku, on the side of translation, to bridge the gap between professional communication and translation, these activities are still viewed as separate, requiring different competencies and educations. At most, one finds professional communicators being asked to be aware of the involvement of translators in their work processes and of the characteristics of translation, and translators being asked to be aware of localization and of the potential need to adapt their work to the characteristics of the receiving culture. This distinction corresponds greatly to the geographical divide between the United States and Europe, being actively promoted by the definition of translation, translation process, and translator competencies stated out in documents such as the recently adopted EN 15038 standard.
Durao, Rosario. IPCC 2009 (2009). Articles>Education>Undergraduate>International
#35360
Master's Programs in Technical Communication: 
Reports on the current state of curriculum in 84 Master's programs. Answers questions about program location, degree names, course requirements, internships, and cumulative experiences. Suggests additional research areas to provide more information on how well academic programs are meeting the needs of students and other stakeholders.
Meloncon, Lisa. Technical Communication Online (2009). Academic>Education>Graduate
#35361
Applying to Graduate School in Technical Communication
Provides extensive guidance on applying to Master's and PhD programs for practitioners. Provides tips on applying for current students. Provides tables listing current graduate programs in technical communication, organized by state.
Eaton, Angela. Technical Communication Online (2009). Academic>Education>Graduate
#35626
Choosing the Right Grad School
The problem with choosing a grad school is that it's basically a blind date based on an online dating profile. On paper, the compatibility seems obvious. But reality is often much more complex. And you actually have to work at it. The problem is that your advisor is going to be far less committed to working at the relationship than you as a student are going to want them to be. So there's going to be a lot of accommodation on your part. Again, not always a bad thing. Lots to learn, lots to learn.
boyd, danah. Danah.org (2009). Articles>Education>Graduate
#35840
Why Do We Need Doctoral Study in Design? 
This article makes a case for why design research is important to contemporary design practice and the deepening of the design disciplines, especially at this point in our history. It identifies the pressures on knowledge generation exerted by the shift from a mechanical, object-centered paradigm for design practice to one characterized by systems that: evolve and behave organically; transfer control from designers to users or participants; emphasize the importance of community; acknowledge media convergence; and require work by interdisciplinary teams to address the complexity of contemporary problems.
Davis, Meredith. International Journal of Design (2008). Articles>Education>Graduate>Graphic Design
