Research Points the Finger at PowerPoint

If you have ever wondered why your eyes start glazing over as you read those dot points on the screen, as the same words are being spoken, take heart in knowing there is a scientific explanation. It is more difficult to process information if it is coming at you in the written and spoken form at the same time.

Patty, Anna. Sydney Morning Herald (2007). Articles>Presentations>Instructional Design>Microsoft PowerPoint

Reusability 2.0: The Key to Publishing Learning  

What would you do if you had to develop and deliver personalized training to 900,000 employees, located in 34,000 different locations globally with a complex set of variables that changes training on a location-by-location basis? The key is reusability 2.0. While technology-delivered training has become mainstream in many organizations, most are still not fully leveraging the power of reusable learning content to meet their instructional needs.

Chapman, Bryan. Xyleme (2007). Articles>Content Management>Instructional Design>White Papers

Rhetorical vs. Instrumental Approaches to Teaching Technical Communication    

Survey and anecdotal evidence indicates that universities do not prepare students well for writing in the workplace. One important reason for this failure is that rhetorical theory dominates the teaching of technical communication in the academy. Though extremely influential in the academy, rhetorical theory is inappropriate for teaching some kinds of important workplace communication (instructions, online documentation, computer-human interfaces, indexes), and it does not address important skills that practicing technical communicators need. Instrumental discourse differs from rhetoric in its purpose, in its absence of reasons and argumentation, in its task-oriented approach, in its emphasis on accessibility, and in its emphasis on economics. As a result, instrumental discourse is much more appropriate for the genres and skills that practicing technical communicators use, and it offers significant advantages to students, and in the long run, to the academy itself.

Moore, Patrick. Technical Communication Online (1997). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Rhetoric

Running Group Critique  

Feedback is central to learning. Practice makes perfect, as the saying goes, but practice without feedback does not allow students or training participants to improve.

Doumont, Jean-luc. Intercom (2003). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Collaboration

STC Instructional Design and Learning Special Interest Group

The Instructional Design & Learning (IDL) SIG helps STC members design, develop, and implement technical instruction in electronic and classroom settings. It promotes sound design practices and educates members about instructional theory, research, and tools. The IDL SIG provides resources to STC members interested in the intersection of technical communication and instructional design, especially in the following areas: Training development and delivery. Research and theory in instructional design and learning. Self-paced training development and delivery, including web-based training (WBT) and computer-based training (CBT). Tools for WBT and CBT.

STC. Organizations>Education>Instructional Design

Structure and Creativity in the Learning Process

Structure is a fundamental construct of mathematics. The field of discrete mathematics, in fact, is the foundation of data structures, upon which computer science is built.

Sherry, Lorraine C. Boston Broadside (1990). Articles>Education>Instructional Design

Students' Technological Difficulties in Using Web-Based Learning Environments  

To provide quality education as we seek to use emerging electronic technologies, TPC faculty must continually reconceptualize what constitutes a classroom and what characterizes our roles as effective teachers. To explore these issues, we focus on the technological difficulties students encounter when learning in a web-based environment that includes using websites for course content, email to interact and send attachments, instant messaging, and listservs or threaded discussions. How do students with little experience in using these types of computer technology learn to complete the tasks required by their courses successfully? How do faculty prevent them from becoming so frustrated with the technology that they give up or transfer that frustration to course content, creating a barrier to their learning?

Southard, Sherry and Philip Rubens. STC Proceedings (2001). Presentations>Education>Instructional Design>Online

Studying the Creation of Kindergarten

How does the pursuit of one man's interests result in the creation of kindergarten and timeless design principles? Bill Lucas shows us how Friedrich Fröbel took basic elements to create intricate, scalable systems that can serve as a model for creating new experiential systems today.

Lucas, Bill. Boxes and Arrows (2005). Articles>Information Design>Instructional Design

Taking Cues from the Culture: The Case of Network Earth    

This article explores the design choices for 'Network Earth,' a museum exhibit that introduced the general public to computer networks and related issues. The exhibit was one of three studied in a larger research project to develop a grounded model of design for learning in museums. Network Earth was developed by a team that had neither formal training nor academic credentials usually associated with museum exhibits. Although the design process and some of the general goals were similar to those at other sites studied and in the literature, certain practices differed. The team excluded historical objects, let donors influence content, and used different terminology. These differences appear to be cultural. With a limited affiliation with the occupational culture of museum exhibit design, the Network Earth team made choices that were more consistent with the culture of high technology, the subject of the museum and the industry that provided most of its financial support.

Carliner, Saul. Journal of Business and Technical Communication (2000). Articles>Education>Instructional Design

Teaching and Learning in a Global Environment  

Much research in technical communication addresses issues of writing for other cultures. Language is understood within the context of culture, so communication is a cultural activity. Therefore, to successfully communicate with international audiences, we need to learn both what formal studies can offer and what individuals from other cultures reveal about our understanding of those studies.

Coggin, William O., Yevgeniy Borodkin, Su Suocai and Karen Skelton. STC Proceedings (2000). Presentations>Education>Instructional Design>International

Teaching Professional Writing Online with Electronic Peer Response  

For primarily practical reasons, professional writing courses are increasingly being taught totally or partly online. These practical reasons concern me because I do not believe that a pedagogical practice whose benefits are being actively debated by scholars, such as online education, should be utilized only or primarily because it is seen as a way of saving or making money. However, online education is one pedagogical practice that, I believe, has great potential to improve writing. A year-and-a-half ago, I taught several partly online sections of my professional writing course, and I discovered that a strategy valuable in my traditional sections became invaluable in my online sections: electronic peer response.

Tannacito, Terry. Kairos (2001). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Online

Teaching Teachers at the Institute in Technical Communication: A Special Report on Our Pilot Project  

In STC’s first special opportunity grant, seven STC-funded high school teachers attended the Institute in Technical Communication, held at Hinds Community College in Raymond, Mississippi in June, 1999. Originally developed for teachers at two-year colleges, the 19th Institute became a small experiment, combining high school teachers and 13 other teachers from community and technical colleges.

Chisnell, Dana E. STC Proceedings (2000). Presentations>Education>Instructional Design

Teaching Technical Communication

a resource website for teachers, students, and practitioners of technical communication. At this site, you can find information about exciting current events in the worlds of science, technology, and health. You can find information to help you study, teach or practice technical communication.

Allyn and Bacon (1998). Resources>Education>Instructional Design

Teaching Technical People How to Think (About Graphical User Interface Design)  

Advances in technology have opened up new opportunities for technical communicators in the area of graphical user interface design. This paper describes our effort to take advantage of these opportunities. We have educated ourselves in the core issues of current research; we have leveraged our expertise in page layout and design; and we have participated in the development of standards for GUI design. Although progress has been slow, we are encouraged by early feedback from our management.

Janicko, Raymond P. STC Proceedings (1993). Presentations>User Interface>Instructional Design>Education

A Team Approach to Training  

The new hire training program for Technical Communication staff at Battelle, Pacific Northwest Laboratories (BNW) consists of a team approach where several individuals have defined roles and responsibilities for ensuring that all new hires receive the information and support required to be successful in their positions. This paper describes our training program.

Edler, Sandra K. STC Proceedings (1993). Presentations>Education>Instructional Design>Collaboration

Technical Communication and Corporate Training  

Unless the professional lives of my former students are unaccountably unique, I expect you will confirm that many of your own former students find themselves developing materials that will be used in workplace training situations. You are undoubtedly aware that a number of technical communicators not only develop such materials but serve as trainers, themselves. The other side of the coin is that full-time professional trainers commonly have to develop their own training documents. Indeed, the majority of students in our Advanced Technical Writing course at Illinois State University are Industrial Technology majors, whose professional goals are to work as industry trainers or as teachers of industrial technology in secondary and postsecondary education programs.

Savage, Gerald J. CPTSC Proceedings (2000). Articles>Education>Instructional Design

Technical Communication and Distance Education: What’s Being Done, Where We Can Go  

Distance education (DE) is a growing national trend, with courses and enrollments nearly doubling between 1994-5 and 1997-8. Technical communication practitioners and departments should take advantage of the benefits DE offers, including geographical and chronological access, integration of learning space and working space, and less time spent in lecture and more time responding to work or more time studying. Currently, technical communication education departments offer classes, certificates, and degrees via distance, varying from one undergraduate introductory class to 36-credit Master’s degrees. Future directions might include more programs to accommodate students, concentrations such as cross-cultural communication, and shorter courses to accommodate specific needs.

Eaton, Angela. STC Proceedings (2001). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Online

Technical Communication on the Web: A Profile of Learners and Learning Environments      

The number and variety of distance education courses have increased dramatically in recent years with the advent of new delivery technologies. Third-generation distance delivery methods such as interactive, Web-based instruction also have led to new levels of access for students. This article presents demographic information about students taking online courses at two institutions. In addition, it discusses some of the changes in learning environments that may accompany the move to the virtual classroom. Finally, it points out some potential problems in delivering courses with new technologies.

Schneider, Suzanne P. and Clark G. Germann. Technical Communication Quarterly (1999). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Online

Technical Training

Internet Links for finding information about computer based and instructor-led Technical Training.

Usernomics (2005). Resources>Education>Instructional Design

Test and Exercise Learning: Tests, Quizzes, and Self-Evaluations

Feared by learners, discounted by educational pundits, short-changed by instructional designers, tests are, nevertheless, an essential element of learning. We may call them quizzes, drills, examinations, assessments, competence monitors, or demonstrations of mastery. We may cloak them as games or puzzles. Yet, they remain an essential ingredient for gauging a learner’s progress. Tests, along with other kinds of activities, give learners an opportunity to apply the concepts, skills, and attitudes they have learned. Well designed tests provide a reliable way to measure progress objectively.

Horton, William K. III. William Horton Consulting (2000). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Testing

Testing Visual-Based Modules for Teaching Writing    

A study of novice writers shows that instructional materials about writing that incorporate basic principles of visual design are more effective than those that are primarily verbal. Less-capable writers benefit most from materials that include the extra text-processing cues provided by the visual design. Narrative comments about the instructional materials show that writers are aware of the design elements and appreciate them. Technical communication practitioners, researchers, trainers, and instructors have a large role to play in improving the way writing is taught.

Markel, Mike. Technical Communication Online (1998). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Visual Rhetoric

Theories, Techniques and Issues in Online Learning

This site describes what online learning is and identifies its major uses; identifies the four major types of online learning; provides an overview of the technology needed to make online learning happen; lists the project issues--that is, management and learning issues--that need to be addressed when developing materials for online learning.

Carliner, Saul. Saul Carliner Studio. Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Online

A Time-Compressed Methodology for Technical Training Development  

The time-compressed training development methodology involves putting together a team of subject matter experts (SMEs), a designer/facilitator, and one or two scribes, then giving them the time and space required for focused effort in a three-phase approach. The three phases are: prework; development sessions; and, postwork. During the prework phase, a preliminary course outline and formats for the materials are developed. In the development sessions, the outline is refined, objectives are defined, and the content is developed. And, in the postwork phase, the materials are reviewed, refined, published, and distributed.

Bender, Sherieda K., Kathleen M. Fisher, Lola Fredrickson and David T. Scott. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>SMEs

Tips for Writing Effective Training Material for Beginners  

You may think that because you're an expert, it will be easy for you to write training materials for your low-level user base. But it can be tough to think like a beginner. Use these tips to create appropriate instructions for newbies.

Dray, Jeff. TechRepublic (2003). Articles>Writing>Instructional Design>Technical Writing

Toward an Ethics of Teaching Writing in a Hazardous Context—: The American University  

The following essay is a collaborative effort by a writing teacher and a writing student to make sense out of a situation we experienced together when Sandy Moore, the writer, responded to an assignment given by Michael Kleine, the teacher. In an advanced persuasive writing course, Michael asked students to experiment with the major Aristotelian categories of persuasion: ceremonial, forensic, and deliberative discourse. For the ceremonial assignment, Sandy chose to write an essay of blame about patrons of her workplace, a restaurant/bar. Though ceremonial discourse aims to praise or blame its subject before a public audience, Sandy did not intend to publish the essay outside the context of the classroom. Aware of the charged nature of her essay, Sandy wanted to use the university classroom not as a place from which to launch a public attack on a private workplace; instead, she hoped that the classroom would provide a safe place in which to practice persuasive discourse and to develop her rhetorical skills.

Moore, Sandy and Michael Kleine. JAC (1992). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Rhetoric