Converting Paper Mountains to Data Highlands

Big producers of equipment and systems of all branches often have piled up enormous volumes of product documentation in various formats on different media over long periods. How does one deal with that in the Internet age? How will brochure-like product catalogs be converted to type-specific clickable web pages, and printed price lists to present-day worldwide retrievable tables? Experiences with a large converting project show the process to achieve such document management.

Pichler, Wolfram. TC-FORUM (2000). Articles>Documentation>Online

Copyright and the Internet  

As original content takes on new forms in the rapidly developing and ever-changing digital publishing environment, copyright issues become increasingly important. Publishers that work with those authors who choose to link the information from their printed books to web pages can ensure that copyright violations do not occur.

Lemiski, Karen J. STC Proceedings (2000). Presentations>Intellectual Property>Copyright>Online

Corporate Software Training: Is Web-Based Training as Effective as Instructor-Led Training?      

Web-based training has been both acclaimed as a self-paced, consistent, stand-alone alternative to traditional instructor-led training and disparaged for its high development costs and dearth of qualified trainers. Critics especially question its effectiveness. This case study tests the effectiveness of a stand-alone web-based training program and compares the results to that of an identical instructor-led course. The course provides highly task-oriented instruction for a computer software package and was developed using a proven instructional design methodology. The data from this study show that web-based training is as effective as instructor-led training for stand-alone software application training in a corporation.

Coppola, Nancy W. and Robert Myre. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication (2002). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Online

Course Authoring Systems: A Review

Many instructor-led courses are being considered for conversion to electronic or distance delivery. A recent HRD survey by the American Society for Training and Development predicts that by the year 2000 only an estimated 54.8% of training will be instructor-led, compared to 80% in 1996. By contrast, the market for training delivered via new technologies is expected to go from 10% in 1996 to over 35% by the year 2000. Web-Based Training (WBT) is expected to account for a sizable portion of these electronic course developments and conversions.

Phillips, Vicky. GetEducated.com (1998). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Online

Course Management Tools Review

This is a summary of open source tools for what is variously called: * distance learning * course management product or system * learning management system * virtual classroom

Albing, Bill, Frances Wirth and Rick Sapir. KeyContent.org (2005). Resources>Education>Online

CoverWeb? Adding Multiple Authorship to Multi-Linearity  

This multi-vocality and multiple authorship allows an enactment of some of the collaboratory promise of hypertext while web publishing allows decentralized publication. Finally, the CoverWeb allows Kairos to deliver texts appropriate to many tiers of readers. This issue's CoverWeb on educational MOOs includes basic introductions to MOOing linked to discussions of the pedagogical possibilities of virtual spaces linked to problems of administering MOOspaces. We have tried to cover a spectrum of possible interests as well as familiarity to MOOs in education and this layering simply wouldn't be possible in print.

Salvo, Michael J. Kairos (1996). Articles>Collaboration>Online

Creating a Hypertext Help System for a GUI-Based Client/Server Application  

We are currently in the second phase of development of a large Windows online help system. This paper reviews the major decisions we had to make during the first phase of the project, and lists some project evaluation results that have helped us plan for subsequent phases.

Asher, Betsy, David E. Lasecke and John Wenstrom. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Documentation>Online>Help

Creating a PDF File  

This handout can help you with your PDF problems in Acrobat 3, 4, and 5. This handout does not attempt to address the Truth, but tries to share some hard-won advice about consistently getting good PDF.

Anthrobytes Consulting (1999). Design>Publishing>Online>Adobe Acrobat

Creating an Interactive Online User Guide  

Want to create a colorful, interactive online version of your FrameMaker® documents? Not many steps are involved in making the conversion: start with template changes in the FrameMaker files; create a postscript file; convert it into a PDF (Portable Document Format) file using Adobe Distiller®; and add final touches to the PDF file in Adobe Exchange®.

Beren, Wendy G. STC Proceedings (1998). Presentations>Documentation>Online>Adobe FrameMaker

Creating and Using Online Documentation  

This workshop provides hands-on experience in preparing and using online documentation as well as setting up and maintaining an online library.

Jedlicka, Linda Barnes, Margaret Eissler Jones and Herbert E. Vogt. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Documentation>Online

Creating Dual-Mode Context-Sensitive Help

Want to provide your users with state-of-the art HTML Help but don't want to force them to install Internet Explorer (which is required to run compiled HTML Help files)? In this article we show you how to create context-sensitive Help that displays a topic from a .CHM file if IE is installed on the user's system, and displays the equivalent topic from a .HLP file if IE isn't installed.

ComponentOne (1999). Articles>Documentation>Online>HTML

Creating Modular HTML Help Systems  

It is possible to create good, efficient, easy-to-maintain HTML Help systems - and it really isn't that difficult. The bad news is that if you're not sure exactly what settings need to be made, you will find creating modular HTML Help systems very frustrating. Read this article and avoid being frustrated.

ComponentOne (1999). Articles>Documentation>Online>HTML

Creating Multiplatform Information Sets  

The proliferation of open systems and software that runs on multiple platforms is a challenge to those of us who are responsible for documenting these systems. This paper attempts to address the issues that arise when trying to create multiplatform information sets. Writing multiplatform documentation is a challenge not only for those responsible for documentation, but for those responsible for creating the software. You are starting with many pieces of a puzzle that you need to sort through and put together to create a usable information set.

Flanagan, Ruth-Ellen. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Documentation>Online

Creating Online Help from FrameMaker Files Using WebWorks Publisher  

WebWorks Publisher from Quadralay lets you develop online help from FrameMaker files without dealing with the inefficiencies associated with help authoring tools (HATs). No longer do you have to convert the FrameMaker files to RTF for use in a HAT—and consequently lose all the formatting, which you must rebuild. You also do not have to maintain two sets of files.

O'Keefe, Sarah S. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Documentation>Online>Adobe FrameMaker

Creating Online Newsletters Without Pain and Aggravation  

Online newsletters can be a surprisingly effective means of distributing information among engineers. The paper presents a tested low-anxiety method for creating newsletters to facilitate information transfer among engineers in a hi-tech environment.

Huntington, Don. STC Proceedings (2001). Design>Publishing>Online>Newsletters

Creating Online Tutorials and Demos  

An online tutorial or demo is a powerful way to pique interest and get users started on a new software program. Join a workshop that covers the how-to’s of creating your first project. (1) Make a plan. (2) Analyze audience needs and technical issues. (3) Form a team. (4) Write the script. (5) Design the interface. (6) Build it. (7) Test it.

Beren, Wendy G. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Multimedia>Documentation>Online

Creating PDF Files from FrameMaker Documents

An issue that has come up over and over again on several FrameMaker and Acrobat/PDF email lists as well on the corresponding Adobe User-to-User forums is that of creation of PDF files. FrameMaker 5.5.6 and 6 have what looks like a convenient feature that is supposed to allow you to create PDF files via simply saving the document as a PDF file. I have gone on record as advising end-users not to use this approach for reliable creation of PDF files from FrameMaker documents under Windows and MacOS with FrameMaker 6 and earlier. Why do I most vociferously offer this advice and why doesn't the problem get fixed? And how SHOULD you create PDF files from FrameMaker?

Isaacs, Dov. InFrame. Design>Publishing>Online>Adobe Acrobat

A Critical Look at E-mail  

E-mail usage is so common and popular now that we hardly think about it. Because of its prevalence, many people have written critically about it, compelling us to look at our own usage.

Crawley, Charles R. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Communication>Online>Email

Cross-Cultural Considerations for Designing International Internet-Based Learning  

As increasing numbers of multinational corporations, consultants, universities, and instructional designers create Internet-based learning (IBL) courses or require courses to be taken via the Internet, not all are aware of the need to adjust their design expectations and assumptions due to cross-cultural considerations involved in such online courses. Eight critical considerations discussed in this paper include the following: language, culture, technical infrastructure, local/global perspective, learning styles, reasoning patterns, high/low context communication, and social context. Recommendations are listed for low-context designers to design with more cultural sensitivity for global learners and also for high- context learners who take low-context IBL courses.

Vawn Tinney, Mari, Joanne P. H. Bentley and Bing-Howe Chia. STC Proceedings (2005). Articles>Education>Online>International

Crossing Institutional and Programmatic Identity Boundaries: The Possibilities of an Online Graduate Consortium  

Should institutional boundaries prevent online students from learning from the best professors available? What is the effect of employing remote professors on a program's identity, and how do remote or distant professors fit into a faculty's programmatic and pedagogical profile?

Cargile Cook, Kelli. CPTSC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Education>Online

Crossing the Boundaries of Instruction: Assessing Web-Based Courses

We recently conducted survey research to discover students' responses to our web-based courses and online programs. We wanted to know their reactions to the course materials, teaching methods, interactions with faculty and other students, as well as their own competence in the particular subject area following such as course. While we are discovering that students are generally satisfied with all aspects of the courses, they express valid and noteworthy concerns.

Tovey, Janice and Michelle F. Eble. CPTSC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Education>Assessment>Online

Crossing the Divide    

This essay summarizes the editor's views of publication in the field of human-computer interaction. Digital technologies have begun changing the way journal articles and conference papers are produced, reviewed, published, accessed, and used. This period of profound change presents challenges and opportunities for both new and existing channels of scientific and technical communication.

Grudin, Jonathan. ACM TOCHI (2004). Articles>Research>Publishing>Online

Cruising for Fonts  

From boutiques to department stores, where to shop for type on the Internet.

Shinn, Nick. ShinnType (2002). Design>Typography>Online