Designing Information for the 21st Century  

In the past, documentation meant printed books. Then along came online help. Online books soon followed. Now we have the Internet and web pages. Developing a documentation plan today means more than planning how books are going to be structured, reviewed, and printed. It needs to take into account the possibilities that these new media have to offer. Achieve the most effective results by making delivery in these media part of your documentation planning.

Radecki, Steven Lewis. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Publishing>Online

Designing Information for the Online Medium  

Well-designed online documentation exploits the medium to make the content more accessible and effective. Knowing who needs the information and understanding when and how much of it will be used are essential for the creation of effective online content. Ideally, online documentation should answer each question with just the right amount of depth and detail. Considering user expertise, information needs, and usage patterns before creating the content or structure results in information that can be scanned, searched, surfed, referred to, read, or printed equally effectively—exactly what people expect from online documentation.

Mehrotra, Rahul and Jane Nye. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Documentation>Online

Designing User Assistance for Internet Marketplace Applications Using Server-Side Online Help    

In this article, I examine Internet marketplace applications and the challenges they present to user-assistance design. This examination illustrates the ways in which complex Internet applications, such as marketplaces, force technical communicators to rethink their approach to online user assistance. In the course of this examination, I make a case for a model of user assistance that taps the potential for customizability, scalability, and dynamic content of the technologies that power Internet applications. However, marketplaces are only one example of the type of application that can benefit from this model because it can be implemented for any Internet or intranet application that utilizes dynamic, build-on-the-fly Internet technologies, such as Microsoft Active Server Pages or Sun Microsystem JavaServer Pages. To fulfill our responsibilities to our users, we technical communicators must be willing to expand our skill set by adopting these technologies that allow us to target documentation to user needs.

Whittemore, Stewart. Technical Communication Online (2003). Design>Documentation>Online

Determining Constraints for e-Learning

One of the challenges of starting an e-learning are the constraints. If you don’t uncover them before you begin a project and choose software, the issues can come back to haunt you. Following are questions you can ask to determine the constraints you'll need to address when implementing e-learning in your organization. You might need to ask additional questions, but these should give you a good start.

Carliner, Saul. Saul Carliner Studio (2003). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Online

Developing a Single-Sourced Online Help System    

The definition of single sourcing continues to broaden in scope since its first mention in The Society of Technical Communication’s 46th Annual Conference publication. As a result, it is becoming increasingly difficult for technical communicators to understand what single source means and, more importantly, choose a definition of single sourcing that correlates with their specific task. One “type” of single sourcing involves reusing information for multiple products. Several developers at IBM have produced a single-source online help system. Unlike other single-sourcing methods that require a significant investment and a high degree of technical experience, these methods are inexpensive and require a moderate, yet creative, technical aptitude.

Vicek, Keith, Phil Menzies and Andre Evans. STC Proceedings (2002). Design>Documentation>Single Sourcing>Online

Developing HTML Documents and Help System  

This document explains necessary tips for providing product information in digital form, giving specific examples of choosing the suitable media, classifying information, appropriate linking, file organization, etc. through our experience (in Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.) during the development of the software product called Web PrintVision.

Ito, Sachi. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Documentation>Online>Help

Developing Online Help for OS/2 Applications  

One of the biggest problems facing Help developers is that of providing users with adequate methods of navigation through what can be huge amounts of information. After more than a two or three jumps, users can find themselves in topics that might be useful, but with no clear indication of how they got there or how to return to where they started. OS/2 gives the Help developer extraordinarily flexible tools for creating online documentation that can prevent this situation and provide users with a clearer path through online information than many other platforms can provide. However, this enhanced usability is not without its cost.

Radecki, Steven Lewis. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Documentation>Online>Help

Developing Online Help in Lotus Notes  

If you are a technical writer or manage technical writers and have been asked to document Lotus Notes applications, this workshop will give you a jump start. You can use the features available in Notes to create an effective help system as a Notes database. This help database can either be a view in an existing Notes application or a stand-alone database linked to the application. In this workshop, you will learn the basics of creating help systems in Lotus Notes.

Gross, Jacqui, Faye Smith and Steve Charles. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Documentation>Help>Online

Developing WebHelp: What 'How to' Design Doesn't Always Tell Us  

Development of the Intranet application STAR.IDN for requesting and receiving medically related supplies illustrates a broad spectrum of technological and user issues. As such it serves as a case study of design and user-related decisions between an application designer and a Help author. Central to the study is the argument that design must be based on an empirically 'informed' rather than 'assumed' user model. The project also challenges Web literature that does not address user considerations in its promotion of design methods.

Eiler, Mary Ann and Kathleen Bright. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Documentation>Online>Help

Developing Your Online Portfolio  

Online (Web, CD, digital, electronic) portfolios are an important and emerging tool for technical communicators. Creation, design, and distribution, as well as stylistic concerns, are critical issues in the development of an online portfolio. This paper provides suggestions for preparing an online portfolio and is the result of information gained from an online survey of working technical communicators.

Barry, Kevin M. and Jill C. Wesolowski. STC Proceedings (2001). Careers>Portfolios>Online

Digital Divide: The Three Stages

The 'digital divide' refers to the fact that certain parts of the population have substantially better opportunities to benefit from the new economy than other parts of the population. Most commentators view this in purely economic terms. However, two other types of divide will have much greater impact in the years to come.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2006). Articles>Usability>Accessibility>Online

Digital Language and Literacy: An Online Course Design Learning Community  

This paper overviews a discipline-specific educational technology assistance program titled Digital Language and Literacy, which links technologically literate graduate students in English with faculty developing online courses for the first time. Such models not only help with online course design but also help to establish technological and pedagogical learning communities among current and future faculty.

Blair, Kristine L. STC Proceedings (2004). Articles>Education>Online>Case Studies

Digital Libraries and the Need for a Universal Digital Publication Format  

Reports have revealed low uses of e-books and other lengthy texts held in digital libraries. In this article we claim that one of the main reasons for the lack of interest is the current multitude of end-user text formats, some oriented towards print, others proprietary, and few optimized for sustained reading of text-intensive publications. We note IDPF's reluctance to develop a common digital publication format, discuss requirements for a universal, open-standard end-user format, and present the effort to establish such a format by the OpenReader Consortium. The main objective of the article is to examine the pros and cons of a universal, reader-oriented text format for different types of critical text editions and digital libraries.

Hillesund, Terje and Jon E. Noring. Journal of Electronic Publishing (2006). Articles>Publishing>Standards>Online

Digital Libraries, Knowledge Networks, and Human-Centered Information Systems

One of the most dramatic changes in the ongoing information revolution is the rapid convergence of computing, communications and content industries. Digital content, especially in the form of large, distributed, heterogeneous collections of electronic objects - text, voice, images, graphics, video, and others - is fueling the growth of the computing and communications in each other. This paper discusses the role of digital libraries, and knowledge networks in general, in this process, in the context of human-centered information systems.

Chien, Y.T. ISRDP in Digital Libraries (1997). Articles>Publishing>Online>User Centered Design

Digital Libraries: Cataloguing and Indexing of Electronic Resources

A directory of resources in cataloguing and indexing online materials.

IFLANET. Resources>Indexing>Publishing>Online

Digital Literacy

This course will investigate how the digital challenges our perceptions of what we have come to call literacy (and thus, composition). Is literacy a relevant term for digital production, or do we need a new term to describe the process of acquiring and producing knowledge?

Rice, Jeff. Wayne State University (2005). Academic>Courses>Literacy>Online

Digital Object Identifiers for Scientific Data    

The Digital Object Identifier (DOI) is a system for identifying content objects in the digital environment. DOIs are names assigned to any entity for use on Internet digital networks. Scientific data sets may be identified by DOIs, and several efforts are now underway in this area. This paper outlines the underlying architecture of the DOI system, and two such efforts which are applying DOIs to content objects of scientific data.

Paskin, Norman. Data Science Journal (2005). Articles>Publishing>Standards>Online

Digital Portfolios: How to Market Your Skills!   

A recent article in the Chicago Tribune last year suggests that technology workers need a variety of skills that include soft skills--good communication skills and the ability to work in teams.

Reece, Gloria A. and Louise I. Keeton. STC Proceedings (2004). Careers>Portfolios>Online

Digital Publishing F5 | Refreshed  

Digital Publishing F5 | Refreshed was produced, designed, and published at an academic conference workshop, Computers and Writing 2003 in West Lafayette, Indiana, by a team of (at least) 30 people. Our goal was to show that scholars and teachers--when they work collaboratively, have the right technology, and diverse experience with digital publishing technologies—can move to the forefront in publishing, not just as writers, but as publishers, production designers, editors, and (even) distributors

Agena, Kate, Karl Stolley and David Blakesley. Parlor Press (2003). Books>Publishing>Online>eBooks

Digital Reference: An Overview    

Digital reference refers to a network of expertise, human intermediation and resources placed at the disposal of users in an online environment. It employs automated tools wherever possible, allowing human experts to concentrate on 'hard questions'. But human expertise is expensive and hard to find. Automated tools are less expensive to incorporate into online services and sites, allowing digital libraries to use tools that were, until recently, the province of a small cadre of people.

Silverstein, Joanne. D-Lib Magazine (2003). Articles>TC>Online

Digitising History: A Guide to Creating Digital Resources from Historical Documents

This guide is intended as a reference work for individuals and organisations involved with, or planning, the computerisation of historical source documents. It aims to recommend good practice and standards that are generic and relevant to a range of data creation situations, from student projects through to large-scale research projects.

Townsend, Sean, Cressida Chappell and Oscar Struijvé. AHDS (1999). Books>Publishing>Online>History

The Dilemma of Credibility vs. Speed  

CoRRs implicitly constrained but officially open acceptance policy for submitted papers raises concerns about both censorship and credibility. To avoid refereeing incoming papers yet still help readers assess their merits, CoRR could use coordinated public comments and ratings in the manner of some online auctions and booksellers.

Prekeges, James G. Journal of Computer Documentation (2002). Articles>Content Management>Online

Directions for Online Publishing

Online publishing of newspapers, magazines, and books is really a meaningless concept. We have to leave the legacy publications behind as we invent the world of online publishing.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (1995). Articles>Publishing>Online>Web Design

Discussion Groups, Newsletters, and Related Websites

A collection of links to online technical editors' communities.

Technical Editors Eyrie. Resources>Directories>Online