Linking Context-Sensitive HTML Help

The mechanism that Doc-To-Help uses for mapping topics in a context-sensitive HTML Help differs from the mechanism it uses for context-sensitive WinHelp. This article tells you what you need to know to properly link context-sensitive HTML Help to an application.

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

Literature-Space Vs. Cyberspace

Stories are so hardwired into our subconscious that it would not surprise me if we did indeed inhabit a story-space that is different from our web-based reading-space. This is a testable proposition. Do our brains work differently when we are in the middle of a story versus when we are in the middle of web surfing? I would be astounded if they were the same. But if that was all the happened -- different strokes for stories than for links, then the solution to exiting the web and entering stories is easy -- just read, listen, or watch more stories.

Kelly, Kevin. KK (2008). Articles>Publishing>Online>User Centered Design

Living Documentation: The Future of Technical Writing

Living documentation is documentation that does not cease to be developed until the product ceases to develop. Living documentation can be produced at any time in multiple formats. The book, web pages and online help would continue to be developed as long as that development either solves inaccuracy or increases product usability and customer satisfaction.

Hewitt, John. Writer's Resource Center. Articles>Publishing>Documentation>Online

The Long Hallway

If a virtual design firm is to be successful, it must develop an adaptive culture that fosters and strengthens connections between far-flung collaborators.

Follett, Jonathan. List Apart, A (2007). Design>Web Design>Collaboration>Online

Long-Distance Editing    

Check out seven tips that will help you and your team remain busy and useful when you have extra time or gaps between projects.

Crognale, Heather. Intercom (2008). Articles>Editing>Collaboration>Online

Long-Distance Teams: Facing the Challenges  

Offers advice for managers of long-distance teams on working across time zones, accommodating team members' cultural norms, easing the difficulties of language differences, and nurturing team spirit.

Legg, Kathy A. Intercom (2004). Articles>Project Management>Collaboration>Online

Looking into the Future: The Role of the Technical Communicator in On-Line Report Design  

Corporations are rapidly moving vast quantities of information onto intranets. In order for that information to be usable by corporate decision makers the format of traditional reports needs to change. Corporate reports must reflect information needs and not just provide a dump of available data. Their design must change from static dumps of information to an on-line highly adaptable format that connects relevant information into an integrated whole. Part of making the change means careful audience and task analysis to determine what reader¡¯s information needs. Technical communicators are uniquely skilled to handle this phase of on-line report design.

Albers, Michael J. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Writing>Reports>Online

Looking Toward the Electronic Future in the Classroom  

The electronic tools available in the technical communication classroom have increased in number and sophistication over the last decade. Our three panelists examine the implications to the classroom of virtual reality, E-mail, and 'the information superhighway.'

Glover, Kyle S. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Education>TC>Online

Low-End Online Documentation Viewing Systems: Why and How  

Online documentation is now widely accepted for its convenience and cost savings. However, some small, non-Windows shops find very few offerings in the market place for online documentation software.

Sonnenberg, Beth Apple. STC Proceedings (1995). Presentations>Documentation>Help>Online

Mac OS Help

Online help facilities are an important part of any software product in today's marketplace. Apple has a number of technologies specifically designed for providing both convenient to use and easy to understand online help. Interested developers can take advantage of these technologies and use them to build online help facilities into their own products. This page provides an overview of the current Apple help technologies along with links to other related resources.

Apple Inc.. Resources>Documentation>Online

Maintaining the Marketing Drumbeat in Print and E-Mail Formats  

Success in the marketplace depends on delivering the right messages to the target market. A regular, consistent “drumbeat” can be an extremely effective way to deliver messages. At the IBM® Network Computing Software Lab, I have developed a traditional newsletter and an email bulletin for delivering our marketing messages regularly and consistently. Though they share the same objective, these two instruments are very different in content and format – reflecting the fact that they are designed to maximize the opportunities and overcome the limitations of their respective media.

Kunz, Lawrence D. STC Proceedings (2000). Presentations>Publishing>Online

Making Connections: An Intercultural Virtual Team Project in Professional Communication    

This presentation reports on an intercultural virtual team project conducted by students in two management communication courses, one at the University of Delaware (USA) and one at McGill University (Canada). The goal of the partnership between the two classes was to enhance students' ability to collaborate across cultures using a variety of technologies for collaboration, a skill they need in order to succeed in the increasingly global and technologically mediated environment of work. Each team, which included students from both universities, compared communication practices in a company or type of business that exists both in the United States and in Canada. Their task was to analyze how the practices reflect and shape the particular environments in which the businesses operate. During the project they advanced and monitored their work through different technologies, including blogs, email, and a designated collaborative Web-based workspace, and they produced several genres of documents reporting their achievements. This presentation first analyzes the advantages, vulnerabilities, and faultlines of virtual intercultural teamwork as students experienced them. We then describe conditions that help teams overcome the risks of virtual work and assess how well we were able to create these conditions in the courses.

Andrews, Deborah C. and Dorreen Starke-Meyerring. IEEE PCS (2005). Articles>Collaboration>Online>Case Studies

Making Decisions about Distance Education: Organizational and Individual Perspectives  

Decisions about distance education, whether from the perspectives of academic or corporate organizations, are often made on the basis of economical, pedagogical, and psychological perspectives. Decisions are also made by potential distance learning students. Distance learning delivery organizations often include student self-surveys in their initial online promotional materials. This metaanalysis of several student distance learning 'readiness' surveys identifies their major common elements, and it offers a checklist of topics to include in distance learning student 'readiness' surveys. Finally, recommendations are offered concerning the ethical and research dimensions of the decision-making required for effective distance education delivery.

Shirk, Henrietta Nickels. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Education>Online>Assessment

Making Educational Software and Web Sites Accessible: Design Guidelines Including Math and Science Solutions

Students with disabilities are increasingly placed in inclusive classrooms where they learn alongside their peers. This poses a challenge to teachers and students because instructional materials may not be available in a form that is accessible to the disabled student. Inaccessible materials stigmatize students with disabilities by preventing them from using the same materials as their peers and can limit their educational opportunities. As technology becomes more prevalent in classrooms, students with disabilities face even more challenges in keeping pace with their classmates.

Freed, Geoff, Madeleine Rothberg and Tom Wlodkowski. WGBH (2003). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Online

Making Online Help Helpful -- Perspectives of Professionals and Users  

This paper reviews research done in online help information, analyses different views on it from the perspectives of professionals of technical communication and end-users, and suggests ways to solve problems.

Li, Yue. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Documentation>Online>Help

Making Technical Reviews More Efficient  

This paper proposes the use of a database to collect and track technical review comments. It discusses the merits of using a database, provides a sample database structure, and describes use of the database in the review process.

Gelb, Janice. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Editing>Online

Making the Grade, or How to Upgrade an Online Class  

Because online technical communication classes, as well as classes with several online components, are no longer a novelty, teachers must plan coursework and technology use to better meet students’ needs. To improve my online teaching methods and plan future courses, I follow these guidelines: 1. Prepare students to use e-mail efficiently; 2. Prepare students to use the class chat room for meetings, office hours, and required discussions; 3. Maintain a flexible assignment schedule while enforcing the final deadline; 4. Help students gain access to computers; 5. Develop pleasant working relationships with technical support personnel; and 6. Develop course information for students with different learning styles.

Porter, Lynnette R. STC Proceedings (2001). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Online

Making the Most of Interactivity Online  

Technical communicators need to foster useful online interaction to help users understand the scope, purpose, and limits of the online documents we create. Ideally, a well-designed online document provides a total integrated data environment. It functions as the interface between the user and a system, allowing for the retrieval and integration of supporting data as needed to perform a task. Online information can be presented in a variety of ways, including online help systems, computer-based training (CBT) programs, and interactive electronic technical manuals (IETM). The benefits of an effective online information system include the elimination of paper bulk and storage, improved document usability through interactivity, and the use of the document as a learning, training, and research aid.

Andrisani, Debbie, Anna V. Gaal, David Gillette and Sherry Steward. STC Proceedings (2000). Design>Web Design>Interactive>Online

Making Wikis Work for Scholars

For all the hand-wringing over whether Wikipedia is a legitimate source for completing college assignments, some professors are quietly incorporating it into their classrooms and even their research. Others, noting features of the Web site that contribute to inaccuracies and shortchange the value of expertise, are building variations on the model that are more amenable to academics and to peer review.

Guess, Andy. Inside Higher Ed (2008). Articles>Research>Online>Wikis

Managing a Distributed Documentation Group  

A distributed documentation group is one in which people work together from distant locations, The new problem in managing such a group is that casual, face-to-face communication is missing. Technological solutions include source control, email, groupware, telephone, and the World Wide Web. Human solutions may be even more important. Autonomy, explicit standards, various ways to meet, and deliberately working across locations build the necessary communications and trust.

Jackson, Ken. STC Proceedings (1996). Presentations>Management>Collaboration>Online

Managing a Documentation Project from Both Sides of the Atlantic  

Most of us struggle every day with keeping the lines of communication open between developers, subject matter experts (SMEs), customers, and writers. Sometimes you can circumvent these difficulties by simply walking upstairs or across the hall and chatting with the appropriate person. But what happens when it's not a staircase or hallway separating you but a very large ocean? The best way to keep an overseas project on track is to put together a writing team in the most convenient location; meet at least once with the development team; and set up your communication channels early.

Morgan, Sharon. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Documentation>Collaboration>Online

Managing and Teaching in an Electronic Classroom: Oklahoma State's Experience  

The computer has been called the single most important invention since Gutenberg introduced movable type and the printing press in the fifteenth century. 'Computers have changed the way we perform scientific research, conduct business, create art, and spend our leisure time.' They have also changed the way we train students for the workplace.

Rudin, Judy E. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Education>Online

Managing Modular Documentation Using a Database  

While implementing a Modular Documentation Method and the development of Responsive Hypermanuals (Lettvin, 1999), concerns were raised as to how to effectively manage the potential explosion of seemingly fractured document components (modules) while maintaining key infrastructure and quality assurance mechanism already in place. This paper examines one unique solution to this problem: building a web-based database application that manages and tracks modules, documents and resources for any documentation project. In addition, it has a built-in structure for handling a robust documentation process. Some advantages and obstacles in developing a modular documentation database solution for the web are discussed.

Earley, James M. STC Proceedings (2000). Presentations>Documentation>Online

Review: Managing Virtual Teams: Getting the Most from Wikis, Blogs, and Other Collaborative Tools

Review of 'Managing Virtual Teams: Getting the Most from Wikis, Blogs, and Other Collaborative Tools' by Kit Brown, Brenda Huettner, and Char James-Tanny.

Olson, Amy. Carolina Communique (2008). Articles>Reviews>Management>Online

Mapping the Expanding Landscape of Usability: The Case of Distributed Education    

As the environments in which we use technology become more complex and more diverse, we need to extend and expand our notion of usability to include a broad spectrum of users and user activities. We take as an example the case of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's distributed education program for human-computer interaction (HCI). While HCI is the subject matter for the courses, the courses themselves present a challenging case study in HCI usability.

Grice, Roger A. and William Hart-Davidson. Journal of Computer Documentation (2002). Articles>Usability>Education>Online