Beyond the Masculine Web: Considering Sex and Gender Differences in Arrangement and Delivery on the Web  

Men and women don't browse the Web the same way; one should design for both feminine and masculine webs.

Bowie, Jennifer L. Texas Tech University (2003). Presentations>Web Design>Information Design>Gender

Beyond the Universal User: How to Design for the Universe of Users  

There are problems with non-user-centered/system-centered design. We must know, understand, and work with actual users so that the people who use the product can do so quickly and easily to accomplish their own tasks.

Bowie, Jennifer L. Texas Tech University (2003). Presentations>Web Design>Usability>Personas

Developing Instructional Materials

This is a course in the process and techniques used in the technical communication profession for developing and delivering instructional materials for software: computer applications programs. Instructional materials includes all forms of manuals, procedures, step-by-step, tutorials, getting started, booklets, online help, performance support, Wizards, and other methods of supporting the work of software end users. This course also represents a culmination of preparation for professional work. In this course we explore both professional issues and practical issues with the intention of giving you the chance to apply principles to representative projects.

Barker, Thomas. Texas Tech University (2004). Academic>Courses>Instructional Design

Document Design

This course will teach you to * identify and discuss principles of reading comprehension, cognitive psychology, human factors, and graphic design that apply to technical documents * analyze and evaluate the design of existing documents and recommend appropriate revisions * design and test documents for maximum usability

Dragga, Sam. Texas Tech University (2002). Academic>Courses>Document Design>Visual Rhetoric

Educational Websites and Gender Equality: An Analysis of How Educational Websites Respond to Gender Differences in Use  

The integration of technology into education includes increased educational Internet and web use. However the websites used in and for education are rarely critically examined, especially in regard to gender equality, design, and use. Print has been argued to carry with it certain attributes that disturb gender equality, so it is likely that electronic writing might cause similar problems.

Bowie, Jennifer L. Texas Tech University (2003). Presentations>Education>Web Design>Gender

English 5371 Reading List

These were the texts for English 5371, Fall 2000. Other readings came from our coursepack and are noted in the reading schedule below.

Baake, Ken. Texas Tech University (2000). Resources>Bibliographies>TC

Introduction to Technical Communication

English 2309-Technical Communication-is an introductory course to the kinds of documents produced and used in business, industry, and technology. The assignments and the way they are evaluated reflect different audiences and purposes than those normally addressed in English 1301 & 1302. However, you should be reasonably proficient in the writing skills normally acquired in these two courses. We are a community of writers from various disciplines sharing our work and insights about writing with one another. This course is designed to create an environment in which you can develop and exhibit professional work habits. These habits include meeting deadlines, satisfying all assignment criteria, and attending class on a regular basis.

Chandler, John and Dean Fontenot. Texas Tech University (1995). Academic>Courses>Undergraduate>Technical Writing

Literacy and Technical Communication

Literacy has traditionally been the defined as the ability to read and write, but 21st century technical communicators must have skills which extend beyond these basic skills. They must be able to write rhetorically; read analytically and evaluatively; read and critique social situations, especially in the organization in which they work and act upon their critiques; analyze visual information and also create rhetorically effective visual or graphic information; and use and critique the technologies with which they produce their work and, often, which they write about. These extended literacies build from the basic skills traditionally taught to technical communication students, and they mirror skills identified and considered essential in recent studies of workplace literacies, including Dept of Education’s SCANS report and the NCTE’s own report on skills (Garay and Bernhardt). In this response, I will examine these extended skills and discuss what these new literacies privilege and what they reject. I will also consider how the field might better provide students with foundations in these skills and how such a focus on these foundations may change the field.

Cargile Cook, Kelli. Texas Tech University (1999). Articles>TC>Literacy

Professional Report Writing

Instruction covers primary and secondary research techniques, analysis and interpretation of information, audience analysis, report design, format and graphics, and oral reporting. Instruction also covers writing in its social context and the management of complex research and writing projects.

Barker, Thomas. Texas Tech University (2004). Academic>Courses>Writing>Reports

Project Evaluation Form

This form shows a generic, fill-in-the-blank evaluation form for small- and medium-sized projects.

Barker, Thomas. Texas Tech University (2004). Academic>Course Materials>Project Management

Teaching Technical and Professional Communication

This course is designed to provide you a theoretical and pedagogical foundation for teaching an introductory undergraduate course in technical communication.

Dragga, Sam. Texas Tech University (1998). Academic>Courses>Business Communication>Technical Writing

Teaching Technical Communication

This course covers the theoretical and practical aspects of teaching the technical communication service course in particular, and the teaching of technical communication in general. Topics covered include technical communication pedagogy (social, literacy-based, cultural, and constructivist) and pedagogical methodology (including service-learning), theoretical approaches to ethics, genre studies and workplace writing, relations between academia and industry, and various theoretical approaches to assessment of courses, programs, and instructors.

Barker, Thomas. Texas Tech University (2004). Academic>Courses>TC>Education

Technical and Professional Editing

In this class, you will learn how to edit technical documents, from proofreading for errors at the surface to ensuring that the document contains appropriate content, organization, and visuals for its audiences. Students will also learn how to use traditional editing marks, editing functions within word processors, and principles of layout and design.

Eaton, Angela. Texas Tech University (2006). Academic>Courses>Technical Editing

Technical Editing

In this class, students will learn how to edit technical documents, from proofreading for errors at the surface to ensuring that the document contains appropriate content, organization, and visuals for its audiences. Students will also learn how to use traditional editing marks, editing functions within word processors, and principles of layout and design. Finally, students will learn about the profession of editing and develop pieces to support their careers.

Eaton, Angela. Texas Tech University (2006). Academic>Courses>Technical Editing

Technical Editing

This course will prepare you for the substantive editing and design of complex documents such as technical manuals, proposals, and research reports.  You will study the practice of editing as it applies to invention, arrangement, style, and delivery.  You will examine strategies for document management and explore the theoretical justifications for your editing decisions.

Dragga, Sam. Texas Tech University (2001). Academic>Courses>Technical Editing

Technical Manuals

English 5373 covers the management and production of forms of print and online manuals, including software and hardware manuals, instructions, and performance support.  Students will learn how to manage projects, and how to address issues of user analysis, text design, graphics design, task orientation, and translation. Class activities will include exercises and presentations focused on student project work.

Barker, Thomas. Texas Tech University (2003). Academic>Courses>Documentation>Technical Writing

Technical Writing

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

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

Using Computers in Technical Communication Courses

The technical writing program at Oklahoma State University, like many others throughout the United States, serves two groups: - students in technical and scientific disciplines whose preparation for the workplace requires the development communication skills (in keeping with the guidelines of professional accrediting organizations) - students who intend to seek employment as technical communicators. For both groups, our curriculum must provide instruction about writing and document design in a workplace that increasingly performs its tasks on computers. For undergraduate students in science and technology, our main upper-division course (English 3323, 'Technical Writing') focuses on workplace genres such as proposals, progress reports, and recommendation reports. Our approach also addresses the goals of most professional accrediting bodies, which consistently urge that students be prepared for their professional roles, and not simply for academic reports that are evaluated simply for their solution of a technical problem, to the neglect of the larger contexts of such technical problems in real-world writing. In our primary technical writing course for undergraduates, therefore, we enhance the traditional and emerging concerns of technical writing courses with assignments that require use of computers. Finally, when not in class, students have access to a Writing Center (located next door to the Electronic Classroom) and to many computer labs across the campus.

Broadhead, Glenn J. Texas Tech University. Academic>Computing>TC

A Week in the Life of a Technical Communicator

A website which details the events in one technical communicator's (active) week.

Rude, Carolyn D. Texas Tech University (2002). Careers>TC

White Papers in Technical Communication: Results of a Survey

With this survey, I sought to address the question, 'To what extent are practicing technical communicators involved in writing white papers?'

Willerton, Russell. Texas Tech University (2005). Articles>TC>White Papers>Surveys

World Wide Web Publishing of Technical Information

This course will prepare students to: * identify and discuss principles of design and information architecture that apply to web pages and web sites * evaluate the design and architecture of existing web sites and recommend appropriate revisions * design different types of pages and sites * test the usability of pages and sites * use appropriate software to implement effective and ethical decisions regarding the design and architecture of sites

Dragga, Sam. Texas Tech University (1999). Academic>Courses>Web Design>Writing