Designing Universally Accessible WWW Resources for People with Disabilities

This course is designed for web content developers to learn about the disability access issues faced by people with disabilities in using the web and how web resources can be designed to improve accessibility. The course provides a foundation on how people with disabilities access information on the web using mainstream browsers and specialized assistive technologies like speech renderings. Participants will learn about the two main standards for web accessibility, the W3C Web Content Accessibility Standards and the Section 508 requirements for web materials. The strengths and weaknesses of different evaluation and repair tools will be presented to help participants understand how to use the available tools to evaluate and repair their web resources. Participants will learn about common HTML accessibility problems, and HTML and CSS techniques that can be used to improve accessibility. Captioning of multimedia materials is also covered for Microsoft Media Player, Real Player and Quicktime, and the accessibility of non-W3C technologies like PDF and Flash will also be discussed.

University of Illinois (2002). Academic>Courses>Accessibility>Web Design

Exploring Burnout among University Online Instructors: An Initial Investigation  

Burnout has been identified as a significant issue among those in instructional positions. The purpose of the present research was to identify and describe the status of burnout among higher education online instructors. The population for this study included responses of 76 online instructors employed by baccalaureate granting institutions within the United States. A demographic survey and the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educators Survey (MBI-ES) were used to collect data from respondents. Data analysis revealed online instructors possessed an average score on the emotional exhaustion subscale, high degree of depersonalization, and low degree of personal accomplishment.

McKnight, Mark A. and R.L. Hogan. University of Southern Illinois (2007). Articles>Education>Online

Folksonomies - Cooperative Classification and Communication Through Shared Metadata

This paper examines user-generated metadata as implemented and applied in two web services designed to share and organize digital media to better understand grassroots classification.

Mathes, Adam. University of Illinois (2004). Articles>Information Design>Metadata>Wikis

Graphical Interfaces To Support Information Search: An Annotated Bibliography

This bibliography is organized to provide a structured introduction to graphical interfaces to information systems. Overview articles and 'classic' systems provide background on past work in this field. Systems with Demo Potential can be accessed via the Internet for additional study. Other systems of interest are included, with the more developed or unique systems listed first, and divided between 2D and 3D visualizations. Articles about user-testing or evaluating graphical interfaces are included, as are references to other existing bibliographies on this topic. Where possible, annotations include links to articles in addition to citations, the authors' abstracts and additional comments. Identifying screenshots of systems are included when available.

Staley, Elizabeth. University of Illinois (2000). Resources>Bibliographies>User Interface>Search

Internet Resources for Business and Technical Writers

A collection of links to academic technical writing websites.

University of Illinois. Resources>Directories>Technical Writing>Business Communication

Technical Communications for Scientists and Engineers

Communications basics for scientists and engineers.

Elliott, Celia M. University of Illinois. Presentations>Slideshows>Engineering

Technical Writing for Fun and Profit

The average engineering student would rather go to the dentist and have root canal than write a technical report or a memo. This is unfortunate, as a large part of a working engineer’s professional life is spent in writing technical communiqués of one sort or another. Although, the widespread aversion to writing has a variety of causes, I suspect that a large part of the problem is simply not understanding the process and elements of good technical writing. And this comes as no surprise, because many students’ exposure to writing comes in college freshman English, and these courses train the student to write a certain kind of critical essay that is largely useful in passing college freshman English. Remarkably few such courses expose the student to the kinds of business writing they will use for the rest of their lives.

Goldberg, David E. University of Illinois (1999). Careers>Writing>Engineering>Technical Writing

Technical Writing Rules You Didn't Learn in RHET 101  

To hyphenate or not to hyphenate, that is the question. As compound nouns evolve over time in Eng- lish, they gradually move from being written 'open' (data base) to being hyphenated (data-base) to being written 'closed' (database). Just where your particular word might be in its evolution is often un- clear and subject to the inscrutable and highly individual logic of copy editors. Consult a recent edition of a standard dictionary.

Elliott, Celia M. University of Illinois. Articles>Writing>Style Guides

Using Writing to Negotiate Knowledge and Power

In Language and Symbolic Power, Pierre Bourdieu demonstrates how the language practices of institutions can generate symbolic violence and relations of power. At the same time, these language practices make existing power relationships seem natural and thus hide the symbolic violence from both more and less powerful inhabitants of these sites. Research has only recently begun to examine critically these practices as they function in corporate America. This talk will examine textual practices within a large manufacturer of agricultural equipment to show how they require subordinates to document their work in forms determined by management. Such documentation represents work in terms acceptable to managers and prevents subordinates from developing alternative understandings of the possibilities of their labor.

Winsor, Dorothy A. University of Illinois (2001). Presentations>Writing>Streaming>Video

Writing Numbers in Technical Documents  

A slideshow about representing numeric data within technical documents.

Elliott, Celia M. University of Illinois. Presentations>Slideshows>Writing