#23004
We encourage developers of web pages to consider the full spectrum of visitors to their sites. Listed below are some resources that may be helpful in creating pages that are accessible to everyone, including those who have disabilities.
University of Washington-Seattle (2001). Design>Web Design>Accessibility
#13631
Advanced Interactive Multimedia
A website from an undergraduate course on designing complex interactive multmedia for technical communicators.
Sauer, Geoffrey. University of Washington-Seattle (2002). Academic>Courses>Undergraduate
#28319
The Alternative Guide to Technical Communication 
This guide summarizes alternative resources relevant to people in Technical Communication. 'Alternative' refers to the unconventional types of resources on this list as well the diversity of topics that are covered -- none of these resources talk about 'technical communication.'
Wei, Carolyn. University of Washington-Seattle. Resources>TC>User Centered Design
#20391
Apple Help and John Carroll's Minimalism 
This report gives a brief overview of minimalism, a description of an Apple Computer documentation project, and a summary of my findings. It also provides some of my and my Apple colleagues' recommendations to improve both the user's experience and that of the instructional designers working to write Apple Help content. Through the course of this report, I will provide support for my hypotheses that (1) the current Apple Help model is not a minimalist help system, but that (2) users of most Apple software would not be well served by such a system anyway.
Tevenan, Matthew P. University of Washington-Seattle (2002). Books>Documentation>Help>Minimalism
#10644
Offers an extensive list of commonly confused words, their definitions and the correct way to use them.
Brians, Paul. Washington State University. Reference>Style Guides>Grammar
#18192
The EndNote cookbook is designed to help University of Washington students, staff and faculty with their EndNote questions. EndNote 4.0 is designed to: * create bibliographies (stand-alone or in papers) * store and manage a set of references * search publicly accessible bibliographic databases via the Internet, such as PubMed MEDLINE
University of Washington-Seattle (2001). Resources>Bibliographies>Software
#21951
Graphics and Web Design Based on Edward Tufte's Principles
This is an outline of Edward Tufte's pioneering work on the use of graphics to display quantitative information. It mainly consists of text and ideas taken from his three books on the subject along with some additional material of my own. This page is in text only format: in order to understand the concepts you need to read the books because the concepts cannot really be grasped without the illustrations, and current video monitor technology is too low in resolution to do them justice. His work has been described as 'a visual Strunk and White.'
University of Washington-Seattle (1999). Design>Graphic Design>Technical Illustration
#11921
This graduate course was taught in the Spring 2001 term in the MS program at the University of Washington. The students published four anthologies of papers resulting from their study of information architecture.
Sauer, Geoffrey. University of Washington-Seattle (2001). Academic>Courses>Graduate
#10004
This graduate course was taught in the Winter 2001 term in the evening MS program at the University of Washington. The students published five anthologies of papers resulting from their study of information architecture.
Sauer, Geoffrey. University of Washington-Seattle (2001). Academic>Courses>Graduate
#13651
The Intranet as Ecosystem: A Model for Sustaining Development
The complexity of the intranet and the interrelationship between it and the organization’s overall environment mean that traditional methods for supporting company information technology and communication (in which geographically and administratively separate groups determined company standards and guidelines) may not be adequate for the new medium. Available resources are also inadequate; material for web 'authors' (writers, information architects, graphic artists, and programmers) usually focuses at the site level, and most academic and trade articles on intranets focus on the central internal home page or on aspects of the physical infrastructure. Resources covering the whole intranet generally focus on management issues—hiring staff, setting goals, overseeing the design process, selling ideas to upper management, and getting people to use the system once it is deployed. But support groups tasked with the everyday design and maintenance of the intranet also need to “manage” it—that is, to envision the intranet’s role in the overall communication and technological structure of the organization, design and maintain its architectural structure, and sustain it by ensuring its content is accurate, timely, useful, and usable.
Wilder, Pam. University of Washington-Seattle (2000). Books>Content Management>Intranets
#18653
Islam’s Influence on the Egyptian Business Environment: Tips for a Technical Communicator
While disjointed communication may characterize the communication that occurs between Arabs and westerners, technical communicators should work to resolve conflicts and avoid misunderstandings.
Abolrous, Sally. University of Washington-Seattle (2002). Articles>TC>Regional>Middle East
#13650
The Perception of Scientific Uncertainty in Science News Writing
When science is represented in the news, articles can misrepresent uncertainty in one of two ways: either they make the science appear more uncertain than it is by focusing on controversy, or they make it appear more certain by focusing on the end result or the discovery. Paradoxically, the high degree of uncertainty that pervades the science covered in most news stories and that, in some cases, makes the science newsworthy, receives little attention. This is because journalists must reconcile the difference between uncertain science and an expectation that news is certain. Somewhere in the reconciliation, uncertainty often gets left out.
Riebeek, Holli. University of Washington-Seattle (2002). Books>Scientific Communication>Journalism
#23623
Portfolios to Demonstrate Professional Skills
Explains how electronic portfolios bring together all the assignments in a TC core course, including learning the tools supported by the profession, student assignments, design rationales, and students' reflections on the tools and their skills and abilities.
Turns, Jennifer. University of Washington-Seattle (2001). Presentations>Education>Streaming>Video
#13630
A spring 2002 tech comm course on offset printing, paper and graphic design for technical communicators.
Sauer, Geoffrey. University of Washington-Seattle (2002). Academic>Courses>Undergraduate
#18655
Probing and its Effects on the Validity and Reliability of Verbal Reports
Eliciting verbal reports from participants in usability studies is a commonly used method used to collect performance and preference data. By asking users to 'think-aloud,' usability practitioners can observe users interact with an interface and listen to their concurrent thoughts at the same time. Verbal data is helpful because it allows observers to know how users think—what they look for, how they expect to accomplish tasks, and what elements of the interface they find confusing or helpful.
Abolrous, Sally. University of Washington-Seattle (2001). Articles>Usability>Methods
#18654
The Readers and Writers Behind Electronic Mail
As electronic mail replaces face-to-face communication in many work environments, a thorough analysis of this evolving medium and its impact on communication is necessary. In many workplaces, telephone calls and knocks on doors have dramatically decreased in frequency, but the number of emails that circulate through one’s inbox is continuing to increase. Yet, our understanding of this new medium and how it is being used is limited. Some scholars argue that email has many of the characteristics of speech; some argue that it has the same characteristics as writing, while others argue that it is a completely new genre of communication.
Abolrous, Sally. University of Washington-Seattle (2002). Articles>Communication>Online>Email
#13641
Single Sourcing, Content Management and the Otobase Project
This report examines some of the issues raised by multiuse publishing in the context of the Otobase software documentation project at the University of Washington. In doing so, it aims to contribute to our understanding of how single sourcing and content management might help us better adapt to users, and also to view the impact of a structured approach to documentation on writers and editors. The report will also use these ideas to suggest both current and long-term improvements for the Otobase project. First, it will briefly describe the project and its current documentation, and then look at theories of single sourcing, content management and structured documents before applying these theories to the project itself.
Burner, Dell. University of Washington-Seattle (2002). Books>Content Management>Single Sourcing
#25483
The Slashdot Effect: Analysis of a Large-Scale Public Conversation on the World Wide Web 
This dissertation argues that Slashdot emerged from collaboration among a group that shares a cultural commitment to open discussion. This combination¡ªthe dedication to open discussion with the technology to facilitate mass interaction¡ª allows Slashdot to perform the larger function of linking social groups, voices, and ideas that would otherwise remain separated.
Halavais, Alexander M. Campbell. University of Washington-Seattle (2003). Books>Web Design>Communication>Blogs
#24055
STC Research RFP Epost Discussion Board 
The STC Research RFP Discussion Board was created using Epost, part of a University of Washington online toolkit. The discussion board is open to the public.
University of Washington-Seattle. Resources>Collaboration>Research
#13642
While web technology has become pervasive, it might be argued that it has made few fundamental changes in the way we live. The graphical browser and the emergence of corporate entities brought the Web to the forefront of the Internet and brought the Web to the masses. But popularity, along with proprietary and corporate influence changed the goals and focus of online life. In many ways this change in goals resulted in the Internet failing to fulfill much of its initial promise.
Holstrom, Christopher Ryan. University of Washington-Seattle (2002). Books>Web Design
#13640
Streaming Academic Presentations: A Web Site Redesigned
This project involved a comprehensive redesign of the Streaming Audio and Video site on EServer.org. The tasks included predesign planning (audience analysis, flowcharting, scoping the project), designing (creating layout, graphics, and information architecture), and implementing the necessary database and HTML code to execute the methods prescribed in the design.
Hinkelman, Andrew. University of Washington-Seattle (2002). Books>Web Design>Redesign
#28287
The web site for a Master's level course on Usability Testing in the Technical Communication department at the University of Washington.
Rose, Emma. University of Washington-Seattle. Academic>Courses>Usability>Testing
#14181
Technical and Professional Writing
This course is designed to strengthen your understanding and mastery of language in the context of technical and professional communication. This involves exploring the concept of rhetoric and the various rhetorical options available for a given professional writing task. The truth is, you already know what rhetoric is in an instinctive way. Without knowing it, you use rhetoric in conversation and personal letters. The aim of the course, however, is to raise your rhetorical awareness to a more conscious and effective level when you sit down to write in the workplace.
Chilson, Peter. Washington State University. Academic>Courses>Business Communication>Technical Writing
#20100
Drafting, rendering, and photographic techniques used in the development of illustrations for advertisements, technical manuals, and other publications.
Eastern Washington University. Academic>Courses>Technical Illustration
#13906
Theoretical Dimensions of Technical Communication
This graduate course studies theoretical constructs and issues that inform all technical communication. Inherently a multi-disciplinary activity, tech comm draws on theories from fields as different as rhetoric and science, psychology and philosophy, sociology and linguistics. This term we will focus specifically on rhetoric, on the relationships between author, text and reader, and on philosophies of science and language. The purpose of this seminar is to explore relevant theories in sufficient depth and detail to do justice to their complexity, and, at the same time to examine their applicability to technical communication. Students will be expected to comprehend and challenge these theories on their own terms as well as to understand their value for the interpretation and transfer of technical information. Such understanding is crucial to intelligent decisions in professional practice; it allows the technical communicator to look beyond surface issues and see the essential problems and possible solutions. Theoretical knowledge of the field distinguishes the professional from the practitioner.
Sauer, Geoffrey. University of Washington-Seattle (2002). Academic>Courses>Graduate>Rhetoric
