The Society for Technical Communication is an individual membership organization dedicated to advancing the arts and sciences of technical communication. It is the largest organization of its type in the world. Its 25,000 members include technical writers and editors, content developers, documentation specialists, technical illustrators, instructional designers, academics, information architects, usability and human factors professionals, visual designers, Web designers and developers, and translators - anyone whose work makes technical information available to those who need it.

The STC Toronto Chapter was founded in 1959 (then the Society of Technical Writers) and is the largest chapter in Canada.

About this Newsletter:

October/November Meeting Report
Ethics, Technology & The Technical Communicator (Oct) & Putting a Course Outline (Nov)
by Susan E. Webb

Over the past few months, STC members have been noshing on some tasty and diverse offerings in the ten-course banquet of chapter meetings served up by our trusty Programme Manager.

Did you know that by simply attending STC meetings, you are upholding Professionalism, one of the items from STC’s code of ethics? At the October meeting, Lori Marra, an STC Rochester chapter member and professor at Nazareth College, reminded us of the others - Legality, Honesty, Confidentiality, Quality, and Fairness. Lori also pointed out that Professionalism includes keeping up your skill set through professional development.

The study of ethics concerns what is proper or right and what is improper or wrong. Ethics is critical in determining how we arrive at our decisions. The two theories of ethics are:

• Deontological (duty-based) – we are bound by duty to do the right thing
• Teleological (consequential) – we should do what will benefit the greatest number of people and achieve the best end result.

Ethics profoundly affects our daily decision-making and even determines our level of personal safety. It is therefore necessary to construct a sound ethical framework for our behaviour, as morality-based practices – both good and bad – tend to become habitual. To make well-deliberated and ethical choices, we need also to develop our reasoning as a skill; we need to employ logic to think well.

As technology-immersed technical communicators, we play many roles, including being stewards of the information with which we work. Will the results of our work be ethically acceptable? To achieve this, we must ensure that the information is secure and valid, and that it is not misused. A security breach may occur, for instance, if we decide to work on the information at home without first backing it up. Information stewardship also requires that we be willing to improve on or develop it.

Lori recommended that information be:

1. Accurate – the result of good research and testing, incorporating a sign-off procedure
2. Timely – the use of current information, revision controls, a plan, and scheduling
3. Useful – the use of relevant information, usability testing to ensure that the technology is easy to learn and use, and audience analysis

As the strongest advocates of good usability and design, it’s up to us to conduct good research, use accurate sources, ask the right questions and present the information well. If we build our ethics framework and expand our skill set, we will find that decision-making becomes easier. Looking ahead, as technology develops and ethical questions become more complex, we will need a solid framework to address such questions effectively.

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According to Jakob Neilsen, users don’t actually read on the Web. Why, then, would an instructional designer simply dump paper-based material onto the screen? For Wayne Debly of Humber College, this would be akin to placing a film script on a television screen in lieu of the actual film footage.

At the November STC meeting, Wayne showed us how to put an educational course online. Describing learning as a continuum of student independence and collaborative efforts, he first advised us that an instructional design process is required to address issues that inevitably arise when transferring a paper medium to the Internet. A thorough audience analysis will determine the needs and characteristics of the targeted students so we can design an appropriate learning solution, while the intended degree of student independence will influence the program design.

Next, we must pinpoint the business and educative goals of the course, to meet the expectations of the program sponsors. Although we must often prioritize among the three technical communicators’ parameters – time, cost and quality –  when constructing any document, good analysis and design can maximize all three of the parameters.

In the design phase, we set up the content structure and flow to provide an overview of the course elements, sections and sequence of key points. Chunking the text and setting it as bullet points makes it easier to scan, rather than read. We can create a learning path by designing branches and links through the content, using Visio or a spreadsheet as the path’s map.

During the solution design phase, we specify the parameters to which the course will be built. Wayne’s own lesson template includes a teaser, content and summary. He stressed the importance of creating learning communities to encourage student retention, especially in distance courses. E-mail, discussions, chat and personal student Web pages help foster interdependent relationships between teachers and students, students and students, and students and the course content. Putting the course evaluation – as well as the content – online allows students to share their feedback with the learning community.

Interactive exercises can spice up an online course. How about a crossword puzzle simulation or a multiple choice quiz featuring answers that stay in place on the screen only when the correct answer is “dragged” into place? Definitions which magically appear when the mouse is rolled over the correct term help to keep the camera moving, while case studies pique students’ interest and humanize the material. Wayne recommended Macromedia Breeze to convert PowerPoint to a flash movie with sound and animated graphics, to enliven static material.

As usability and good design are crucial in an online course, it’s worth investing extra time on an easy-to-follow navigational system. To maintain consistency and writing conventions throughout the course content, Wayne uses the MS Manual of Style for Technical Publications (available free online).

The steps of putting a course online in brief: analysis, design, production, implementation and finally, client review. By following them carefully, we can engage and motivate students through an online medium as effectively as in a classroom.

Susan Webb is a technical writer, editor and Adult ESL instructor. An active STC member, she recently received a chapter award for her contributions to this newsletter. Her experience includes working on privacy compliance and related documentation. In addition, Susan leads Adult ESL learners on an engaging, fun-filled journey through Canadian English at the Toronto District School Board.

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