Join us for a tech comm intro MOOC by STC

This fall, the STC will run a free 5-week MOOC to allow everybody online to explore the field of technical communications – and I’m excited to be teaching the introductory module!

The full syllabus

The MOOC will highlight the roles and responsibilities of technical communication professionals through 5 specializations in 5 weekly modules, starting on 30 September:

1. Introduction to technical communication, by myself
2. Content development and delivery, by Bernard Aschwanden
3. Content strategy and lifecycle, by Mollye Barrett
4. Instructional design, by Dana West and Phylise Banner
5. Usability and user assistance, by Ray Gallon and David Farbey

The introductory module

My module in the first week will serve as a general introduction to the field of technical communication.

What will you learn?

After the module, you should be able to

• Define purpose, benefits and tasks of technical communication
• Argue the value of technical communication for companies and clients
• Describe the daily job and career of a technical communicator
• Identify the elements of effective technical communication
• Describe and develop basic core skills of a technical communicator

What do you do?

Your week will start with some assigned texts and videos to introduce the topics.

You will see how all the pieces fit together in an online lesson on Wednesday afternoon (US time). The outline will be the same as for the readings; it looks something like this:

1. What is technical communication? – Definitions and trends
   • A changing definition, from technical writing to business problem-solving
   • Recent trends (mobile and embedded help, social media and user-generated content)
2. Why have technical communication? – Benefits and business cases
   • How technical communication benefits users and companies and products
   • What only technical communication can do (USPs)
3. Who is a technical communicator? – Tasks and career
   • A day in the life
   • Personality and aptitudes
   • A versatile career path
4. How does a technical communicator work? – Skills and expertise
   • Know your audience through audience analysis and personas
   • Learn from subject-matter experts by research and collaboration
   • Write task-oriented topics using task analysis and modular topic types
   • Edit modular documentation for content and language

You will have a chance to try your hand on technical communications in a couple of learning activities (a/k/a assignments) around creating and editing documentation.

Oof, that’s a lot, no?

Well, yes and no. Yes, it is a wide area, but the purpose is to give you a taste of our versatile profession! I’ll start with the larger picture to illustrate the value of tech comm and how it can be cool and profitable, before diving into a few core skills in depth. The four later modules can afford to be a little more focused.

More information

More information will be available shortly on the web sites of STC which is sponsoring this MOOC and on CourseSites which is furnishing the platform for it.

In the meantime, check out Mollye Barrett talking about the MOOC and her module in a 1:30 video.

What do you think?

Would this be interesting to participate in? What other topics would you expect to see covered in the intro module? Let me know in the comments, and I’ll see if I can address your opints, either in the comments or in the MOOC module itself!

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