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  1. Sep 2016
  2. courses.christopherylam.com courses.christopherylam.com
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    1. ansleydkent 07 Sep 2016
      Technologypermeates everything a practicing technical communicatordoes. How we react to changes in that technology on both theindividual and organizational level will have a dramatic im-pact on the development of the profession.

      Because we live in a technological age, the job descriptions and how technical communicators do their job HAS to grow with the advancing technology. It's possible that what we talk about in class this semester about what technical communication is won't be the same definition our kids will learn. The idea of technical communications relies heavily on what technology is available. As that grows, so will the job descriptions. The technical communicators of today are demanded to know so much more than those who preceded them. A job in technical communication interests me a lot and the idea of it always changing and growing makes me excited to hopefully pursue it.

      #gsutw16 albers ra1adk
    2. ansleydkent 07 Sep 2016
      "One of the most crucial tasks of the technical commu-nicator is to provide information that users need by carefullyselecting the right mix of content and then developing, ar-ranging, and presenting it effectively for the audienc

      This is very much an simplified definition of technical communication. Collaborations, technologies, and all other variables take a deeper look in the "how" aspect of technical communication. But at the basis of it, this is technical communication and how it differs from all other forms of writing.

      #gsutw16 albers ra1adk
    3. ansleydkent 07 Sep 2016
      how technicalcommunication will change as jobs require a more variedskill set that no individual can be reasonably expected tomaster. Undeniably, a jack of all trades attitude is not whatwe need.

      A balance between "jack of all trades" and "master" is required for technical communicators. But also it helps if you are able to utilize the critical thinking referenced in earlier. Being able to learn new information and then "regurgitate" and utilize it is a valuable tool that you can use to learn the different technological aspects.

      #gsutw16 albers ra1adk
    4. ansleydkent 07 Sep 2016
      In other words, the writing aspects were thesame. In a very real way, the writing isn't different whetheryou are writing double-spaced text to be sent to a typeset-ter, using a desktop publishing system, or writing Webcontent. However, before everyone leaps up and claimsthey are majorly different, note that I said the writing. Thewriting process and the skill sets required to be an effectivetechnical communicator in each of those three writingsituations is radically different. The technology required tobe effective in each of those situations is also different, andan effective writer must be able to handle that technology.

      This point is so vital to understanding the complexities of technical communcation, I think. The act of writing and learning to write effectively really never changes. The amount of context given, what the audience needs and/or wants, the process in which a product is made is the real complexity of technical communication in my opinion. Having an arsenal of skills to know that one audience may need a tweet while the other needs a brochure and then how to create good effective versions of those is valuable. Understanding your personal writing process is the start to all of this and also writing on different mediums and seeing how that effects your process.

      #gsutw16 albers ra1adk
    5. ansleydkent 07 Sep 2016
      coming a spe-cialist is not required—although senior people probablywill specialize in one area—but all writers must be able tofluently discuss issues pertinent to each area.

      I think that a lot of people would find this surprising. How can someone who isn't a expert on a certain subject know how to write about that subject? Well, the answer is critical thinking! The ability to comprehend, analyze, and then synsthesize information is such a valuable tool in learning new information and also being able to write about something you aren't necessarily an "expert" on. Rhetors and technical communicators should be able to do this with any information given to them.

      #gsutw16 albers ra1adk
    6. ansleydkent 07 Sep 2016
      hnical com-municators need to continue to learn new technologies andtools to remain competitive and employable

      This really proves the argument of the article; technical communication is evolving faster than anyone expected and to be effective, one must stay on top of the ever-growing world of technology as well as have the ability to write for it. Complacency doesn't work here.

      #gsutw16 albers ra1adk
    7. ansleydkent 06 Sep 2016
      fore the mid-199O's, simply being able to write was sufficient to gethired. That text-focused view is no longer common. Whatemployers expect—and what graduates need to be com-petitive in the job market—is an expanded set of skills tocomplement their writing ability, skills that depend onvarious aspects of technology.

      A teacher in high school always told us that the number one complaint companies had about new hires was their ability to write effectively was very very low. The knowledge to know how to write effectively plus the knowledge of technologies and how to write with them is the ticket to being a great and valuable employee.

      #gsutw16 ra1adk albers
    9. ansleydkent 06 Sep 2016
      But many writers still want to clingto variations of the locked door; they want to be left alone andgiven enough time to carefully craft sentences and paragraphsinto beautiful, tight, coherent prose. Unlike programmerswho have been forced to work on teams, many writers stillwork alone or with only one or two other writers, and havethus been able to maintain the craftsman attitude. But thisattitude is, in the end, detrimental to their position within acompany and recognition by coworkers.

      The idea of technical communication as a collaborative effort is another thing that is new not only to technical communication, but the profession of writing in general. We don't see many instances of cowriting, but in technical communication, it is almost essential. Going through drafts and ideas and different suggestions and input only makes the product stronger. Collaboration is an important part of being an effective technical communicator.

      #gsutw16 albers ra1adk
    10. ansleydkent 06 Sep 2016
      Weiss (2002) argues that the "artistic impulse" of mostwriters can prove to be the "greatest barrier to productivityand may even compromise the quality of the communica-tion products" (p. 3). Too many writers seem eager to craft"perfect" prose with the writing aspects overriding thecommunication issues inherent in the specific audienceand task.

      When writing for academia, especially in the higher levels, we are told to be eloquent and "perfect" and sound dignified, but when it comes to technical communication, efficiency and concision is key. The word choice and sounded lofty so you can make a word or page count isn't the most important thing: the audience is. Getting the point across is. Audience and task are the central ideas of technical communication, which makes it hard because we have to relearn how to write. That's one of the reasons tech writers are in such high demand; the ability to write concisely and efficiently is not a small task.

      #gsutw16 ra1adk albers
    11. ansleydkent 06 Sep 2016
      contextual issues surroundingaudience needs and effective communication must drivethe choice and use of technology

      This is where a discussion of genre and rhetorical problem solving can be used. Based on the rhetorical situation, a effective technical communicator must consider all things in order to provide the most compelling, engaging, and appropriate response/argument/product. Which kind of technology would be best is an important factor in technical communication in this age.

      ra1adk #gsutw16 albers
    12. ansleydkent 06 Sep 2016
      Traditionally, the focus of technical communica-tors has been on writing documents. However, inrecent years, technical communicators have beenwidening their scope and expanding into areassuch as interface and interaction design, information archi-tecture, information design, and usability. I

      As my classmate says, technical communication is ever-growing and ever-changing. What "technical writing" was 20, even 10 years ago isn't necessarily all that it is now. Technology is growing and evolving, and so does our needs of technical writing. Another thing to note is the change from "technical writing" to "technical communication". Now, it seems that it is more about a dialogue than rules and/or instructions

      #gsutw16 ra1adk albers
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