Technology and the Technical Writing Curriculum

1. Technology and the Technical Writing Curriculum Dr. Robert Bergland Missouri Western State College bergland@mwsc.edu Great Plains Computers and Writing Conference Peru State College, April 26, 2003

2. Impact of Technology on Field • Fundamental change in what is done and how it is done, perhaps more than any other non-computer/engineering field • Change in what is taught and how it is taught • Instability of tools, technology and skills

3. Impact of Technology on Field • Page design • Web content and design • On-line documentation • Electronic publishing • Multimedia • Interactive training materials • Interactive and MM documentation

4. Ways Curriculum Has Changed Spectrum--from little change to great • Maintain traditional focus and classes • Interweave technology into existing classes • Add courses which are oriented toward new technology • Add emphasis/concentration areas • Add new tech oriented majors

5. Department history Institutional history Other departments’ programs Existing hard/software # of courses offered Existing faculty expertise New hire search # of majors $ for new tech purchases Reasons for Degree of Change

6. No Technology--Maintain Traditional Focus and Classes • “Luddite” approach • More common at smaller schools with only one or two professional writing classes • Byproduct of lack of computer lab/software facilities or lack of faculty expertise or interest

7. Interweave Tech into Existing Courses • Desire to maintain foundations or principles--fundamentals do not change Example: Technical documentation course in 1988 used Word/Word Perfect, in 2000 uses Quark and Framemaker

8. Add courses which are oriented toward new technology • Believes that new technologies and distribution methods have changed some traditional Tech Comm foundations Example: Adding a course in web authoring or multimedia

9. Add emphasis/concentration areas • Creates new tracks to cater to student interests or job market needs Example: addition of web design minor/emphasis/track/concentration

10. Add new tech oriented majors • Sometimes abandons Tech Comm/ writing focus • Often takes a multi-disciplinary format • Found at some high-tech institutions Example: Majors in human-computer interaction, digital media, multimedia, information architecture

11. Reasons for Degree of Change • Department history • Institutional history • Other departments’ programs • Existing hard/software • # of courses offered • Existing faculty expertise • New hire search • # of majors • $ for new tech purchases

12. Points to ponder • Benefits and Drawbacks of Each Approach for Schools, Student and Teachers • Need to match approach to needs of school and students • End sum game?