TC 310 The Computer in Technical Communication

1. TC 310 The Computer in Technical Communication Dr. Jennifer Turns Week 7, Day 2 (5/14)

2. Professional Portfolio • Your 9th assignment in this class is to design and develop a web-based professional portfolio. This professional portfolio should showcase the work that you have completed since the beginning of the term.

3. Looking back / Looking forward

4. Taking Stock What were you supposed to be learning in this course? What progress have we made toward the desired learning?

5. Taking Stock - WOW! • Eight Designed Solutions: • Illustrating uses of software: Word, Powerpoint, Photoshop, Visio, RoboHelp, Dreamweaver, HTML, InDesign • Illustrating genres of TC activity: Document design, Presentation design, Fact Sheets, Online Help… • Illustrating use of common software functionality - Styles, Master Slide/Page, Layers • Key Features – talking about solutions • Design Rationale – talking about design • Learning Reflections – talking about learning

6. Taking Stock- Learning Obj • Use Software Tools. Use modern software tools to accomplish common TC activities including presentation management, word processing, graphics design, diagram design, page layout, web development, online help development, and animation. • Learn New Software Tools. Use skills developed throughout the course (particularly an understanding of tool functionality and strategies to get oriented in a new software program) to quickly come up to speed on new software tools. • Identify Effective TC Solutions. Identify criteria for judging the effectiveness of TC solutions (e.g., document, diagram, etc.) and use these criteria to evaluate TC solutions. • Describe Personal Design Processes. Describe and use design processes that lead to effective solutions for a wide range of TC professional activities. • Create Effective TC Solutions. Create effective TC solutions by using the software skills learned in the course as well as the knowledge of what makes TC solutions effective and a personal awareness of design process issues.

7. Taking Stock • Publish • Publish your “submission portfolio” in E-portfolio. • Explore • Explore your own submission portfolio • Explore the submission portfolios of others • Brainstorm • What progress relative to the course learning objectives?

8. Looking back / Looking forward

9. By the end of class, students should be able to: Identify decisions that need to be made in designing the professional portfolio Discuss different audiences for the professional portfolio, and the implications for design decisions Describe various types of student constructed portfolios What we’ll do… Part 1: Use audience analysis to identify implications for design and design decisions Part 2: Learn about other student portfolio work on campus (FIELD TRIP). Day 14

10. Decisions in Designing the Professional Portfolio

11. PETTT Spring Forum: May 21, 2003"Using Portfolios to Bridge Classroom, Community, and Career" Post-secondary institutions are increasingly turning to electronic portfolios to help students demonstrate learning and showcase skills. On May 21st the UW Program for Educational Transformation Through Technology will hold its annual Spring Symposium, that will highlight the personal, academic, and career benefits students get from creating an electronic portfolio. Symposium participants will explore the many new tools and resources available to University of Washington students that help them use portfolios effectively, including the newly released Catalyst Portfolio tool. The program will be held in the Henry Art Gallery Auditorium from 2:00pm-5:00pm, with a reception to follow. From 2:00pm - 3:30pm the symposium will feature electronic portfolios by students in various disciplines, with comments by their campus mentors. … http://depts.washington.edu/pettt/events/

12. Audience Analysis – Users What types of users might make use of the professional portfolio?

13. Persona – “A persona is a profile of an archetypal user synthesized from a series of interviews with real people. It includes a name, a social history, and a set of goals that drive the developer’s design of the product or website.” (Perfetti, in Intercom, Nov 2002, p. 35) Your Team Task Create a persona for the assigned user group with: name, goals/tasks, knowledge, and circumstances of use Post your persona to the course EPost. Audience Analysis - Personas

14. Investor… • Robert Calvin is an investor. He is interested in funding projects that will make him money. He's interested in startup companies in technical communication and engineering fields. He's devoted to his career. Consequently, he's been divorced four times. His dog left with his last wife. So he has no private life and devotes all his time to his business ventures. He has a lot on his mind.

15. Organization seeking TC skills… • Joe is 42 years old and has worked with his current company, Sea Monkey's Inc., for the past 10 years. He earned his degree in business and is interested in further developing the product while reducing overhead costs. Realizing that outsourcing requires a deep knowledge of technical communication, Joe is in search for someone who can provide that expertise.

16. Professional Microsoft Recruiter • Janet De Cosmo is a technical recruiter for Microsoft, and she's interested in finding potential candidates for full time employment. She travels frequently and visits different colleges across the country. This year, she's looking for candidates who have both ability to write (or edit) and design documents, web pages, and graphics. The company has three job openings, and they require a creative person who has skills in Visio, PowerPoint, or any Desktop or Web Publishing tools. Janet is also searching for candidates who have the ability to work independently as well as in groups.

17. A TC Department is hiring… • Archibald has been working for XYZ Co. for 8 years. He graduated from the UWTC department 10 years ago. His specialty is web design. He is in charge of hiring new employees and is currnetly looking to fill a position in the TC department of XYZ Co. Some things that he looks for when hiring are: absolute loyalty, experience in several software applications including InDesign, Photoshop, and Dreamweaver. In his spare time he likes to go skinny dipping with his pet iguana named fluffy. He is also studying to be a french chef.

18. Audience Analysis (cont.) Dimensions • Goals: What would be his/her goal in interacting with the professional portfolio? Implications? • Knowledge: What types of knowledge does he/she bring (and not bring)? • Circumstances of Use: Under what circumstance might he/she explore the professional portfolio? Implications?

19. Looking back / Looking forward

20. Homework – Wednesday, 5/28 As a team, prepare a 2-3 page working prototype of your professional portfolio. • Pages: The prototype should include the main portfolio page as well as 1-2 artifact pages. • Dimensions: The prototype should include • Website design details (navigation, graphic design) • Writing samples (professional statement excerpts, one artifact annotation).