I decided to move this here since course posts are deleted at the end of every class, so if I really want to learn from this and use it, I need to have it available.
So I have some reflective questions for you to answer (please post your answers as comments. If you feel uncomfortable posting something, I think it will let you use a pseudonym - I don't care to know who the comments came from anyway :)). I know you answered some of the same types of questions in the online evaluation of learning, but I don't get that till well into the next semester, and I'd like to have it as I design for the fall.
So what should I do differently next time to make this course better/more valuable for you as a student?
How did you like the book? Did you use it, or did you find it totally unhelpful? If you just didn't use it because you hate to read, that's good for me to know, as well - maybe I'll use more online resources or something.
What part of the course did you find the most useful? The biggest waste of your time?
That's all, and I look forward to hearing from you!
J Moody
One thing that I wanted to mention about your proposals that I think about while I'm grading is the "why" question. For example, if you say you're going to use 12 point font, why? Why does that make sense for this audience? I also want to encourage you to think really hard about how your audience is going to USE your final project, and to design accordingly. If you do an auto repair manual as a website, for example, how will your audience bring the manual to the car as they work? Answering this type of question will help show me that you're considering your audience rather than just telling me how you're considering them, although you should do some of that, too!
Thinking outside the box for your final project involves more than just thinking about design, by the way - take a look at this book series - they have a fairly innovative approach to teaching technology:
Expressed in this comic. By the way, it's probably not a great idea to post stuff like this where a lot of people can see it because of copyright issues, but it was appropriate enough for this class that I decided to do it anyway. It said I could e-mail a link, so I'm just posting it.
While I'm on the topic of writing instructions, I wanted to talk about another important concept in technical writing - parallelism.
When you write instructions, it's important to create parallel constructions:
Insert the screw into the slot
Break the end of the plastic tab off
Slide the cover over the screw
Notice how both of these sentences start with the same type of active verb? This helps readers follow your instructions. Notice what would happen if I said:
Insert the screw into the slot
When you break the end of the plastic tab off, slide the cover over the screw.
It's not quite as clear nor as strong when I put a clause in front of the directive in my second example. You can also use this in your writing in general; particularly when constructing a list. Think about your resume, and how you often use bullet points for activities and projects you have completed. Here is a section from my own CV:
- Created user guides for both Linux and Windows applications
- Developed a Linux troubleshooting guide for Syntegra Communications (OmniTicket software contractor)
- Formatted various other technical publications as needed
The parallel construction of the verbs created, developed, and formatted creates a clearer organization and is more grammatically correct. The Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab) has a very clear handout on parallel construction that you should read:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/print/grammar/g_parallel.html
In most books that deal with writing instructions, we hear to use no more than 7 or so steps per section. This is because of the way that our brains process information - the same reason phone numbers are grouped into three sets of no more than 3-4 numbers together for a total of 7 to help us remember phone numbers.
In instructions, we often have to do more than 7 steps, though, so using sections to group and organize these steps becomes quite important. Spend a little time thinking about how your steps relate, and finding areas to "chunk" your steps into groups.
Take the example of installing a seat on a bicycle. For your first group of steps you might have determining the seat size. Another group might be aligning the seat.
You can set these up using the heading feature in Word, which would look something like this:
Installing a bicycle seat
Text describing different seat types and maybe some hints about how to select a seat type that will suit your riding needs.
Determining Seat Size:
1. What you do first
2. What you do second
I used text size and intensity to show my grouping and to guide my audience through the procedure (generally larger headings mean more important/primary information). We'll learn more about this in the design section, but it is something that I wanted to highlight in this instruction section.
Also, note that I numbered my steps with numbers rather than putting Step 1, Step 2, etc. This is another convention that we use in the real world - simpler is usually better. :)
I realized that, while some of the texts talk about integrating graphics and text, most of them don't give you any practical examples of how to do this! This is why I wanted to start this blog - so that I had a chance to show you some of the stuff that I do in a face-to-face classroom :). So I'll show you how to insert a graphic into your text using Microsoft Word - if you already know how to do this, you can stop reading now :). If you have a better way (I admit I'm not the great graphics guru!) please post a comment to this blog and let us know how YOU do it. I would LOVE to learn new ways to do this, too!
Integrating Graphics into your Instructions:
I'm assuming you're using Microsoft Word, but most wordprocessing programs are fairly similar. I'm also assuming that you have the graphics in a format that Word can recognize (you can recognize these by the files extensions - .jpg, .tiff, .gif, .psd, .eps are some of the most common). You can even take pictures with your digital camera (or phone) and download them onto your computer to use in your instructions.
- First, select the spot where you think your graphics would be useful. If you've just explained a complex setup, for example, you might want to put a picture of the finished product in there so that your audience knows what it's supposed to look like when they've done the procedure correctly.
- With your cursor at the spot you would like your graphic inserted, select Insert, then Text Box. You can insert the graphic directly (you will see Insert/Picture in the menu) but I use a text box so that I can position the graphic more precisely.
- Draw your text box the approximate size you want your graphic to be by dragging the edges. If you're using Word 2003 the Insert Text Box command will give you a box that says "Create Your Drawing Here" but you can really put it wherever you want it.
- Once you have your text box, make sure your cursor is inside the box, and that's it's the approximate shape and size you want. Then go back up to Insert, and select Picture, and From File. Select your picture and Word will put it in the text box. You can then drag the text box around to move and reposition the image without disturbing the surrounding text.
Some more things to do with text boxes:
- You can put callouts, hints, and warnings inside them.
- You can use them to organize and format your text and to create special effects, like text that runs down the side of your page.
If you don't want the border around the text box, then right click on the text box border and select Format Text Box from the list. You will see a tab that says Colors and Lines. Under the Line heading, select the dropdown box next to color and then choose No Line from the menu. I usually leave the lines in there until the document is finished however, just because it makes it easier to see where to grab the text box when I want to reposition it. You can also make the border fancier by keeping the Line heading black and selecting a different line format, such as double.
If your words aren't wrapping correctly around your text box, you can also change that in the Format Text Box page by selecting Layout and choosing another wrapping point. You can try different types of word wrap until you have one that works with your text layout.
Have fun, and if you have any questions or suggestions, leave a comment here!
You're getting a lot of good information in your book on this one (and I've put up some supplemental stuff so that you can get even more information!).
Usability tales from the front:
As a technical writer, I worked for an Orlando software company writing documentation for their relatively (at least among amusement park venues) popular windows ticket sales program. I was given no budget to create this documentation, and the documentation I produced was used to train cashiers and managers in how to use the software. Basically what I'm saying is that I had no money for usability testing, but it was very important that my documentation be both accurate and usable by different audiences. Jakob Nielsen noted that you don't have to have a large number of usability testers in order to get a valid result, and I have found this in practice to be true. Even only using 2-3 users, I was able to substantially improve my documentation, and by carefully selecting those 2-3 participants, I was able to determine to some extent whether I'd reached my diverse audiences. While this didn't eliminate all problems, it certainly was better than nothing! I found that even if I dragged co-workers out of their offices to do an in-house testing (which isn't really good testing protocol) it was STILL better than nothing.
So I became a big fan of usability testing, and have incorporated it into my courses for the past few years. While you may not get stellar results from your own use of 2 participants, the principles you will learn will still apply. Ideally your participants WILL have problems working through your documentation, so that you can see places where you might have forgotten to include something. Make sure that actions don't require the user to assume too much, and you'll have more accurate instructions, but there may also be some redundancy (do you really have to ask people to turn on the water when washing their car, or is this something that you can safely assume?).
An old man was walking down a beach, alone. The sky was slate, the sand was grey, and the sea was green flecked with whitecaps. The wind whistled around the dunes; a woman moaning in either pleasure or pain, and the old man turned as if to look for her.
I am hasty of temper, and certainly not always an easy person to be around. I realize this, and thought that I accepted it. I thought that my friends knew this, and that they accepted me as well, but an overheard remark last week threw that whole notion into turmoil. I had one of those electrifying moments where you see everything in relief, and realize that your view of the world has been skewed all along. I am trying to come around to this new world view, but it's difficult, and causing me quite a bit of angst.
When I surf, I tread a thin line between agressiveness and assertiveness. If you are too meek, you will lose every wave to the crowd; too aggressive, and you are evil. But as a woman, my line is somewhat left of assertive, apparently. I didn't feel the double standard as much until last week, although certainly I must have known that it existed. Now I have the work of deciding where I will stand, and what I will stand for. Will I value public opinion more than the ability to express myself? Can I overcome my habitual hanging onto the well-trodden path and strike out in some new direction?
This parallels my work on my dissertation, as I work to negotiate between what I believe and the performance of pleasing my committee. I am not sure what role I will play there, either, and I wish I had more space and time to work this out.
In the writing world, I have to frame my research question, and the big debate is whether I'm going to study online identity using eportfolios as an example, or whether I'm going to concentrate on the eportfolios as the main research focus. I can't even figure out whether I want to spell it eportfolios or e-portfolios!
Passed. I still have to have a meeting to determine where I could have been stronger on the exam, and then write my prospectus, and...well, for right now I'm just going to enjoy having passed and digress a little into my personal life.
Four weeks ago I had knee surgery, which was supposed to be nothing, but of course once they got in there I had more wrong with me than they thought. They were able to do a mensical repair, which is supposed to be better than a removal, they debrided my patella and they removed a cyst behind one of my tendons. Suffice it to say that I woke up hurting like a dog and feeling like I'd never walk again, much less surf. But time does heal; I've been really good with my physical therapy, and I'm looking forward to getting in the water again as soon as we have a nice clean day.
Peter made me a new board, and I'll post a pic as soon as it's done. That seems like the ultimate reward for this year of hard work, as well as a stress relief valve for the year yet to come!
