Chapter 3 Technical Writing and Electronic Technologies
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Transcript of Chapter 3 Technical Writing and Electronic Technologies
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Chapter 3Technical Writing and
Electronic Technologies
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Technology is any implement that helps perform a task, from sticks and stones to modern computers
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Computer Technologies‣ Inevitable and necessary in workplace
writing
‣ Influential in producing and disseminating information
‣ All documents depend on them
‣ All workers depend on them
‣ Many to choose from for different tasks
‣ Involved in the Problem-Solving Approach
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Different Programs for Different Documents
‣ Word processors
‣ Web-authoring software
‣ Graphics and imaging software
‣ Desktop publishing software
‣ Help authoring tools
‣ Single sourcing programs
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Word Processors‣ Can revise, edit, correct, and change documents
‣ Use templates and style guides
‣ Create tables and columns
‣ Use multiple windows
‣ Can be used to find and replace words and phrases
‣ Can be used to share and collaborate at various stages
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Web-Authoring Software
‣ Used to design, create, and maintain websites
‣ Uses graphics, images, sounds, links
‣ Use HTML (HyperText Markup Language) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) in the background
‣ Uses WYSIWYG for ease of composition
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Graphics & Imaging Software
‣ Creates new images
‣ Edits and crops existing images
‣ Masks portions of images
‣ Modifies and cleans up images
‣ Creates text and logos, drop shadows, and effects
‣ Develops diagrams, charts, and tables
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Desktop Publishing (DTP)
‣ Combines features of word-processing, web-authoring, and graphics and imaging software
‣ Renders the whole publication, including text, images, and other visual elements
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Help Authoring Tools‣ Create and organize information to help guide
readers through a process, problem, application, program, product, or website
‣ Prioritize and sequence help information so users follow it logically on various systems
‣ Create glossaries, appendices, and tables of content to organize and prioritize information
‣ Create and use a variety of navigational aides, such as forward, back, and home buttons
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Single Sourcing Software
‣ Stores one version of the information to use in multiple documents
‣ Is similar to help authoring software
‣ Saves time and money, eliminates errors, and improves consistency
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Communicating & Collaborating
‣ The Internet
‣ The World Wide Web
‣ Electronic Messaging
‣ Video Conferencing
‣ Groupware
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
The Internet
‣ Is a huge network of interconnected computers
‣ Facilitates most workplace communication
‣ Is a generic name for multiple modes of communication
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Email‣ Is the most widely used tool for
collaboration and communication today
‣ Delivers 35 billion messages per day
‣ Carries attachments, like word processing documents
‣ Provides a conduit for listservs and newgroups
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Netiquette — The Informal Rules of the Internet
‣ Choose an appropriate email address
‣ Use an appropriate subject line
‣ Respect others’ bandwidth
‣ Lurk before you leap
‣ Polish your writing
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Netiquette Continued
‣ WATCH THOSE CAPS
‣ Use attachments appropriately
‣ Back it up and save it
‣ Remember: when it’s out there, it’s out there
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
The World Wide Web‣ Web pages stored on servers, written
in code, and accessed through a web browser
‣ A large portion of the Internet
‣ The primary medium through which technical information is published, transmitted, archived, and accessed today
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Electronic Messaging
‣ Is synchronous communication through short text-based messages
‣ Is used for short discussions, follow-ups, and immediate questions
‣ Can be used to facilitate group discussions
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Videoconferencing‣ Allows participants to see and hear one
another
‣ Allows individuals at different locations to interact in real time
‣ Is not as convenient as text-based messaging, since hardware, software, and bandwidth can be problematic and expensive
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Groupware‣ Brings together many of the features of
videoconferencing, document sharing, and the WWW in one package
‣ Allows secure and private file sharing
‣ Uses whiteboards to “draw” on a screen that everyone can see, regardless of their location
‣ Manages lists of contacts, group members, or collaborative teams
Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458. All Rights Reserved.
The Future‣ Wireless
‣ Allows remote connections
‣ Bandwidth and connection speed
‣ Allows for more sophisticated documents
‣ Ubiquity
‣ More integrated, transparent, and portable
‣ Price
‣ Cheaper, more powerful computing