Advanced Technical Writing 2008 Session #2

Web Space? You have access to an account provided by MSU– your AFS Space. To put stuff there, FTP to ftp.msu.edu and store files in the directory called public_html; Or, in a networked lab, map the drive and navigate to your public_html directory ftp.msu.edu Did that last bit of jargon confuse you?

Project 1: Ergonomics Poster For the first project, we’ll be building a poster that helps folks working in Bessey 317 to work in egonomically appropriate ways. Individually, your job will be to develop content for the poster & play an editorial role in its production. You should also document your participation carefully.

Project 1, Continued Information will come from… But we will… OSHA online site + MSU Ergonomic Info Center Customize the information for the specific users and specific ergonomic challenges of EBH 317 We will also Test the poster with real users to be sure that it is a useful and usable resource

Project 1, Continued We will consider four key topics, each of which will be assigned to an editorial team:  Workstations (chairs, tables, computers)  Non-Workstation areas (tables, laptops)  Lighting & displays (monitors, projector, overhead lights, resolutions)  Work Processes (timing, group dynamics) We will negotiate issues of design, sequence, real estate, etc. for each of these areas on the poster.

Project 1, continued In addition to reviewing key TC concepts & skills, we’ll learn other valuable things: ► We’ll explore the complexities of managing multiple content-providers, including managing format & content consistency ► You’ll learn important content management concepts …and there might be a few twists thrown in along the way…

Project 1, Requirements ► A poster, suitable for hanging up in 317, is our final deliverable; you will produce all the digital assets needed for the final production of the poster ► A portfolio, compiled by each person, of work contributed to the poster project ► Your portfolio will be a section of your project page that makes your contributions to the project visible

Project 1, Timeline ► 1/10 Choose editorial team, review information in your topic area ► 1/15 Teams propose poster concepts ► 1/17 Teams work out semantic markup scheme for poster content; individuals create content assets ► 1/22 Teams create wireframes of posters; individuals plug assets into wireframes ► 1/24 Teams create poster draft for testing ► 1/31 Teams make adjustments to semantic structure; Individuals revise digital assets for poster ► 2/2 Poster ready to ship to post-production shop

Review: writing procedures ► Parts: Title, Title Image, Byline, Introduction, Alerts, Warnings, Advance Organizers, Steps, Process Images, Outcome Images, Troubleshooting ► Writing Steps:  Number the steps  Do the steps as you write them  Begin each step with a verb  Use positive commands whenever you can  Include one action per step  Group steps together in meaningful ways  Use visual cues to keep steps distinct and cue sequence  Clarify steps with visual information Dobrin, Keller, & Weisser Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century

Seeing a document as a collection of objects… Markup… All of these tags, attributes, rules, selectors, declarations…what do they mean for information designers? They are all tools you use well ONLY if you can start to see a document as a collection of objects…so, let’s practice.

Workshop Time!

Take a look at the OSHA source material. Break it up into the objects that would be defined in a Cascading Style Sheet… Now…break it up into objects (chunks of text and or images with semantic lables) that you think are useful for the poster… Grad students…represent the whole semantic structure of one of the subgenres

Objects for CSS subsection title List item in body text …and what else? Defining objects for CSS is largely a question of asking what elements on the page will need special display rules

Objects for Poster Subsection theme lead image Defining objects for the poster is largely a question of asking what semantic elements on the page can be reused? (not a question of display…yet) Quick Tip

Objects for Poster Subsection theme lead image Defining objects for the poster is largely a question of asking what semantic elements on the page can be reused? (not a question of display…yet) Quick Tip

Semantic Structure Making the semantic structure explicit involves locating all the relevant content objects, showing how they are related to one another, and noting their attributes (e.g. required or optional?) Title Overview Key Terms Advance Organizer Section

Next Time… ► Editorial teams present poster concepts ► Read Applen, Crowley, Geisler et. al., & Carliner (this will take you a while)