Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Chapter 3 Technical Writing and Electronic Technologies

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, All Rights Reserved. ‣ 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, All Rights Reserved. Netiquette — The Informal Rules of the Internet ‣ Choose an appropriate 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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