1. TC 310 The Computer in Technical Communication
Dr. Jennifer Turns
Week 10, Day 2 (12/4)

2. Week 10, Day 2 By the end of class, students should be able to:
Learn more about various tools present today
Make decisions on choosing various tools for TC purposes
Identify more tools of interest
What we’ll do…
Expose students to various popular software
Illustrate how people differ in s/w tool choice
Discuss how to choose tools

3. Everyday tasks of a TC professional
Writing
Reading
Editing
Presentation
Research
Field studies
Usability Studies
Any other tasks?

4. Factors in s/w choice How much it costs? What company makes it?
How does it work?
Can you think of any other factors?

5. Toolbox for a TC professional
Data collection - Prototype creation
Observer - XML
Reviewer - Flash
Data Analysis - Data presentation
Excel - PowerPoint
SPSS - Moviemaker
Easy sort - Frame maker
Access - Inspiration
Writing, Editing Other TC tasks, other tools, alternatives?
Work in groups and make a list of other tools.
Share with class.

6. Scenario
You are designing and implementing a large scale research study for a mid size company. You make decisions and recommendations of what tools to buy.
Prototype
Must run on a pocket PC
Hosted from a server in the lab
Participants
100 participants
Lab setting
Documenting the study
Video
Audio
Notes
Data analysis - Data presentation
Qualitative - Research report (at least 100 pages)
Quantitative - Present findings to a large audience

7. Your Task
Make a 3 – 5 slide presentation with the following information.
Research all the tools available.
Choose the right s/w for the scenario.
List reasons why you chose them.
Make a request to your company justifying the need to purchase the s/w you recommended.
Make a list of the s/w you would like to learn next, add reasons why.

8. Looking Ahead… What we discussed today: What we learned…
Learn more about various tools present today in the industry
Make decisions on choosing various tools for TC purposes
Identify more tools of interest
What we learned…
Multiple tools are needed to complete a project
There is always a choice of tools to pick from