betajames

In the online technical writing reference for ENG 345, David McMurrey provides a wealth of information about various types of technical reports, including: 

• policies and procedures
• recommendation and feasibility
• technical background
• primary research
• business plans
• technical specifications
• user guides
• instructions

McMurrey notes similarities and differences in terms of format and content among technical reports. In the production of such documents, McMurrey also explains that the real focus is on the writing, "how well adapted to a specific audience it is, how clear and readable it is, how it flows, how it's organized, how much detail it provides." How well we use various and sundry formatting features is an additional focus. 

As we are already familiar with at least three social media tools, this assignment asks for the production of technical documentation for a product, service or topic. Any of the above kinds of technical documentation are appropriate for this assignment. A combination of technical documents is also appropriate, e.g., a technical specifications report about a lightbulb and a set of instructions for installation. Given the focus of this assignment, further research is necessary. There is also an expectation that outside sources will be given appropriate credit. It should be clear, though, what product/service is of major focus. And, unlike the ZGT assignment, the product/service/topic detailed in the technical report must be real. Whether or not any social media tools appear in the production of such technical documentation is up to individual discretion.  

The individual technical writing project must include: 

• At least 3200 words of original text or appropriate media equivalent (not including table of contents, references, etc.) 
• At least two graphics (correctly cited) 
• Document and page design suitable to audience and purpose 
• MLA in-text citations and bibliography (unless citation format in dominant field is APA or Chicago) 

The ultimate project deadline is Week 14, but there are some additional documents required. 

 

Week 7 - Individual project proposal of 800 words due (blogged) 

Week 10 - Audience analysis of 800 words due (blogged) 
Tuesday, 3.8 
Read: TW "Task Analysis" 
Student group:

Week 11 -  Task analysis of 800 words due (blogged)
Read: TW "Progress Report"

Week 12 - Individual project draft of 3200 words (emailed & hard copy to class session)
Tuesday, 
3.22 
Project peer review

Week 13 - Individual project progress report due (blogged)
Individual project work

Week 14 - Individual project revision of 3200 words due (emailed)
Tuesday, 
4.5 
Project debriefing

 

Each of these documents should first be composed in Microsoft Word or a similar word-processing application to take full advantage of formatting opportunities before emailing to Posterous. Blogging requirements (2 per week due by 11:59pm on Monday and Thursday) will remain in effect throughout this project. 

One of the lighter moments in Stanley Kubrick's science-fiction epic 2001: A Space Odyssey concerns Dr. Heywood Floyd's reading of the instructions for using the zero gravity toilet. While lasting only a moment and perhaps inconsequential to the overall themes of the film, this inclusion of technical communication adds a necessary degree of realism. There's also a subtle humor here, given the propensity for toilet jokes to elicit laughter. A closer look at the instructions themselves, though, reveals a format appropriate for technical documentation. Even if a bit complicated and intimidating, this might only heighten the comedic effect. On a somewhat related note, Saturday Night Live's "Happy Fun Ball" commercial is almost exclusively for comedic effect. A spoof of warnings accompanying children's toys, "Happy Fun Ball" also has a degree of realism, though amplified for satirical purposes. In each instance, principles of technical communication are present while also revealing cultural values.  

The following assignment asks for a direct contribution to this unique kind of technical communication. Even at this early stage in the semester, I think it important to exercise burgeoning knowledge. So, compose a technical document about a fictional product or service found in some form of media. Movies and television are primary areas in which to find such products and services, but many also exist in videogames and even on YouTube. I realize there might be some difficulty in coming up with an appropriate fictional product or serve, so feel free to choose from the following: 

• the teleporter from Star Trek 
• the lightsaber from Star Wars 
• the balloon-house from Up 
• the energy sword from Halo 
• the Cornballer from Arrested Development 
• the Kitten Mittens from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia 
• the portable hole from Who Framed Roger Rabbit? 
• any of the weapons from the Ratchet & Clank series 
• any of the gadgets from the James Bond movies 
• any of the contraptions Wile E. Coyote orders from ACME to catch the roadrunner 

At a minimum of 800 words (and due Week 4), the document produced should be some kind of technical communication. A brief set of instructions, a manual introduction, technical specifications, and background information are all appropriate. The document produced could also be a combination, e.g., the instructions and specifications of a batarang. Depending on what fictional product or service is of major focus in completing this assignment, further research might be necessary. If so, there is an expectation that outside sources will be given appropriate credit. It should be clear, though, what fictional product or service is of major focus in the technical document. Again, composing technical documentation of a fictional product or service provides an early, unique opportunity to exercise growing knowledge of technical writing. A required revision of said documentation in Week 14 should further reveal how much has been learned over the semester.

On pages 30-33 of Conversation and Community, Anne Gentle provides a summary overview of social media tools. From audio and video to community and profile content, Gentle categorizes and defines what's available to technical communicators for relaying important information to users online. In most all social media, there is a strong collaborative element, and the same goes for much of technical communication. In both areas, there is an opportunity to not only work closer with like-minded individuals but also to learn how to use something. In working together toward the production of a technical document through the use of social media, we should garner firsthand experience and knowledge of what Gentle observes. 

As we are already familiar with 'shared content' in the form of Posterous and 'microblogging' in the form of Twitter, this assignment asks that pre-established student groups pick a third social media tool to learn and use to produce technical documentation. Below are acceptable social media selections: 

• audio
• community content
• discussions
• photo content
• profile content
• shared content
• syndicated content
• video
• virtual

At a minimum of 2400 words (or appropriate media equivalent), the end result should be some kind of technical communication. Instructions, technical specifications and background information are all appropriate, but must be presented through the use of a social media tool. It could also be a combination, e.g., a series on Flickr (photo content) accompanied by a podcast (audio) of the instructions and specifications of replacing a lightbulb. Given the focus of this assignment, further research is necessary. There is also an expectation that outside sources will be given appropriate credit. It should be clear, though, what product or service is of major focus. 

The ultimate project deadline is due Week 8, but there are some prior documents required. 

• Project proposal - Week 5 
  Posted to one group member's blog, the 400-word proposal should provide an overall approach to the assignment and justification for the group's choices of social media and technical documentation. For example, how/why did the group decide on using Tumblr to facilitate technical communication about gaining all achievements in Halo 3? 

• Project progress report - Week 6 & Week 7
  Posted to one group member's blog, the 400-word progress report should provide evidence of project gains as well as any problems encountered. For example, what issues did the group need to resolve in using Second Life to illustrate the correct process for changing oil in a automobile? 

• Project reflection - Week 8
  Posted to each group member's blog, the 400-word reflection should provide some perspective on the success of the group project. For example, who took the lead in learning PBworks (a wiki) vs. compiling and organizing content to be posted there? 

Twitter is a blogging platform, but simpler. It's similar to a Facebook status update, except you're only allowed to post entries that are 140 characters long. This is because Twitter was designed to work via cellphone text messaging. You can update Twitter from your phone as well as "follow" people on Twitter (and they can follow you back). Updates come to your phone (or online) instantly. You get real-time updates from peers and others you are interested in knowing what they are doing. 

To create and sustain further conversation about technical communication, you are required to maintain active presence on Twitter. 5 tweets per week are also required, but there is freedom regarding content. I encourage you to post original thoughts, "retweet" classmates' updates, @ (reply to) classmates' updates and share relevant links. Posts unrelated to course content are okay, but will not count toward the post requirement. I am very active on Twitter, so I encourage all students to check my profile (and those I follow) for models of engagement.

 So, why are we doing this? Perhaps Twitter can help us learn better clarity and concision. Furthermore, employers in a variety of fields and industries are interested in hiring employees who are social media savvy. Knowing how to use Twitter could very well help you get a job someday. I'm also curious, though, to see how/if using Twitter changes the culture or society of the class in any appreciable way. 

The Assignment

[amended from Brian Croxall] 

1. If you haven't yet joined Twitter, join Twitter.
2. Create a profile. In your username or bio (or both), use your real name (e.g., my username is "betajames," but have my real name in the bio section).
3. Make your profile public. If you already have a Twitter account that is private and would prefer to keep it that way, create a new account for this class. (If your profile is private, classmates cannot search for you and your course-related tweets won't appear in the archive I've set up.)
4. Find and follow all members of our class (students and professor). (I'll try to make this easier by sharing a full list of Twitter users once compiled.)
5. [optional] Search for and follow some other interesting people, such as barackobama, kanyewest, and/or rainnwilson (Dwight Schrute from The Office). Consider following different services that provide updates, too, like CNN or The Nethernet.
6. Post at least five times a week from January 11 to February 8.
7. When posting about our class, please use the hashtag #345tw. This will allow us to better track one another's tweets. 
8. Consider connecting your cellphone to Twitter to get real-time, SMS updates or to post on the go. Having phone updates is not required for this assignment, but it could be helpful. Regular text messaging fees do apply, though. (I manage just fine without SMS updates, but I'm on the Internet 6-8 hours almost every day.)
9. Please get into the habit of checking Twitter at least once a day. (Don't worry about keeping up, though. Just see what's happening when you check in. Think of Twitter as a river of information. Dive in and you might get swept away; stick in a toe, or even a whole foot, and you should be fine.)
10. At the end of this assignment, you will post an evaluation of Twitter (and how we used it) to your Posterous blog. Your evaluation is due Monday, February 7 by 11:59pm. 

As a class, we will decide whether or not to keep using Twitter for the rest of the semester. This assignment and the subsequent evaluation will be assessed on the same basis as everything else written in this class, i.e., if you make an honest effort to play along, you will be in accordance with the grading contract. 

Other interesting ways to use Twitter.

1. There are a number of desktop applications for using Twitter, including Tweetdeck and Twhirl. They are both cross-platform and free. Installing either will require you to also install Adobe's AIR platform. It's lightweight and free.
2. You can sync your Twitter updates to your Facebook status. Just install the Twitter application on Facebook.
3. Use your cellphone camera in conjunction with Twitpic, yfrog, or other such services.
4. Check out the autopost feature on Posterous. Any time you update your blog, Posterous will send an update to Twitter, too!

These and, to a lesser degree, Pall Malls* got me through my dissertation and three subsequent publications. But this is not a plug as the mellow yellows have not helped my most immediate work. For the next 48 hours, I will rely on brief walks, Skittles, sleep, and unrelated print (not screen) reading.

File format issues have also prompted me to rethink my word-processor preferences. Bean, Google Docs, Ommwriter, Scrivener, and Word have all presented some measure of frustration. If only TextEdit had a word count feature...

 

*Yes, Vonnegut was the sole influence.

[amended from Steve Krause]

ENG 345 Technical Writing is a mixed-mode course I will be teaching this Winter 2011 semester. I want to inform/warn you about a few things having to do with the class. I offer up the following not to get folks to drop. Instead, I offer them in order to make sure you have a greater awareness of what kind of course you signed up for.

To succeed in this course, you must be comfortable with doing your work on a computer and online. If you aren't already comfortable with online work (email, web-browsing, etc.), if you don't like trying to do new things with your computer, and/or you might describe yourself as "not really liking computers," you should reconsider taking ENG 345 this Winter 2011 semester.

Only you can be responsible for your computer and your internet access. While you don't have to have your own computer to take this course, you will need to be able to access course materials on a near daily basis (which means easy access to an internet-ready computer). Ideally, the computer you have for regular use should be less than five years old and have internet access through a DSL or cable modem connection. If you don't have this sort of computer set-up, you will have to spend time elsewhere with a computer that does have this level of access (like the library).

This is a mixed-mode class. We will see each other face-to-face eight times. It is of the utmost importance that you have reliable internet access. Telling me that you were unable to complete some assignment because of a technical problem (e.g., "My computer crashed," "I don't have very good access to the internet" or "My roommate/boyfriend/girlfriend moved out and took the computer") is unacceptable and will not be tolerated as an excuse for late work or incomplete assignments.

Once the term gets underway, you will see that the syllabus has some sort of activity due almost every day. So, there is also some amount of flexibility here in terms of how you manage your time for the course. If you are not very good at time management, if you function better with more explicit boundaries and requirements, this course might not be for you. Again, I am not saying these things to get folks to drop the course; instead, I simply want those enrolled to know what you're in for.

If you have gotten to the end of this message and are still thinking of taking ENG 345 with me, great! Please do me a favor, though: send me an email or leave a comment on this entry and let me know that you've read through this. Be sure to ask any questions you have; I'll be sure to address them during our first face-to-face session! 

Thanks for your interest, 
Dr. James Schirmer

Twice this semester I provided individual progress reports. Such documents outlined in brief an instructor's perspective on students' class performance. In preparation for semester-end conferences about final grades, I'd like to gain an additional perspective: yours. 

Compose a self-reflective essay evaluating your own performance this semester. The guiding principle for your self evaluation should be the grading contract*. If your performance is in accordance with the contract, suggesting that you earn a "B" for the course should be easy. Based on your class performance, comments from peers and from me, are you at, above or below the contract? The majority of the self-evaluative essay should answer that very question. 

Be honest about what you think you deserve. Everyone wants to get an "A," but this is not what everyone earns. Be honest with yourself and be honest with me when evaluating and reflecting on your performance this semester. 

There is no min/max length requirement, but the more details you provide, the better of a foundation we'll have come conference time.  

Your self evaluation should be emailed** to me by 11:59PM Wednesday, December 8. 

 

*You are welcome to reference Achievements, too.
**Requiring your self evaluation to be posted to your blog may violate FERPA*.
***I'm checking on this. If you're comfortable posting your self evaluation to your blog, then so be it. 

But to play or read first?

Newsgames is a better, clearer, and more cohesive argument for why videogames matter than Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter. Newsgames lacks the experiential, personal perspective so prevalent in Extra Lives, a perspective that I think harms many discussions about the potential of videogames. Lacking this perspective, Newsgames executes a specific argument without falling into revelry, making for greater clarity. (I think Gee's What Video Games Have To Teach Us About Learning And Literacy is a rarity in that personal experience does not get in the way of the larger argument about the particular value(s) of gaming.) By using Wired's Cutthroat Capitalism as an introductory example of how videogames "can do good journalism, both as an independent medium for news and as a supplement to traditional forms of coverage" (5), the authors lay appropriate groundwork for a more in-depth discussion, one sustained through each subsequent chapter of the book. 

Other games discussed include September 12th, Budget Hero, JFK Reloaded, Crickler, and World Without Oil, and the authors describe each as a particular kind of newsgame with unique aims and goals. They also discuss the importance of literacy as well as platforms for designing and executing future games. In fact, the former may be an appropriate entry point for some as not only it offers up better-known videogames as examples but it also discusses "teaching the practice" (115) of journalism.  

Some might take Bogost, Ferrari and Schweizer to task for privileging example over theory in their discussion of "journalism at play." While mentioning Roger Caillois, Alexander Galloway, James Paul Gee, Johan Huizinga, Raph Koster, Jane McGonigal, Janet Murray, Miguel Sicart, and Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman as well as others whose work is important and/or influential to game studies, the authors do not allow theory to dominate. This is to Newsgames' benefit. Going lean on theory and heavy on examples is a smart move, making for a more effective argument. The authors show that there's much more out there being done than what a given audience, be it academic, general, or journalistic, might think. I thought I was up on a good amount of what's happening with such games, but Bogost, Ferrari, and Schweizer showed me otherwise. I appreciate that. 

 Others might express concern over the length of the book, but I'm all for digestible work. A close read of Newsgames will allow one to see potential areas of expansion, but it's worth mentioning that the Newsgames blog has done well so far in fulfilling those areas. 

The care, interest, and knowledge the authors have in both videogames and journalism is evident, even inspiring. Here's an early question they pose: "What if the dynamics of New York City racketeering laws could be operationalized in Grand Theft Auto?" If such a question doesn't hold immediate intrigue for you, it will the more you read Newsgames.