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Might anyone comment upon the difference/s between a
technical writer and an instructional designer?
This sounds trite, but...
An instructional designer designs courses.
There is a professional "academic" field for instructional design. Not
surprising that much of the material covered in instructional design is
identical to that covered in tech writing fields. One of the major
differences is that instructional design is more heavily influenced by
psychology of learning, while tech writing is more influenced by the
rhetoric of communication.
In my course work in instructional design, I spent a lot of time creating
flow charts, outlines, etc. (very similar to all media design work) before
writing any text to accompany a course.
Typically, instructional designers are less writers and more educators
(although designers may not actually be teachers in front of a class--they
should be though). That is not to say that writers are not educators or
instructional designers are not writers. Its just a matter of degree and
primary focus.
Hope that helps.
walden
ps. I found that Instructional Design was a great minor for a Tech writing
degree. The two fields are very compatible.
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