Re: Generation Y doesn't like paternal delivery of user ed?

[Beth Agnew <beth -dot- agnew -at- senecac -dot- on -dot- ca>]

We've already run smack-dab into that in Education. Paternal delivery 
meant the all-knowing instructor as expert downloading information to 
eager and attentive students who were poised to note every word with pen 
and paper. In my classrooms today, students have their laptops open on 
the desk and are multi-tasking -- taking notes, but also accessing their 
handouts in Blackboard, and searching Google for background on the 
current topic. (They are also on Facebook and MSN, but that's another 
issue.) I'd better know my stuff because one might pipe up and ask, 
"What about this opposing view by Jones on that subject?".

They expect to be involved in more group work, to receive instruction 
through multiple delivery channels asynchronously, and to be allowed to 
share information with each other. Students don't take you seriously 
because you're the instructor, they take you seriously because you have 
relevant information that is going to make their lives easier /now/. And 
by the way, you'd better learn from them, too, because in a flat 
educational structure, peer-to-peer, they have knowledge to share and 
expect to do so.

Unfortunately, our Industrial Age institutions are not agile enough to 
respond to these changes in expectations. We have new technology, but 
it's installed into classrooms designed for paternal delivery. We still 
give pen-and-paper tests, because we haven't figured out how to deal 
with the potential for students to cheat if we deliver online tests. 
(And increasingly, students don't think it's "cheating" to grab 
information from the Web during a test!)

When I first started to learn about computers, lo, more than 30 years 
ago, we used to say that computer knowledge was largely folklore, in 
that one person shared their experiences with another. I think that was 
just the harbinger of things to come. We're into an age of information 
sharing, not information downloading. Technology transfer these days is 
indeed peer-to-peer. Technical writers not only have to keep up, we have 
to get out front and stay there.
--Beth

Ned Bedinger wrote:
> I'm not sure what he's getting at when he contrasts peer-to peer with 
> paternal delivery. Have we already hit on this principle in any of the 
> technical communication threads here? What would be expected of us? Does 
> paternal refer to something like those internal classroom trainings 
> that some of us IT tech writers are often tasked with writing?
Beth Agnew, Professor
Co-ordinator, Technical Communication Program
Seneca College of Applied Arts & Technology
Toronto, ON

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to Help file formats or 
printed documentation. Features include support for Windows Vista & 2007 
Microsoft Office, team authoring, plus more.
http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList

True single source, conditional content, PDF export, modular help.
Help & Manual is the most powerful authoring tool for technical
documentation. Boost your productivity! http://www.helpandmanual.com

---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- 

To unsubscribe send a blank email to 
techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/archive%40web.techwr-l.com


To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/ for more resources and info.