TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Another note. I got a request from a recruiter today for an instructional
designer position with this requriement: ADDIE. Here is a link to a
description on Wikipedia. The topic looks very useful, and provides a
breakdown of tasks. It may be very helpful to you, Mark.
On Wed, Feb 11, 2009 at 9:13 AM, Gregory P Sweet
<gps03 -at- health -dot- state -dot- ny -dot- us>wrote:
> Mark,
>
> Been there and done that; and if I only knew then what I know now...
>
> Start by reading up on adult learning principles, and the different types
> of learners you are going to encounter. Do a few evaluations to find out
> what kind of learner you are so you can be sure to get out of your comfort
> zone when you develop course interactions. Read up on developing course
> objectives, course evaluations and valid testing methodologies. Read
> anything by Michael Allen or Jane Bozarth.
>
> The Training Doctor, LLC has a course titled "ISD for the SME" which I've
> heard really good things about from some very trusted sources.
>http://www.trainingdr.com/
>
> The the very most important concept to come to grips with immediately is
> that tools do not equal teaching. A good instructional designer can turn
> out a better course with powerpoint or word than an unskilled designer with
> the latest and greatest Captivate/Authorware/BlackBoardCT/Camtasia etc.. So
> again, don't start with tool choice, start by defining your objectives,
> then look for tools and methodologies that can facilitate your learners
> meeting those goals. I made this mistake of picking tools before I knew
> what I was doing when I started out in training and my learners suffered
> for it.
>
> Cheers!
> Greg
>
> > Hi all,
> >
> >
> >
> > I've just been appointed as a Course Author within my company's training
> > department. Although I have a background in technical writing I have
> > mostly concentrated on developer documentation so I'm finding myself a
> > bit out of my depth and in need of some guidance!
> >
> >
> >
> > Things I'm being forced to think about are...
> >
> >
> >
> > Appropriate authoring tools. At the moment we only deliver face-to-face
> > training but will need to look at e-Learning at some point in the near
> > future, so a tool or suite of tools which could do both would be ideal.
> > I've heard quite a bit about single-sourcing without knowing too much
> > about it and wonder if that's something we should be thinking about at
> > this stage?
> >
> >
> >
> > Management of the above. Would source control software (like Subversion)
> > be a good enough way to version control all the content we create, or
> > are there better ways?
> >
> >
> >
> > Instructional design training. This seems to be a vast subject, but how
> > much do I need to know? Does anyone have any recommendations for books,
> > courses, etc on ID basics?
> >
> >
> >
> > I would really appreciate some advice and recommendations from you
> > clever folks.
> >
> >
> >
> > Many thanks,
> >
> >
> >
> > Mark
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Disclaimer and Corporate Information This e-mail and any attachments
> > are confidential, may be privileged and are intended solely for the
> > use of the intended recipient/s. If you are not an intended
> > recipient, please (a) notify the sender immediately; and (b) delete
> > the original e-mail and your reply from your system. Unauthorized
> > copying, forwarding, disclosure or usage of this e-mail is
> > prohibited. No liability is accepted for damage caused by the
> > presence of any virus. The contents of this e-mail are provided
> > "subject to contract". Views or opinions in this e-mail are those of
> > the author and not necessarily those of the company. The company may
> > intercept, copy or monitor e-mails from or to anyone using its
> > facilities in accordance with the law. ESRI (UK) Ltd, registered in
> > England under company number 01288342. Registered office: Millennium
> > House, 65 Walton Street, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire HP21 7QG.
> > Environmental Systems Research Institute Ireland Ltd, registered in Ire
> > land under company number 353903. Registered office: Riverside One,
> > Sir John Rogersons Quay, Dublin 2.
> > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> >
> > ComponentOne Doc-To-Help 2009 is your all-in-one authoring and publishing
>
> > solution. Author in Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor, Microsoft Word or
> > HTML and publish to the Web, Help systems or printed manuals.
> > http://www.doctohelp.com
> >
> > Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
> > authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
> > once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control!
> > http://www.helpandmanual.com/
> >
> > ---
> > You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as gps03 -at- health -dot- state -dot- ny -dot- us -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/gps03%
> > 40health.state.ny.us
> >
> >
> > 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.
> >
> > Please move off-topic discussions to the Chat list, at:
> > http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/listinfo/techwr-l-chat
> >
>
>
> IMPORTANT NOTICE: This e-mail and any attachments may contain confidential
> or sensitive information which is, or may be, legally privileged or
> otherwise protected by law from further disclosure. It is intended only for
> the addressee. If you received this in error or from someone who was not
> authorized to send it to you, please do not distribute, copy or use it or
> any attachments. Please notify the sender immediately by reply e-mail and
> delete this from your system. Thank you for your cooperation.
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> ComponentOne Doc-To-Help 2009 is your all-in-one authoring and publishing
> solution. Author in Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor, Microsoft Word or
> HTML and publish to the Web, Help systems or printed manuals.
>http://www.doctohelp.com
>
> Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
> authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
> once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control!
>http://www.helpandmanual.com/
>
> ---
> You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as pro -dot- techwriter -at- gmail -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/pro.techwriter%40gmail.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.
>
> Please move off-topic discussions to the Chat list, at:
>http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/listinfo/techwr-l-chat
>
>
--
"You can only become truly accomplished at something you love....Pursue the
things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can't take their
eyes off you."
- Dr. Maya Angelou
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
ComponentOne Doc-To-Help 2009 is your all-in-one authoring and publishing
solution. Author in Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor, Microsoft Word or
HTML and publish to the Web, Help systems or printed manuals. http://www.doctohelp.com
Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control! http://www.helpandmanual.com/
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-