Re: STC Certification Survey

[Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- AXIONET -dot- COM>]

Alexia Prendergast <alexiap -at- SEAGATESOFTWARE -dot- COM>



>What are STC's ideas on the practical issues like
>how to implement?

I don't know what the STC's official position is. However, from the
local certificate program, I'd suggest a couple of things:

1.) both an educational institute (a university, for example) and local
writers should be involved. The writers can oversee relevance, while the
educators can organize. Neither has to do things that they're unfamiliar
with.

2.) courses need to be updated every couple of years, if not more. As
someone else pointed out, the field is changing very quickly.
Certification loses its point if it's no longer relevant.

3.) an important part of the local program is that all teachers are
practicing writers. This policy ensures relevance, and gives students
some sense of the working conditions they'll face.

--
Bruce Byfield (bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com)
Technical Writer / Job Bank Team, STC Canada West Coast Chapter
h: (604) 421-7189

"Pharaoh  sits in his tower of steel,
The dogs of money all at his heels,
Magicians cry, 'O truth, O real!'
We're all working for Pharaoh."
--Richard Thompson

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