Great Interest in TW Courses, But No Answers...Help Please!

[Tekky30015 -at- aol -dot- com]

Hi all,

Per a previous posting, many people have contacted me asking where the 
University that I am considering taking online courses for a Certificate in 
Technical Writing is located (Boston, MA).  However, no one has commented on 
what they think of the comprehensiveness of the set of courses proposed for 
this Certificate, and how well it might prepare one for a career as a TW, 
esp. in software/hardware documentation.  

I know many of you do this type of work, and many are managers -- there is a 
good group of us who would be very happy to hear back from you regarding how 
this investment might help our careers (or not).  Previous message is listed 
below.

TIA,
D. Crossman
Technical/Scientific Writer, Boston, MA
DLCrossman -at- aol -dot- com

Suggested TW-related Courses?

As a prior freelance/consulting technical writer, primarily in the areas of 
science & medicine & proposals, I'm planning to enroll in a Certificate 
Program to help myself get some "established/structured" background in more 
common technical writing.  The hope is that these courses will give me proven 
experience in technical writing, esp. software & hardware documentation, 
reports, etc., editing, and enough HTML/CGI knowledge to perhaps 
create/maintain webpages, and create online documentation.  One of the 
reasons for doing this is so that I can get some experience, via the 
University offering this program, which I can display in a Portfolio 
that is currently lacking.  The program begins 9/27, and takes 1 
year or less to complete.  The cost is significant to me, so any feedback 
regarding the apparent quality or comprehensiveness of courses would be 
appreciated.

(It is possible to take other courses pertaining to Webmaster Technology, 
Advanced Web Design, Internet Technologies, and Data Communications through 
this particular "online" program.  Would anyone suggest that I try to include 
any other specific courses, including programming courses, to round out this 
program, or make myself more marketable with this Certificate?  I could take 
courses in the computer, english or other departments (e.g., MIS), if I 
attended in person, which I can also do.  Ultimately, I am interested in 
the field of networking or telecommunications, I think?!  Or maybe 
e-commerce.)

For anyone interested, I have listed the 5 courses required for the 
Certificate and their descriptions below (count towards undergraduate credit):

Courses Include:

1) TCC 4103 Technical Writing Intensive 

Course Description:

This course helps you begin to develop marketable skills in technical writing 
and allows you to develop career search goals and strategies in technical 
writing. You will learn to select and organize the data about which you will 
write. You will learn audience analysis and research techniques. You will 
have frequent technical writing exercises and projects that are applicable to 
both software and hardware writing tasks. You will practice formatting, 
outlining, organizing, writing and editing technical reports. 

The weekly assignments, which consist of outlines or responses to questions, 
are due in one week unless indicated. Your success as a writer is often 
determined by how effectively you perform as judged by the group with which 
you work. Using an assessment form, you will learn how to evaluate the work 
and effort of other class members. Details on grading will be found in the 
syllabus and on the final project. 

Benefits:

After taking this course, students will be able to:

?Complete descriptive, classification and definition assignments ?Write 
descriptions of objects, mechanisms and processes ?Write collaboratively 
?Write for your readers ?Outline, design and develop reports 

Prerequisites:

Students are expected to have writing skills and basic computer literacy. The 
writing skills needed are those learned in composition courses: creation of a 
central idea, development of supporting material and good organization. 
Students are expected to have a good grasp of grammar. A writing proficiency 
exercise is given as the first assignment. 

Intended Audience:

This course is designed for anyone who wishes to enter the field of technical 
writing. This course is appropriate for English and journalism majors who 
wish to enhance their skills or change careers. Entry-level programmers and 
individuals working in high tech, computer science, environmental and health 
arenas will also benefit from this course. It is also helpful for consultants 
who must prepare detailed reports on projects. 

Cost: $1,260, 6 quarter hours 

Instructor: Deanne Harper and Kalo Clarke

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2) TCC 4105 Editing for Science and Technology 

Course Description:

This course teaches the fundamentals of editing as they apply to science, 
technical and engineering writing. Emphasis is on developing analytical and 
critical abilities and the logical thinking necessary for editing technical 
information. This course is structured to build and strengthen your editing 
skills. 

Benefits:

After taking this course, students will be able to:

?Use proofreader's marks ?Edit technical documentation ?Easily and quickly 
identify wordy phrases ?Translate verbose text into simplified, concise 
sentences ?Use active voice and understand passive voice and its use ?Write 
clearly, consistently, and concisely ?Use peer editing to critique 
documentation ?Confidently make edits ?Organize information ?Understand the 
fog index and measuring the readability of yourdocumentation 

Prerequisite: 

TCC 4103 Technical Writing Intensive or instructor's permission. 

Intended Audience:

This course is designed for anyone who is developing or revising 
documentation and needs to know how to write more concisely. 

Cost: $630, 3 quarter hours 

Instructor: Amie Smith

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3) TCC 4301 Computer Software Technical Writing 1 

Course Description:

This course is an introduction to the principles and practices of computer 
software documentation and technical writing. The course consists of a series 
of reading assignments, real-world technical writing exercises and the 
preparation of a ìbetaî draft of a computer software manual. The writing 
exercises, manual development and preparation, and the reading will be 
helpful in developing strong writing skills in the design and preparation of 
software documentation. 

Benefits:

After taking this course, students will be able to:

?Understand the steps required to prepare and write a successful user manual 
?Envision the documentation process from the alpha version to the pre-beta, 
almost-beta and beta versions of a software manual ?Prepare software 
documentation that is "task-oriented" rather than "function-oriented" ?Learn 
what "style considerations" contribute to a document ?Visualize how a 
combination of text and graphics can make the difference between a 
"user-friendly" manual and a "user-seductive" manual ?Develop procedures, 
tutorials, online help and job aids ?Create "front and back matter" - table 
of contents, list of tables/illustrations, index, glossary and reference 
sections 

Prerequisites: 

TCC-4103 Technical Writing Intensive or instructor's permission 

Intended Audience:

This course is designed for technical professionals, especially technical 
writers, who are expected to design, write or review computer software user 
manuals and related documentation. 

Cost: $630, 3 quarter hours 

Instructor: David Skill
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
4) TCC 4302 Computer Software Technical Writing 2 

Course Description:

This course is a continuation of a study of the principles and practices of 
computer software documentation and technical writing covered in TCC 4301 
Computer Software Technical Writing 1. The course, like TCC-4301, consists of 
a series of reading assignments and real-world technical writing exercises. 
TCC-4302 also requires the preparation of a final production version of a 
computer software manual, based on the beta version of a manual prepared in 
TCC-4301. The writing exercises, manual development and preparation, as well 
as the reading assignments should be helpful in developing strong writing 
skills in the design and preparation of software documentation.Various 
aspects of technical writing style will be covered, in depth, throughout the 
semester, as well 

Benefits:

After taking this course, students will be able to:

?Learn how to write software documentation that works ?Learn how to apply the 
fundamentals of document design ?Gain an understanding of the importance of 
prototyping ?Learn how paper and online documents differ ?Discover the roles 
of readability and usability in software documentation preparation ?Gain an 
understanding of minimalism ?Learn advanced aspects of editing, updating and 
revising ?Address the role multiculturalism plays in documentation 

Prerequisite: 

TCC 4301 Computer Software Technical Writing 1 

Intended Audience:

This course is designed for technical professionals, especially technical 
writers, who are expected to design, write or review computer software user 
manuals and related documentation. 

Cost: $630, 3 quarter hours 

Instructor: David Skill

----------------------------------------------------------
5) MIS 4239 HTML/CGI Programming 

Course Description:

Almost every document, graphic and online transaction encountered on the 
World Wide Web is included in an HTML document. HTML (Hypertext Markup 
Language) is a way of "marking up" documents for presentation on the Web. 
This course presents an introduction to HTML document design. After an 
overview of the HTML language, we look at the basic techniques of HTML, 
including hypertext links, placing images and formatting lists and tables. 
Advanced topics include the use of HTML forms, placement of JavaScript 
applets and ActiveX controls and the use of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). 

Finally, we look at the Common Gateway Interface (CGI) as a means of 
communicating with HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) servers. Throughout the 
course, we emphasize good design, usability and proper coding techniques. 

Benefits:

After taking this course, students will be able to:

?Create attractive, efficient HTML documents using a variety of markup tags 
?View HTML documents using a variety of Web browsers ?Organize information 
using lists ?Lay out documents using tables and frames ?Enhance documents 
using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) ?Place graphics, Java applets and Active X 
controls on a Web page ?Insert special characters into an HTML document 
?Connect to a variety of resources using hypertext links ?Collect user input 
using forms ?Post information to an HTTP server ?Evaluate a document's design 
for effectiveness, usability and efficiency

Intended Audience:

This course will appeal to Internet users who wish to create their own Web 
pages, modify existing pages or "fine-tune" the pages generated by popular 
Web site creation packages. This is a moderately technical course that 
teaches HTML techniques. It is not intended as a first course in computing. 

Prerequisites:

A working knowledge of the Internet is assumed. You should be able to log on 
to an Internet service provider, use a browser to navigate through Web sites, 
send e-mail and download files. You should also be skilled with the text 
editing features of your system. No programming knowledge is assumed. 

Cost: $630, 3 quarter hours 

Instructor: Steve Maher