tech writers in education

["Maureen J. Akins" <csvmja -at- ADMIN -dot- AC -dot- EDU>]

Response to Chris Jacob's request for information on translating current
curriculum to interactive technology.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wow!  That's quite a large chunk you have to chew.

Here's some items to keep in mind.

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1.  Reading a book vs reading from the screen

    Don't merely translate words on a page to words on the screen.
Programs that merely copy books are BORING, and it's more difficult to read
long passages on a screen than from a book.  With a book, you can shift
positions, stand, etc. if you need to; with a computer, you are more locked
into a position at the keyboard.  If the person can learn the topic by
merely reading, the book is better.

    Do take advantage of the computer's abilities.  For example, some
explanations are better illustrated with movement.  That provides
information that is not easily apparent from the book and therefore is an
appropriate usage of the technology.

2.  Use the computer's branching capabilities.  Learning is seldom linear.
Design the programs the way people learn.  Have the same points available
in different approaches.  Good teachers do that almost without thinking.
If a person doesn't understand something using one approach, take another.
Anything can be taught in more than one way.

3.  Anticipate the incorrect answers.  I know from many years of teaching
that students are likely to give commonly wrong answers.  For example, if I
ask the student the answer to 4 * 2, I may get the correct answer or I
might be told 6.  If the person answered with 6, my classroom response
would be to remind the person to look again at the *.  Computers can do
the same.  The anticipation of the incorrect answers, with appropriate
assistance, is much better than a "Wrong.  Try again" response.  That's why
traditional classroom techniques have been so much better than computer
programs; the teacher can see what went wrong and respond appropriately.
But it is possible to build that into a program.

4.  Using color in computer based applications -

While color monitors are generally more abundant than monochrome monitors,
keep monochrome in mind when designing your application.  It's frustrating
to have a monochrome monitor and have a program that says something like
"what is the name for the blue toy".  Use good contrasting colors for the
design, because that will show up best on a monochrome monitor.

Avoid typical color blind combinations.  Red/green color blindness is the
most common.  Red letters on a green background may show up as a blank
box for a surprisingly large number of people.

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I'm currently developing some computer based training for our faculty,
staff, and students using Authorware Professional for Windows.

Hope the above helps.  Let me know how your project turns out.

Maureen
----------------Original Message appears next---------------

Date:    Tue, 3 Aug 1993 11:35:11 U
From:    Jacobs Chris <jacobs_chris -at- SMTPMAC -dot- ADS -dot- COM>
Subject: tech writers in education

I may soon be involved in a large project concerning the internetworking of
public schools as a curriculum 'translator'. This isn't particularly
traditional tasking for a tech writer, but it seems appropriate in many ways. I
will have to do a number of things in addition to designing training courses
for teachers/administrators, including a manual on how to redesign current
teacher and district produced/approved resources (textbooks, lesson plans,
curriculum guides, objectives, etc) for use with the new, improved,
computerized, networked system. I will probably have to actually perform some
of the initial redesigns, as well.

Does anyone out there have any experience with this sort of thing? I have a
masters in elementary education to accompany my comm degree, but none of the
courses addressed the idea of converting resources from pen/paper to
interactive technology. Any recommendations as to reading material, suggestions
for the work or any related comments are more than welcome. I have
approximately one month to come up with a decent plan of action, so every bit
of information I can get will be helpful.  Thanks in advance. You may reply on
the list, or to me offline at jacobs_chris -at- smtpmac -dot- ads -dot- com

 -----
 Maureen Akins, Support Specialist
 Augusta College Computer Services, 2500 Walton Way, Augusta GA 30904-2200
 Internet mailing address:  makins -at- admin -dot- ac -dot- edu
 PHONE: (706) 737-1484    GIST: 337-1484    FAX: (706) 737-1773