Broadly speaking,  the communications sector, broadly defined,  seems to be recovering before the rest of the economy.  This may be telling us something about the shape of the coming recovery.

I’m going to put myself out on a limb here. I think that this coming recovery will be driven by a communications boom, including a media boom.  This includes everything from Google, to Apple, to Facebook, to mobile payment, to health-related applications, to my new company Visible Economy LLC  (I am putting my money where my mouth is!)

That suggests we may have a two-track economy for a while. Communications and related areas may have good times, adding jobs and growing. But the rest of economy may bounce along the bottom for a while, especially if  local and state governments have to start tightening their belts several notches.

See the original article here.  Thanks to Cortland Bovee for posting this news item alert.

In this video, I introduce a model for assessing and assuring quality in online learning. The NJIT Model for Quality Assurance in eLearning began with a need to understand if our MS in Professional and Technical Communication (MSPTC) was actually meeting the needs of our students. Our graduate student, Phoebe DelBoccio, evaluated all of the five core MSPTC courses, using a nationally recognized system, to find that our courses met the quality expectations of all essential criteria. We have adapted the system and created our own model specific to NJIT.

Below are two kinds of comments for the course that I teach every semester PTC 601 Advanced Professional and Technical Communication, the foundation course for our master’s program and graduate certificate programs.  Ms. Villegas and Mr. Nuguid have given me permission to publish their posts from the course forum.

I welcome comments from students and other teachers about student feedback.

An excerpt of a student comment on my teaching that shows room for improvement. DW = Adobe Dreamweaver; IE = Internet Explorer.

Villegas’ Turn

by Danielle Villegas – Thursday, 29 April 2010, 04:07 PM

I think the other thing that concerned me, somewhat related to the DW issue, was access to technology or the need for technology. For Zotero, I had no problem using it once I got it running, but frankly, I didn’t want to download Firefox. I still don’t get the hype about Firefox, and knowing there was another search app like Zotero available for IE or Safari would have been good. I agree with Brunda’s comments about not giving up on using DW for the class. It IS an industry standard, and I was lucky to already have background on how to use it (although it was outdated, and I was able to get some extra help to get me rolling again). The “Classroom in a Book” text is good, but I really didn’t even have time to go through the lessons, even though I actually wanted to do so. I used it as a reference book in the end if I got stuck or needed a reminder.  Availability of the product beyond the trial version would be good, not only for DW, but also several Adobe products, including Acrobat, Photoshop and/or Fireworks, and some others. They are REALLY expensive (since I bought them at the student rate, and it was still really high), and although I’m sure it’s expensive for NJIT to buy, I can’t believe that they can’t get some sort of license or use some of those distance learning fees for some sort of university license.  One can’t always assume that everyone has the technical abilities, and what someone else hands off to you as directions are GOOD directions. Test some of these yourself before handing them out to be on the safe side. “Know your audience”, as you often remind us, as you look at the directions.  Even free programs are not always so easy to use. While Camtasia Relay, in general, is easy to use, there were always complications in how long it takes to upload, get the files back from email, etc. which would add to frustrations of students trying to simply get their assignments completed in a timely manner, and had no control of what was going on. Technology just disrupted the flow of things too often because they weren’t always tested out, or at least it felt like that. I’m sure that the search for “smooth” technology will always be on-going, but perhaps more research is needed to determine exactly what that is.

____________________________

A complete student comment on my teaching that shows areas of strength.

Nuguid – My Turn

by Rogel Nuguid – Tuesday, 4 May 2010, 04:35 PM

Constructive Criticisms

“Those of you who were terrified just a few weeks ago have begun giving tech tips to other students. You all made it through that difficult beginning, trusted yourselves and me, overcame your lack of confidence, and emerged with a whole host of new skills and strengths. – Dr. Coppola”

Are you kidding me, I am still terrified! Good thing and the only redeeming thing is that I trust you and my classmates! Seriously speaking though, this is the first course I have undertaken in my MS Management which really challenged my comfort zone. I have to accept that it is beyond me and without the guidance and support from Dr. C and my classmates specifically Danielle, Debbie, Mayghen, Carlin and Shay, I don’t know where will I be in terms of progress and level of confidence in handling the technical challenges in this course.

What about the assignments? What worked for you? What did not?

I have to be honest that I was a bit confused at the start as I don’t know where the course will lead me to in terms of learning. My initial expectation of purely concepts on communication proved to be a bit frustrating when suddenly Dr. had C introduced much technical stuff, which I only encountered in this course. But as the time progressed, I have started to “fill-in the blanks” so to speak and go with the flow.

I began to like the course during the Week 5 – the Buona Fortuna Barista design espresso machine under the technical writing and visual design. It had given me the opportunity to explore the artist side of me, despite big criticism from my youngest daughter.

However, it became shaky again when Zotero was introduced. The annotated bibliography was really a BIG effort to me considering that we really need to go through the core of technical writing and research. In the end however, If the ultimate goal of Dr. C in sharing with us the use and functionality of Zotero by becoming adept in adding to our group database of technical communication research and in using NJIT online journal databases, the goal had been fully accomplished.

On the e-Portfolio, I had big frustration when Dreamweaver didn’t work out as planned. I felt I had to redo things all over again when I started my work using DW. Although, switching from DW to MSEW, now I believe it is a blessing in disguise as I have learned to love MS Express Web in finalizing my e-Portfolio. Along with Snagit and Camtasia, it was certainly a technical challenge for me to learn all of these in so short a time yet very fulfilling to know that I am much better now in terms of understanding professional technical communication in its entirety.

Did you find the real-time synchronous meetings useful? Did you like the audio and video feedback to your assignments?

Personally, the synchronous Wimba meeting is not as quite effective as I hope it to be, and in fact quite challenging for someone who requires a lot of mobility as a result of out-of-town and -country work like me. I am very appreciative, however, of the audio and video feedback regarding my assignments as it provides a consistent advice on my progression (or lack thereof) on how I improve my technical competencies in the PTC realm.

Lastly, on the Professor:

Dr. Coppola is one sensible professor who does not restrict her students in terms of learning acquisition. She gives plenty of flexibility in terms of optimizing our technical talents; regardless on whether we consider ourselves basic or advanced in our respective learning curves on PTC. She is mindful of how she can respond to us without being too demanding and she is always supportive. She doesn’t project an “all-knowing” professor, and in fact, had shown that she is with us in terms of learning new stuff; a very grounded and student-centered person. At this juncture, I am thankful that I pursued the course up to the very end and would like to express gratitude to Dr. C for a job well done in teaching me technical things which I thought will no longer exist in my academic life. You deserve a warm applause!

As I continue to study the professional skills sets required for social media, I realize that those competencies are different depending on your professional role. If you are designing social media, you need to have user-centered design skills. If you are a marketing or branding professional, you may not be creating social media as much as you are researching and monitoring media to understand how your product or brand is perceived by your market. This became clearer as I watched a webinar produced by cymfony.com

Core Competencies in Social Media for Graduate Students in Technical Communication Program

What competencies do you think graduate students in a MS in professional and technical communication should be able to demonstrate upon graduation? This mindmap begins to structure some of the key skill sets that we have identified. What skills do you think are required in business, industry, and non-profit?

PTC 698 Designing Social Media  – Online  (Prof. Ronkowitz)

This course introduces students to social media as communication tools in business, education, non-profits and communities of interest and provides a framework for the design of social media. Through the use of case studies, exercises and assessments, students will conduct social media audits and also design viable strategies. The course will look at how organizations can use social media as communication tools for marketing, education, training and community building. Throughout the semester, students will prepare a social media strategy presentation for a client in a field of their choice.

PTC 698 is appropriate for students in communication, management, media, IT and design. The pre-requisite is waived for non-majors; contact ronkowitz@njit.edu for permission.

Professor Ken Ronkowitz is a new media specialist and prolific and popular blogger about communication, language, and technology. He directs the Writing Initiative at Passaic County Community College.

Fall 2010

PTC 610 Research Methods for Information Design — Online (Prof. Coppola)

This course introduces user research methods such as contextual inquiry, ethnographic field studies, card sorting, affinity diagramming, and usability testing that provide the foundation for user-centered design. Students will develop core competencies through case studies and exercises. The course culminates in an individualized usability project that each student designs and conducts.

Prerequisite will be waived for non-majors by contacting coppola@njit.edu for permission.

Professor Nancy Coppola directs the MS in Professional and Technical Communication at NJIT.  She is an international expert in assessment and knowledge transfer.

PTC 698 Analyzing Social Media – Online (Prof. Collins)

This course will provide students with an overview of social networks by introducing them to the unique terminology of social networks (centrality, boundary spanners, directional ties, etc.). Positive and negative characteristics of social networks will be discussed, followed by visualizations and analyses of those characteristics. Students will read selected journal articles explaining how social networks relate to communication and the flow of information within organizations. The culmination of the course will be a project in which students will create and analyze their own social network, most likely drawing their data from the popular social media site Facebook and using ORA, a freeware social network analysis application created by Carnegie Mellon University.

This scholarship supports the goal of CPTSC to increase diversity in its membership and in technical communication. Eligible candidates include graduate students whose race, ethnicity, disability, or nationality are underrepresented in the technical communication field. The scholarship is provided to assist the recipient with expenses associated with participating in the CPTSC conference. It waives the conference fee and provides the winner a $350 scholarship from Bedford/St. Martin’s with an additional $150 supplement from CPTSC for a total of $500.

*Eligibility*
Applicants should satisfy all of the following criteria for the scholarship:
• Full or part-time graduate student enrolled in a technical communication graduate program or closely related field • Member of a racially or ethnically underrepresented group, OR a person with “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity” (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990), OR an international student from a nation that is underrepresented in the technical communication field • Member of CPTSC by the deadline for current year conference registration and attend the current year annual meeting of CPTSC to receive the scholarship

*Selection Factors*
The scholarship will be given to an eligible applicant who exhibits the most potential in the field of Technical and Scientific Communication in his or her studies and research, as determined by the Diversity Scholarship review panel.

*Deadline*
Applicants must submit an application with all attachments by May 15, 2010. The scholarship committee will notify the recipients of the scholarship by e-mail no later than June 1, 2010.

NOTE : The scholarship recipient must attend the CPTSC conference to receive the scholarship.

All application materials are to be submitted electronically to the chair of the scholarship review committee. See the attached scholarship application form and list of materials to be submitted.

Contact Jerry Savage gjsavag@ilstu.edu if you have questions regarding the scholarship or the application process.

Plain language also recognizes the importance of information design in improving communication:

• Use vertical lists
• Use tables to make complex material easier to understand
• Consider using illustrations
• Use emphasis to highlight important concepts
• Design your document for ease of reading

These are indeed important and practical lessons for all of us. We  know that readers who confront a large block of uninterrupted text simply won’t read it. The Onion took this commonplace to the extreme in its satirical report on Americans collectively recoiling when confronted with a solid block of uninterrupted text. It’s really funny. I hope you’ll read it.

WE NEED MS.PTC STUDENTS

A teleconference will be held this Friday, February 26, 2010 for those of you who are interested in revitalizing our NJIT STC Student Chapter.

• Please join my meeting, Friday, February 26 at 7:00 PM Eastern Standard Time. You will be able to connect 15 minutes before hand to test the connection.

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/join/616422104

• Use your microphone and speakers (VoIP) – a headset is recommended. Or, call in using your telephone.

Dial 646-558-2101

Access Code: 616-422-104

Audio PIN: Shown after joining the meeting

Meeting ID: 616-422-104

Scott McCoy