Saul Carliner

Concordia University Montreal · Department of Education

Graduate students suffer from issues with mental and emotional wellbeing at a high rate. While most commonly understood as an individual issue, the high prevalence of mental health problems suggests that their causes may extend beyond personal factors. A closer look at the environment that a graduate student operates in suggests systemic or organiz...

bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Background: As all sorts of communications have substantially moved to the internet, volumes of literature on internet-mediated communication have emerged in professional and technical communication in different research paradigms, including studies on i...

Abstract—Background: As all sorts of communications have substantially moved to the internet, volumes of literature on internet-mediated communication have emerged in professional and technical communication in different research paradigms, including studies on internet-mediated genres, which often have generic features beyond traditional conceptio...

Along with the increase in online courses offered by higher‐education institutions there is a corresponding increase in the number of instructional designers designing and developing these courses. A growing body of literature has emerged exploring the working relationship between instructional designers and faculty in designing online courses in h...

Because they are believed to be able to lower the costs of an education, e-books have been factored into the technology plans for community colleges and CEGEPs during the current decade. But adoption is a function of perceptions, which this study explored: (1) General perceptions of the CEGEP (collège d'enseignement général et professionnel, a comm...

Canada's oldest academic program in educational technology is preparing to celebrate its 50th anniversary the weekend of 27th to 30 June 2019. Events include a two­-day conference (Reflecting back, Looking forward), pre-­conference Educational workshops, and a grand banquet. Complete details about the reunion/conference, including registration in...

This chapter describes independent learning, and its requirements for autonomy, agency and self-regulation. The chapter describes how to support independent learning in distance learning experiences. GO TO THIS LINK FOR THE CHAPTER: http://members.aect.org/publications/designstandards/DL_Design_Standards.pdf

Should a technical communicator have a writing background then learn the technology, or a technical background then learn how to write? What is the role of experience in qualifying for jobs and building careers? What roles do professional associations and similar communities play in supporting professionals in their careers? And are these questions...

Purpose – This study aims to explore the competencies needed by performance consultants, a particular role identified for training and development professionals. The role was formally named and promoted nearly two decades ago. Two ongoing discussions in the field are the competencies needed by training and development professionals and the role of...

Course management systems (CMS) are commonly used to deliver e-learning in higher education. Valued for improving efficiency, typical CMS use focuses on using a few features to support one-way transmission of information from instructors to students. This study examines data from three case studies of teaching professional writing using CMSs in uni...

This is the PowerPoint presentation supported by the conference article by the same title.

Discusses the processes, guidelines, publishing methods, and scope of papers reviewed and evaluated for publicatino in the IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication.

Increasingly over the past decade, online learning has received growing attention in the academy. This paper describes the experiences of two instructors at the same institution with the teaching of writing online: one using hybrid (blended) instruction to 'flip' the classroom to teach a service course on technical writing to Engineering students w...

Academe-industry relations are an ongoing topic in the conversation on technical communication. Key issues in the conversation include alignment between academic curricula and industry needs, the effectiveness of the preparation provided by academic programs, and the alignment of interests between the two groups. However, no study has attempted to...

Forthcoming

(Article in press). This article provides statistics on tuition reimbursement practices of 13 industries and 125 companies based in the United States.

Purpose: Previous literature focuses on what practitioners should be doing to demonstrate the value of technical communication, rather than what they actually do. This study addresses the gap by asking managers about the extent to which they track two measures of value—productivity and effectiveness—as well as the expectations of sponsors for recei...

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the practice of human resource development (HRD) from the North American perspective; the United States (US) and Canada. North America is often compared to other regions of the world in terms of its shared economic development and leadership in workforce development. With the advent of the North American Free...

An e-book is a publication in an electronic format that users can read with an electronic device such as an e-book reader, a tablet, a computer, or a smartphone. Although research in this domain is fairly new and little of it has been published in the educational technology literature to date, that which has been published reveals issues important...

Performance—the achievement of results–is central to definitions of HRD. Performance Technology (HPT) refers to a systematic methodology for developing performance in individuals and organizations. Through a systematic process, HPT explores issues at the organizational, unit, and individual level, and with skills and knowledge, resources, and motiv...

Among the most recent new media on which to deliver content is e-books. At their simplest, e-books are digital versions of books that users read on a digital device, such as a computer or a tablet. One particular area of interest in this arena is e-textbooks. For professional communicators who develop e-textbooks, what does the research suggest abo...

Because they help readers link the results of research to everyday practice, case studies and tutorials are popular formats for articles published in the IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication. Case studies explain in-depth the challenges that occurred on a particular technical or professional communication project. They describe the probl...

After nearly a half-century of discussion, STC launched the Certified Professional Technical Communicator (CPTC)™ in 2012 and added the Certified Professional Technical Writer (CPTW)™ in 2013. Although certification excited some members of the community, it has raised questions among other academics and professional technical communicators, and dow...

This case describes the implementation of an online undergraduate course in educational writing, and reviews literature on undergraduate composition; e-learning and dropout risks; and online writing instruction including programs at Texas Tech University, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Texas at El Paso. This case relies on inter...

This paper reports on a content analysis study of the four main journals devoted to technical communication over five years using the Technical Communication Body of Knowledge (TC-BoK) project as the object of our coding system. These findings were compared with a Society for Technical Communication (STC) survey of its membership, mostly practition...

Although the current interest in informal learning seems recent, performance improvement professionals have long had an interest in informal learning-the ways that people learn outside of formal structures. The earliest forms of learning for work were informal, including de facto and formal apprenticeship programs and the “school of life.” Contempo...

Problem: Perhaps it is presumptuous of technical communicators to assume that, because some of their skills that might be employed in developing and delivering training materials, that those skills alone are qualifications to work in training, much less the source by which the processes of Training might be examined. Using data from one survey and...

Purpose: According to the management literature, a business model explains how an organization makes money (generates revenue). These models not only affect revenue but, because generating revenue is central to the survival of an organization, affects all other operations.Method: Applies the theory of business models from the management literature...

Purpose: Explores internal divisions within our profession by exploring one particular type of tension: that technical communicators do not have a unified view of professionalization for the field.Method: Proposes that prevailing approaches to professionalization are rooted in theories of occupations, the exclusive right to perform a job. True occu...

Research Problem: Investigate the match between content published by the Transactions and content sought by its readers. Research Questions: What content does the IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication publish? How does that compare to the content published by other journals in the field? And what content do readers of the Transactions wan...

This workshop provides a high-level overview of the process for preparing an integrative literature review. An “integrative literature review is a form of research that reviews, critiques, and synthesizes representative literature on a topic in an integrated way such that new frameworks and perspectives on the topic are generated” (Torraco, 2005, p...

This paper presents a five-part taxonomy for classifying technologies used by professional communicators in their work: technologies for creating content, preparing content for publication publishing content, managing the publishing process, and sharing content. A taxonomy structures this sometimes confusing space and, in doing so, lets instructors...

This paper presents a snapshot of a content-analysis study of five years of issues for the four key technical communication journals. Using coding schemes for topics and types of research used to generate data on which conclusions are based, the authors coded all articles in the last five years of our major journals. This paper reviews the current...

This article explores long-term trends in spending using data compiled from the Training magazine Annual Industry Survey from 1982 through 2008. It builds on literature that proposes spending on training is an investment that yields benefits—and that offers methods for demonstrating it. After adjusting for inflation, aggregate spending on training...

Are informal learning and Web 2.0. the centerpieces of workplace learning in the future? If so, how can we effectively leverage them to achieve strategic goals? This interactive session explores the answers to these and related questions, based on evidence from the research and real examples from the field. Specifically, this session clarifies comp...

In the growing body of research on the practice of training and development, several studies suggest that use of research-based findings in practice is low. The present study was designed to better understand the research-practice gap by exploring these questions: (1) Which published sources in the field are practicing professionals reading? How fr...

In March 2009, the monthly question on ASTD's Learning Circuits blog wonders what training will look like in 2019. Nearly all the contributors predicted the death of the classroom. Before you buy that, perhaps I can interest you in some mortgage-backed securities? Consider the case for the death of the classroom to be about as strong as those secur...

Given that the concept of performance-based training has existed for over 30 years and several tools have arisen to demonstrate that it works, one might expect that, by 2008, both training culture and practice—that is, the value and belief system of people who design, develop, and deliver learning programs for the workplace—would seamlessly incorpo...

This commentary is intended to start a conversation on ethical behavior in the marketing of our work, with a special focus on the issues that arise when marketing technology and related services. The general literature on marketing ethics suggests that marketers have more relaxed ethical values than the general public. Therefore, ethics should be a...

In response to a call for theories of instructional design that are grounded in practice, I conducted a naturalistic study of the instructional design process for three permanent museum exhibits. An analysis of the data indicated that design involves a series of decisions, each of which has 4 components:• Design goals: principles to be achieved thr...

Louis Rosenfeld is one of the world's leading and best-known information architects. If he initially earned his reputation from his best-selling book, Information Architecture for the World Wide Web, and his first company, Argus Associates, he has maintained it through his newest venture, Rosenfeld Media (which publishes books on the topic of User...

Summary Provides characteristics of game virtual worlds and social virtual worldsExplores four key issues in using virtual worlds to communicate technical and learning contentProvides resources for more information on Second Life and other virtual worlds

Janice (Ginny) Redish is well known within the fields of information and document design, technical communication, and usability for her groundbreaking research in the 1970s and 1980s (when I first learned of her work) on how people design and use functional documents like tax forms, government letters, and manuals. In addition to her ability to co...

Eric Kavanagh, a professor of information design at the École des arts visuels at Laval University in Québec City, Canada, represents a new generation of information design researchers. Although young, he begins his academic career with a decade of practical experience behind him, and, therefore knows documents as more than artifacts of study; he h...

There are many terms that are synonymous with e-learning or that differ in poorly distinguished ways, such as Web-based training, distributed learning, and distance education.

According to the e-portfolio page of the Pennsylvania State University website, e-portfolios are "personalized web-based collections" of previous work with "reflective annotations and commentary related to these experiences." Much like their paper counterparts, e-portfolios let you showcase your work and skills in ways that aren't possible through...

This paper presents a case for a genre-based approach to research into online communication. Questions about the appropriateness and extensiveness of research-based guidelines for communicating online exist. These questions include the appropriateness of transferring guidelines from research on print communication online without first re-verifying...

Although typically applied to entire enterprises, the concept of business models applies to training and performance improvement groups. Business models are “the method by which firm[s] build and use [their] resources to offer…value.” Business models affect the types of projects, services offered, skills required, business processes, and type of re...

This article presents the results of a survey of the leaders of technical communication groups with 20 or more staff members about their project, people, and business management portfolios and practices. In terms of project management, most technical communication groups primarily produce user’s guides, reference manuals, and help. About half of al...

Use techniques such as immersion and layering to avoid presenting information in book-like form.Recognize that the underlying structure can assist with or detract from the visitor experience, and that cosmetic fixes such as attractive graphics do not fix a poor underlying structure.Use storytelling techniques to emotionally connect with visitors.De...

Technical communicators have developed different methodologies for evaluating the effectiveness of their work (whether the information can be used by the intended audience), such as editing, usability testing, and determining the value-added. But, as vastly differing assessments of the same professionally produced technical communication products s...

This introduction first defines EPSSs, then provides an overview of the crucial issues in designing them, and closes with a description of the philosophy underlying the preparation of this special issue.

This article introduces the breadth of decision-making required in EPSS design. It specifically explores choices and challenges facing designers in the following areas: the two-tiered design process, the performance cycle, the rhetorical considerations, the constraints imposed by a technology infrastructure, detailed design, the use of storytelling...

As the responsibilities of and demand for technical communicators have grown, demand for a new set of skills called information design has emerged. Information design is preparing communication products so that they achieve performance objectives established for them. Although some technical communicators now call themselves information designers,...

This article first explores limitations of the prevailing concept of document design. Next, it offers a definition of information design—a framework meant to broaden the popular perspective on design in our field. The article then describes in detail the three types of design activities involved in technical communication: physical design, cognitiv...

This article explores the design choices for Network Earth, a museum exhibit that introduced the general public to computer networks and related issues. The exhibit was one of three studied in a larger research project to develop a grounded model of design for learn-ing in museums. Network Earth was developed by a team that had neither formal train...

The ultimate industry-academia partnership is when a member of one group joins the other. I left an 18-year career in industry to become a professor. The initial reaction from my friends and colleagues in industry ranged from insulting to encouraging: “You'll have to take a pay cut,” “You'll be great with students,” “They don't do any real work the...

One of the terms rising to the top of the “hot buzzwords” list is “knowledge management”. The idea stems from the emergence of the knowledge economy. If knowledge is a resource, then organizations ought to be able to manage it, just as they manage more traditional resources, like capital, supplies, real estate and personnel. One the challenges of w...

The article explores the challenges of establishing a chapter of a US based professional organization for technical communicators in an area outside of the United States. These challenges include: (1) registration of the profession; (2) registration of the organization; (3) delayed mail; (4) increased membership costs; (5) dollar-focused finances;...

Explains how specific qualitative research techniques can be used to better understand a work culture in another country. These techniques include: (1) collecting ethnographic information; (2) consciously observing surroundings; (3) choosing a broad range of informants; (4) finding a key informant; (5) conducting ethnographic interviews; (6) analyz...

This article attempts to provide a framework that can be used to assess the effectiveness and value of technical communication products, and suggest how we can use it to help our clients perceive the value of those products. The framework is adapted from a similar framework initially developed by Kirkpatrick for trainers. First, the article present...

Although we tell ourselves that technical communication is important to the bottom line of organizations and all of the business literature reinforces our convictions that information is strategic to business success, few of us feel "strategic" to the organizations we work for.

Outlines educational needs and new ways in which the Society for Technical Communication can take an active role in helping to meet them. Outlines education's need to prepare people to function in a learning society; to manage research enterprises that enhance competitiveness; and to support educational programs that merit public trust. (SR)

Cites reasons for pursuing a curriculum in technical communication, lists objectives a program should achieve, and outlines a four-part program that includes theory, professional skills, technical proficiency, and an internship. Lists schools offering programs in technical communication. (SR)

It is noted that existing editorial style sheets/guides do not address the unique needs encountered in developing computer-delivered information. The author presents guidelines that supplement the stylesheets/guides. These guidelines suggest ways to handle the organization and presentation of information, paragraphs, sentences, questions and respon...

The use of lists in engineering writing as organizational tools is recommended. Well-designed lists can help readers see what is important and how those items relate to one another, and to remember what they see. Guidelines for the use and construction of lists in technical material are presented.

The author argues that technical writers need to pay close attention to writing good headings because headings not only provide information to users but also motivate users to examine a document. Writing a good heading is a rhetorical action; that is, the writer first determined how the writer wants users to perceive the document and then uses lang...

This study describes the barriers we encountered while engaging in professional development with three elementary mathematics teachers. We adjusted our work with the teachers by creating DVDs of their own students solving mathematics problems, which were then used to achieve the original goals of the professional development. Observational data and...

Typescript. Thesis (Ph. D.)--Georgia State University, 1995. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 428-438). Photocopy. s

Transfer your instructional design skills to e-learning -- The definition phase -- The design phase -- The development phase -- The production and maintenance phase