Training & Development
Whether in medical writing or general technical writing, there is a clear understanding that a document needs to be helpful and it needs to provide a certain amount of information to the user. But is there a way, after the writing is done, to determine the effectiveness of the document?
Let’s take the example of a user manual that might be used in a hospital for a certain medical device. When a person uses the content of the manual, they can expect to have a positive result, assuming the content of the manual is accurate and well designed.
In this example, is it fair to say that hospitals that use this manual and have positive results with the documented device are able to quantify the results of the technical writing? That’s where things become unclear. Though the document’s information is being used, there’s still a case for human error and device error – beyond misunderstanding its content – that can cause the outcome to be less than desirable, even though the actual document is correct.
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WAI will be participating in the DevLearn 2011 Conference and Expo in early November.
EVENT: DevLearn 2011 Conference and Expo
WHEN: November 2-4, 2011
WHERE: The Aria Resort and Casino, Las Vegas, NV
Come Meet WAI at the Expo
WAI will be among the exhibitors at the DevLearn 2011 Expo. The DevLearn Expo will be packed with educational resources available to all full-conference attendees, as well as to Expo-Only registrants. We’ll be exhibiting from booth #422 and hope you’ll stop by and say hello.
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Editor’s Note: This was the feature article in this month’s TechCom Manager newsletter, reprinted here with permission. Click the previous link to subscribe to the newsletter.
Buckley Jeppson
On October 13, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Plain Writing Act of 2010, a law that aims to make federal government writing clearer. This article summarizes the new law, briefly explains the nature of Plain Language writing, and outlines the implications for technical communicators.
Efforts to implement Plain Language into government writing started back in the Clinton Administration and were heavily evangelized by then-Vice President Al Gore, but this is the first time legislation has mandated a change in the way government communicates with the public.
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Technical writing is designed to be used more than once and often goes through a series of changes during its lifetime. While this may seem reasonable, often technical writers and others charged with writing like to create copy that can stand the test of time. Instead, why not look at writing as something that can be can be written with reuse in mind?
Event : Content and Form: Writing with Reuse in Mind 2010
Date : November 4, 2010
Time : 9:30am to 5:00pm
Place : M.450 at the Grande Bibliotheque
475, boulevard de Masionneuve Est
Metro Berri
Cost : STC/ETC members: $75 (Canadian)
Mediaville Montreal members: $85 (Canadian)
All others: $95
Continental breakfast and lunch will be provided.
This daylong conference will include the following presentations on reusing content in the workplace:
- Reusing and Improving Your Content – Pamela Kostur
- Internationalizing Your Content – Lisa Pietrangeli
- Implementing Reuse – Bryan Lynn
- Following Form – Saul Carliner
Contact education@setc-montreal.org for more information.
No matter what type of deliverables you’re responsible for creating, this conference brings up a good question: Can content be designed to be used again and again in different settings? With manuals and handbooks, it seems this question is already answered, but perhaps a broader discussion is needed. After all, can all content be reused?
In some ways, reusing content is like programming in modules. Programmers, trainers and other learning professionals are accustomed to the module concept, but have tech writers reached that point yet?
What are your thoughts on content reuse and module development? Please leave a comment.
Many people turn to Wikipedia for answers to their pending and pressing questions. While this is not always a bad thing, this tool is reader compiled and thus possibly not the best resource for solid facts.
However, Wikis as a tool for technical writing do seem to have some promise. Whether one is looking to learn how to become a technical writer, or a human resources department is looking for ways to define those writers they hire, wikis can work well.
For example, the information on the Wikiversity page on technical writing, works to help those who want to find out more about:
- Technical writing skills
- How to get a technical writing job
- Using technical writing in business
There are two levels of instruction available on this Wiki site, allowing students to progress through the course at their own pace and on their own time line. At the end, students who follow the lessons will have a solid understanding in the basic systems development lifecycle – or will be inspired to find out even more.
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With the economy struggling to regain a foothold, many employers are reluctant to hire permanent staff. However, as business picks up, the need for additional workers, such as technical writers, instructional designers, medical writers and other highly skilled and experienced professionals also picks up.
Working with a specialized staffing company like Writing Assistance can help you solve your specialized staffing needs without having to commit to the overhead of a permanent employee until you’re sure the employee will work out, your budget can handle it and the economic recovery is on solid ground.
A specialized staffing company offers several advantages through Contract to Hire positions. Here are the top 5:
- Rent expertise – Bring in an expert that can “hit the ground running” and provide exceptional skills and experience. In addition to the contractor’s expertise, you have access to staffing experts who will offer insight to the writing world including salary expectations, hot or cold market, experience level required to complete the job and current tools being used to complete tasks.
- Limit your company’s liability – By working with a third party staffing company you limit your co-employment liabilities. The staffing company providing the consultant assumes the employee’s liability and will manage payroll (including unemployment), taxes and benefits.
- Gain immediate access – Using a specialty staffing firm you access the “best of the best”. Niche staffing firms have large networks of consultants for any industry, location or specialty and recruiters are always networking to build their connections in the industry. They work with the specialty day in and day out and typically can provide qualified candidates within a couple days.
- Try before you buy – By bringing in a contractor on a Contract to Hire basis you will learn the individual’s work habits and decide if they have the technical knowledge and personality fit to be an employee. There is no obligation to hire or keep a contractor. If you decide they are not a good fit, you end the contract.
- Thaw the hiring freeze – Instead of delaying a project or having the timeline fall apart while waiting for the hiring freeze to be lifted you can bring in a contractor as a Contract to Hire. This will keep the project going and when hiring is approved you have an expert ready to go.
What are your thoughts on adding Contract-to-Hire staff? Have you tried it before? If you need contract or contract-to-hire workers in our niche specialty areas, contact us to get started.
Over the past few years, blogger Cammy Bean has conducted an open survey of her instructional designer readers asking whether they have a degree in instructional design.
The latest survey results indicate:
- 61.45% responded that they do not have a degree in Instructional Design
- 36.92% indicated they have a graduate degreein Instructional Design
- 1.64% indicate that they have a non-graduate degree in Instructional Design
The results may suggest that employers typically do not make having a degree in Instructional Design a top priority for learning professionals they hire. Those that do have a degree requirement are more likely to stress a graduate degree in the field than a Bachelor’s degree.
Connie Malamed, of The eLearning Coach, has compiled a top 10 list of what she believes are the qualities, knowledge and skills the ideal instructional designer should possess or develop. Her list focuses on instructional design for eLearning.
10 Qualities of the Ideal Instructional Designer
What do you think are the most important skills an instructional designer should have to be an effective in an elearning position? Leave a comment.
Find an Instructional Designer through WAI
In his blog, Many Ways to Learn, Mike Petersell asks, “Learning vs. Recruiting: Who Would Win a Social Media War?“
In the post, Mike gives examples that helped him reach his conclusion that:
“If learning people faced recruiting people in a social media war, the learning people would lose.”
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Probably the most telling example was that his local ASTD chapter hosted an excellent and informative meeting on social media usage. The guest speaker? A recruiter.
We think Mike (a proponent of using social media for internal training purposes) has a valid point. We’ve learned this from actual experience, in fact. Trying to find professional trainers and instructional designers/developers in social media is no easy task, while it seems recruiters are everywhere you look.
But it’s not just learning professionals who have been slow to join the social media bandwagon. We’ve also brought up the point with our recent post, How Technical Documentation Professionals Can Use Twitter.
We’re not entirely sure of the reasoning behind this, but it could be partially due to the fact that recruiting firms are all about marketing: marketing jobs to candidates and candidates to employers. Because social media has taken such a stronghold as a new marketing tool, it would only make sense that recruiters would be among the early adopters.
Admittedly, even as professional specialty recruiters, WAI has only recently joined the wonderworld of social media. It is indeed a strong marketing tool, but we also find that it helps us stay in touch with what’s going on with both candidates and potential employers.
Social media certainly holds considerable promise for learning professionals, technical communicators and a myriad of others. It just seems that those uses have not yet been fleshed out to the point where they’ve reached adoption by the masses in these professions. What do you think?
Source: Learning vs. Recruiting: Who Would Win a Social Media War?
Related: How Technical Documentation Professionals Can Use Twitter
Event: ASTD 2010 International Conference & Exposition
When: Sunday, May 16 through Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Location: Chicago, IL
Event Website:http://www.astdconference.org/
Writing Assistance, Inc. (WAI) will be exhibiting at this year’s ASTD International Conference & Exposition at McCormick Place in Chicago. Exhibition dates are May 17th through May 19th.
The ASTD (American Society for Training & Development) is the world’s largest association dedicated to workplace learning and performance professionals. Held each spring, ASTD’s International Conference & Exposition is considered to be the premier event for workplace learning and performance professionals and welcomes attendees from more than 70 countries. More than 8,000 workplace training and development professionals from around the globe, representing a wide variety of industries attend the ASTD International Conference & EXPO each year.
If you’re planning to attend the event, be sure to stop by and say Hello. We’ll be in in booth 1010. (Mention you saw this on our blog.) As we did at the recent STC Conference in Dallas, we’ll be offering the chance for you to enter to win one of two Kindles.
We had a great event in Dallas at the STC. We heard some good reports from other companies that see signs that the economy, and specifically the job market, is recovering nicely. We’ve experienced that first-hand with new postings on our Jobs page.
ASTD Conference Registration
ASTD Conference Expo Hall Floor Plan
