TCOM220
Design and Production of Technical Publications
Technical writers constantly face the challenge of creating documents that are easy to understand, aesthetically pleasing, and economical. In this course, we will examine different ways of achieving these goals by taking a careful look at the elements of design and their impact on usability and production.
| Section | Dates | Campus | Instructor(s) | Hours | Cost | Registration | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TCOM220-ON11271 | Sep 18–Oct 29, 2012 |
Online | Ellen Ashdown |
15 | $440 | Register |
This course is part of the following program(s):
Certificate in Technical Communication (online) (core course)
Prerequisites:
What will I learn?
By the end of the course, you will be able to do the following:
- Describe good design and how it applies to technical documents
- Apply the five guiding principles of effective manual design
- Understand the terminology, types, and reasons for using grids
- Learn the history, terminology, classifications, and components of type
- Use tables, charts, graphs, and other graphic elements
- Understand image file formats, their terminology, and their use
- Identify technical manual structures, organization methods, and binding
- Describe different printing processes and how to select the best one for a document
How will I learn?
- Reading course content (online)
- Discussions (asynchronous)
- Exercises
- Extra reading
- Independent assignments
How will I be evaluated?
Your grade will be based on the following:
- Assignments (80%)
- Participation (20%)
Textbooks and learning materials
All course materials are available online.
Hardware and software requirements
In this course, you will work and communicate online. We will deliver the course materials and communication tools to you online through a program called WebCT. You gain access to this program by registering for this course.
Technical requirements:
- High-speed Internet access
- A web browser that supports tables, frames, Java, and Javascript
(The list of browsers supported by WebCT Vista 8.03 is available online.)
- Microsoft Word 2003 or later
- Adobe Acrobat Reader
We prefer that you submit all your assignments as Microsoft Word files so that we can use Track Changes for commentary. If you do not have access to Microsoft Word, you may submit your assignments in another format as long as it is compatible with a PC. Unfortunately, we cannot accept files that will open only on a Mac.