TCOM260
Fundamentals of Creating Online Documents
The ability to write and present online material is not just an asset in the current job market—it's a requirement. This course will introduce you to the principles and processes of designing effective online documentation.
We'll begin with an overview of online documentation today, and explore how online documentation is changing the role of the technical communicator.
We will also examine how users interact with online documents and what techniques you can incorporate into your documentation design to facilitate these interactions. You will get hands-on practice with several current industry tools to create some basic online documents.
Prerequisite(s):
If you are interested in taking this course individually, we strongly recommend completing the following courses first. If you are planning to complete the Certificate in Technical Communication, you must take the courses below first.
Related program(s)
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This course is available at the following time(s) and location(s):
| Section | Session(s) | Date/time* | Campus | Instructor(s) | Cost** | Registration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TCOM260-ON11411 | - | Feb 18–Apr 21, 2014 (Register by Feb 4, 2014) |
Online | Jenny Watson | $530 | Register |
* This course involves 18 instructional hours.
** Members of the Society for Technical Communication are eligible for a 10 percent discount. Please contact us to confirm your membership and register. You may not combine discounts.
What will I learn?
By the end of the course, you will be able to do the following:
- Recognize and describe several different kinds of online documents, and begin to evaluate their usefulness and design
- Examine the changing role of technical communicators in a rapidly changing environment
- Describe how users interact and respond to online documentation
- Begin to design and create documentation that takes users’ needs into account
- Explain how to organize and structure content and navigation to provide optimal access for the users of your projects
- Use graphics, layout, and visual elements to maximize a user’s positive response to your documentation
- Write and design the text elements for online documents to improve readability and understanding
- Use current industry tools to create an online help project and a wiki
How will I learn?
- Class discussions
- Readings
- Individual exercises
- Individual assignments
- Group assignments
How will I be evaluated?
Your grade will be based on the following:
- One group assignment (20%)
- Five Individual assignments (80%)
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 in a program called WebCT. You will gain access to this program one week before the course begins.
Technical requirements:
- A PC (Windows XP or later) with full administrative rights so you can install trial software. Due to the trial software requirements, this course is not accessible on a Mac.
- A web browser that supports tables, frames, Java, and Javascript
(The list of browsers supported by WebCT Vista 8.03 is available online. You may also access this information through the Browser Check link on the WebCT front page. - High-speed Internet access
- Adobe Acrobat Reader (available online)
- Microsoft Word 2003 or later, or other word processing software that can create pdf files
Links to the demonstration software will be available during the course.