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TechCommGeekMom’s TechComm Predictions for 2014

Posted on January 2, 2014 by TechCommGeekMom

sarahjane-crystalball — Sarah Jane Smith of Doctor Who is gazing into her crystal ball, trying to figure out why the 3rd Doctor and the Master aren’t going at it with more mobile tech.

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2014!

I had set several goals for 2013, and for the most part, I achieved many of them. Due to finally having a job this past year, I was able to pay for my new kitchen outright (okay, we saved on labor costs because my multi-talented husband installed everything–and I mean everything–except the Silestone countertops), so I have a new kitchen that I love. I definitely travelled more, as I visited Atlanta for the first time in 21 years due to the STC Summit, and I got to visit Portland, Oregon again for Lavacon. I didn’t get to go to the UK, however. And I still don’t look like a supermodel yet.

My 2014 goals are still fairly ambitious, I think. I would like to build upon my web publishing experiences at work, and figure out how to become a content engineer, rather than merely a content manager. I’m hoping that attending the Intelligent Content Conference in San Jose, CA this February and attending this year’s STC Summit in Phoenix, AZ will with help with that. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to make it to Lavacon again until later in the year. I still want to go to the UK, but I think I may have to wait a little longer for that. If there’s a way to combine a vacation and a conference there at the same time, perhaps I can pull it off later in the year instead of going to Lavacon (just to vary things up a bit). I had hoped to become a certified Muse expert last year, and that didn’t happen. Perhaps I can try this year. I also got the “WordPress for Dummies” book this year, which has inspired me to become more expert at using WordPress. I currently use the version hosted by WordPress itself, but I think it might be helpful to understand how the independently managed version works, too. If I can achieve some weight loss in the process during all of this, I will consider 2014 a success. 😉

As for predictions for 2014 in tech comm, I decided that I would be a little more analytical about it. Two years ago, it seemed that the push in tech comm was that we needed to think more carefully about content management reuse of content, and think in terms of mobile content. This past year, that was extended to translation and localization of content, taking it a step further. So with those concepts in mind, what’s the next step? In my mind, it’s implementation of all of these with more vigor. Some companies are on top of this, but it wouldn’t be surprising to me if many companies–even large, global companies–are not on top of any of this yet, or on top of it in an effective way. I think about companies that I’ve worked for in the past, and how, despite their size and availability of resources, these companies wouldn’t be cutting edge in distributing content for desktops or mobile, and regional sites were not as localized nor standardized as they should be. So, in my mind, this is the year of implementation.

Another thing to consider is technology changes. Over the past few years, we’ve been adapting not only to desktop or laptop interfaces, but we’ve also been adapting to more mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. Marta Rauch, a technical communicator friend of mine who is part of the Google Glass beta testing, pointed

out that 2014 is due to be a year in which even more portable, wearable mobile devices will become relevent. These devices would include something like Google Glass or similar products, but it also would include devices like Samsung’s wristband device or devices that are synchronized with car components. She’s got a point. Components are getting smaller, and technological portability is becoming more and more mainstream all the time. How do we decide what content is most user-friendly, reuseable, streamlined, and pertinent for these kinds of mobile devices? It’s something we need to start thinking about now.

riker-commbadge — “Riker to the Tech Comm community–are you there?”

So there you have it. At least in my mind, if we aren’t all wearing Comm Badges like in Star Trek by the end of the year, I don’t know what this world is coming to. 😉 But it’s hard for someone like me to figure out where the future is going. I’m grateful there are those who are on the cutting edge that can help me figure that sort of thing out, and can educate me on the latest and greatest so that I can bring it to my own workplace, as well as talk about it here on TechCommGeekMom.

I’m sure that there will be plenty of surprises coming up in 2014. As I said, I have three conferences that I’ll be attending in the first half of the year, and I know with the continuation of this great work contract I have, I will probably be learning a lot of new things through that opportunity, too. My philosophy is to never stop learning, and I plan to continue to learn a lot more going forward in the coming year.

What are you predictions for the coming year? Am I on target, or off-base? What did I forget to mention? Let me know in the comments.

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Instant Mobile Apps? Not quite.

Posted on February 11, 2013 by TechCommGeekMom

Last week, I was in contact with one of my former professors at NJIT‘s MSPTC program. We talked about several things going on, and in the process of the email conversation, she mentioned that she is starting another semester of the PTC 601 (Advanced Professional and Technical Communications) classes, and she asked me a question about mobile, because she wanted to add a new component to an assignment.

I remember doing the assignment well just three years ago. Essentially, the student is given a manual for a fictitious coffeehouse franchise’s espresso machine, and the student has to rewrite the manual into a quick reference guide, preferable something that included visual images that could the learner/user can learn from it or refer to it as needed. Conceptually, it’s an easy enough assignment (or at least it was to me), but creating it with the tools I had at the time proved challenging, even if I did pull it off.

Adding a mobile component to this assignment makes a lot of sense to me. This is a perfect example of what m-learning is, what it looks like, and what it can be! Taking a simple how-to manual and creating a mobile app for it is highly logical, especially in this scenario. I mean, think about it…how often do people whip their smartphones out of their pockets to look up any kind of information, let alone have a how-to app on their phones? So having a special app that could be downloaded and instantly used as a reference guide for that newbie coffee barista would be ideal!

I was happy to hear about this addition to the assignment. The professor knows how enthusiastic I am about promoting mobile solutions, and I was thrilled to hear that she is making an effort to include mobile solutions in the MSPTC curriculum. So, she asked me if I knew any software programs that could convert text into some sort of mobile output. The first thing that came to mind was Adobe’s Technical Communications Suite 4, especially with Framemaker and Robohelp. But, the school doesn’t have a copy of that for students yet (they are working on it), and even with the short trial, there’s a big learning curve for an assignment that would be due fairly quickly.

So, I began to do a little research to help the professor out. There were a few things–a few parameters–that I had to keep in mind as I looked for a tool for her to use. It has to be easy to use for someone who didn’t have too much or negligible programming skills. It has to be free or at the barest minimum of cost. And it had to have an easy ramp-up to have a project done on it in a week or so. I knew, from experience, that people from all walks of life come into this program, with a true mix of web expertise. I remember helping some of my fellow classmates by providing a crash course in HTML, and the quest for the free or cheap web editing software or site where an e-portfolio could be created. So, I understood the parameters well.

The sad thing I discovered was that while there are dozens of places to set up and create free or cheap websites with web editing available that anyone could use to set up a good looking site, the same can’t be said yet for creating mobile sites. There are a few sites that do help a person create a mobile app easily, but it’s not cheap. Or, if it’s cheap, it requires some programming know-how. It was tough. the other thing to keep in mind was whether the mobile app being created was for a “native” app, a “web” app or “hybrid” app. The differences between these is that a native app is saved on the mobile device and can be used offline. The web app is one that is essentially a mini website and needs an internet connection to access the app. A hybrid is…well, you can figure that out. If you’ve ever tried to access an app on your phone, but couldn’t get it to function because you didn’t have wifi or 4G, then that’s a web app. If it only partially worked, but you still needed wifi/4G to connect for part of it, it’s a hybrid. You get the idea. In the end, I gave the professor a few suggestions that I found.

The first was something called Viziapps. I think I had heard of Viziapps because I believe (just off the top of my head) that this was the software being used in an STC class on how to build mobile apps. Viziapps allows individuals to create a mobile app without knowing any or little coding, but they would have to have some idea of information architecture (which is part of the project assignment–understanding what’s important, what’s not, what comes first, content structure, etc.). It’s mostly a visual editor that allows the user to build the apps online, then publish on the web for free, provided the creator has created a web app. If it’s a native or hybrid app, then that has a price. It seems like it might be a viable choice as a tool that would allow for a quicker ramp-up for someone seriously trying to create a mobile app.

Other more creative choices would be using their mobile devices to make something. For example, there is an app called SnapGuide, in which an individual can take photos or video to demonstrate how to do something. Mobile by Conduit might be another possibility, as it’s free, and supposedly has an interface style similar to WordPress.

But then I thought about WordPress, and I realized that might be another option. TechCommGeekMom is a WordPress website, after all, and it can be read on mobile devices. Basic WordPress accounts are free and fairly easy to use. You can create a “blog” or website on WordPress, and then there’s a setting to create a mobile interface. Here’s a little bit of info about it: http://en.support.wordpress.com/themes/mobile-themes/ It seemed to fit the criteria needed for a mobile app creator/editor, in that it’s free, it has a mobile output (as well as a regular web output), and it provides a primer for content management in the experience. I thought that if I was still in the class, I’d create several pages on a single WordPress website for different parts of the Guide–similar to the pages and navigation I have here, and then promote the mobile access to the website. It’s not a perfect system, but for quick ramp-up purposes for a fairly small assignment, it seems like it would fit the bill.

I think my former professor appreciated the help, but we both discussed the dilemma that it posed. Why must someone have a programming degree and some cash in order to create a mobile app–whether it be a native, hybrid or web app? Depending on the app, all three formats have their positive and negative aspects to them. But how does one learn how to use any of these mobile app writer/editor products quickly? There are some great tools out there, I’m not denying that, but for the true beginner or student on a budget who is trying to learn how to create mobile solutions skills as a technical communicator, it’s not that easy. I see a huge business opportunity here (not that I have the time, cash, or enough knowledge to start such a business), but creating a highly user-friendly software program that one’s grandma could create a mobile app for a very low cost would be a fantastic business. It would make even more information accessible to share with others.

It occurred to me later that for the average user, another possibility is another Adobe program that I’ve been using to create and maintain my e-portfolio, called Adobe Muse. It’s a cloud-based app that acts as a very easy UI interface to create websites and mobile apps. I’ve used the website editor, but I haven’t tried the mobile conversion yet there. I believe it’s about $14-15 per month, and you can set up an account at Adobe’s Business Catalyst and create your mobile site that way. It allows those who have next to no programming skills create something that looks great, but it also allows more advanced users some nice shortcuts to create great sites without having to do all the coding–Muse does it for you.

Perhaps, as mobile solutions become more mature like editing software for desktop interface websites, this mobile app creator problem will go away, and there will be more affordable options. In the meantime, we have to wait or muddle through it all…

If you know of any easy-to-ramp-up mobile app editors, please mention it in the comments below! Share, everybody!

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Just let me set the record straight…

Posted on April 22, 2012April 22, 2012 by TechCommGeekMom

Right now, I’m working very hard to finish up the coursework for my Master’s degree in Technical and Professional Communications. I’ve worked for two and a half years on this, studying part-time, usually taking two classes at a time, while most of the time working full-time while also being a parent to a special needs kid. It’s a lot of work, and it’s incredibly draining, but hopefully the fruits of my labor will pay off soon enough.

Part of one of my last classes is to present my e-portfolio of my professional and academic work for prospective employers. I fought with my professor about my e-portfolio, because while I knew I needed to take the emphasis off the academic and put it in a more professional light, I really liked how I formatted it–it reflected my personality to a “T.” She hated it, and made me reformat the whole thing. It was an incredibly laborious process, as I had to take something that took me two years to get it to where I wanted and liked it, and totally scrap it in favor of having something else together in a fraction of the time. I still wanted it to reflect my personality as well. So, in trying to use some new software (Adobe Muse) to help me build it, I came up with something that I thought was pretty good. Visually, it was slicker looking, and while it didn’t have all the flexibility that I had in the old one, to paraphrase Project Runway’s Tim Gunn, I made it work. Even now, there are some very minor tweaks that need to be made, but I feel like I created a really good e-portfolio that prospective employers will respect and like.

Well, some smarty pants suggested to the professor that we get outside critiques for our e-portfolios before we present them for our upcoming capstone presentations and make them “public”. Sounds like a good idea in theory, but I wasn’t too keen on it. (Mine is already public, as far as I’m concerned.) I submitted mine for review. Overall, the reviews I received back were good, although it was hard to tell from the notes what was going on with some of it. First it criticized my navigation and menu choices, and then the next moment it praised it.

The part that actually stung me the most was that one critique told me to remove my blog page from the site, as the blog was mostly repostings of other articles. Yep, you guessed it, it referred to this blog. (I had also listed my academic blog, which I plan to integrate it with this one at some point.) I was royally TICKED. Yes, I know I am reposting things from other sites in here, but there is some original information in here too. I recently read a review of another very public e-learning blog site, and it was actually PRAISED for sharing articles from other sites as it made that particular blog current and showed that the blogger was sharing current thoughts and information. That’s exactly what I’m trying to do here!

Look, I know that I’m still a beginner at this m-learning and e-learning thing. I’ve blogged for many years on different subjects. I know the blogging game, believe me.

So let me set the record straight:

While this is a blog that reflects my personal interpretations on all things m-learning, e-learning and tech comm, I also am still learning about these subjects. I can’t write about the benefits of using some Lectora trick if I’ve never used Lectora. I can’t talk about e-learning pedagogy if I’ve never taken an instructional design course. I’ve learned things about e-learning “on the streets,” so to speak. I learned through experience, not through theory. I still have SO much more to learn, and I know it. I’ve never been in denial about that. But at the same time, the purpose of this blog is not only to share MY thoughts, but to also open up the forum and share information. I want to learn more from those who read this blog, who have more experience. I want other newbie e-learning and m-learning specialists to come here and share experiences and questions through the comments. Please, voluteer to guest blog on here–I’d love it! I’m trying to build this up as an m-learning/e-learning/tech comm community, so sharing articles that I think are helpful and useful WILL be posted. And as it is, my site stats actually went up once I started sharing these articles, so I don’t think I’m going down the wrong path.

So to the person who gave me that critique, I think you need to see the bigger picture, and read more blogs. The only impression I’ve ever had of the e-learning/m-learning community is that we share. As my husband would put it–we’re sharers. I haven’t seen it in any other field I’ve been in as much as I see it in the e-learning/m-learning world, and I’m happy and glad that this community has taken me into the fold.

So the next time you see an article that is just a repost from my ScoopIt account, please know that I post it because I want to share something that I don’t know well, yet find interesting and informational that I think others would benefit too.

And I’m not taking this blog off of my e-portfolio. I’m proud of what I’ve done here, and what I continue to do here. I still have big plans for this site. I’m working offline on the Educational Resources and Links items listed in the navigation above, and I have ideas for articles I want to write but can’t get to right now. I just stopped to write this…again, just to set the record straight. Keep watching this site…it’s only a month old, and it’s just getting started…

Just bear with me in the next two weeks, as I have to finish up this semester, and term papers from hell are calling me. Please keep me in your thoughts, hoping that I can make it through these next couple of weeks with my sanity intact. 😉