education – Page 17 – TechCommGeekMom

3D Printing Will Revolutionize the Classroom

Posted on February 21, 2013 by TechCommGeekMom

Surprisingly enough, this post is TechCommGeekMom’s 300th post! As you know, I try to combine my original writing with curated content. I wanted to write something that was positive for my 300th post, and struggled to think of something I wanted to comment on that’s currently on my mind.

Now and then, I also get suggestions of sort to contribute. Someone who often sends me material is Muhammad Saleem at OnlineDegrees.org. Many times, he sends good stuff, but it’s not always what I think is in line with TechCommGeekMom. This time, while it might not seem in line with what I usually write about–it is. This is a very cool infographic about 3D Printing. While there is no question that mobile is here and will be playing a bigger part in education as time goes on, this may be the next step as well. We talk about teaching students new skills for the future–why not learn how to use 3D printing? This might become a big part of the manufacturing world, in time, so I imagine the skills will be sorely needed in due time. One of the things I liked about this infographic was that my undergraduate alma mater, the University of Mary Washington, was listed as one of schools using 3D printers already! (And just so you know, Mary Washington is not known as a tech or engineering school, but it looks like it’s still gearing up for a more technologically advanced future. Did you know that MOOC supporter Jim Groom, who coined the term, “EduPunk,” works and teaches at UMW? True.)

So without further ado, compliments of OnlineDegrees.org and Muhammad, here’s something cool for my 300th post!

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Did I just see a big glowing brain on wheels pass by?

Posted on February 16, 2013February 16, 2013 by TechCommGeekMom

When one receives an email that starts out, “Since I’m a momma’s boy and a geek…” you can’t resist reading what the rest of message says when you are a TechCommGeekMom. This is because I hope my own son follows that same description! 🙂

I received an email from Tyler Alterman, who is crowdfunding for a venture that he and some others are trying to come up with for a neat educational business. From the sounds of it, it reminds me a little bit of the Mad Science franchise, but with a twist on cognitive sciences instead of the physical sciences. Tyler summarized it as this:

“I’m currently crowdfunding for a lab-on-wheels and cognitive science education station with a glowing brain on top (“The Think Tank“). It’s a collaboration between artist friends and scientists from my lab to transform an old truck into a literal and metaphorical vehicle for empowering the public with the behavioral and brain sciences.”

ETA: Tyler later forwarded me the following press release, with more details:

What is pink and green on four wheels with a big, glowing brain on top? Granted he can fundraise $10,900 by March 13th, Tyler Alterman’s cognitive science education station will be. Alterman is teaming up with artists and scientists from his lab to build a lab-on-wheels called “The Think Tank.”

“Most think tanks have Washington, D.C. addresses,” notes Alterman, a researcher at the New School for Social Research. “But The Think Tank, as a literal and metaphorical vehicle, will roam New York streets (for starters) without an address, empowering kids and adults with the behavioral and brain sciences wherever it parks.” To join about 70 others in supporting Alterman’s campaign–launched on Alterman and Darwin’s birthdays–check out his video and crowdfunding page at http://igg.me/at/CogSciOnWheels.

The lab-on-wheels will be built out of a renovated box truck by Alterman and a team of artists headed by Christine Alaimo, a neuroscientist with a cupcake business in support of autism research. Alterman plans to bring classrooms and scientists aboard The Think Tank to teach the research process, collect demographically diverse data, and educate citizens with sidewalk talks about how the science of brain and mind can improve lives.

Created as Alterman’s senior thesis project, The Think Tank is a collaboration between the CUNY Macaulay Honors College senior and the New School for Social Research’s distinguished neuroscientist Dr. Daniel Casasanto, who holds a doctorate from MIT’s Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and contributes to Psychology Today.

After meeting his funding goal of $10,900, Alterman plans to unveil the vehicle at a public benefit, held in the Honors College’s landmark brownstone neighboring Lincoln Center. The benefit will be headlined by the Amygdaloids, a rock band made up entirely of neuroscientists. Named for the part of the brain believed to register fear, the band is fronted by Joseph E. LeDoux, a leading authority in neural science, Director of the Center for the Neuroscience of Fear and Anxiety and author of such books as The Emotional Brain: the Mysterious Underpinnings of Emotional Life. Other highlights include mini-lectures by noted experts and a screening of shorts from the Imagine Science Film Festival.

I’m thinking of throwing in a little money for this. Since he’s based in NYC, I hope at some point he might be able to travel or expand his business so it can visit my son’s school in Central Jersey! 🙂 It just sounds like a neat business venture, and anything that’s educational on wheels has to be cool, especially one with a big brain on wheels. You can view the video above for more info, and then as soon as you are convinced, like me, to throw a few dollars his way, go to:

http://igg.me/at/cogscionwheels/x/1033375

At this writing, it looks like Tyler and his staff are about a little more than a third of the way to their goal of almost $11K by March 13th. He’s not asking even for big donations–any donation will be helpful! I imagine that just the big brain for on top of the truck would cost about half of that money, if not more, so I think his crowdfunding goal is not asking for much, if we can all chip in a little bit.

I like this concept not only because Tyler suckered me in with “I’m a momma’s boy and a geek,” (that’s like Jerry Maguire‘s “You had me at hello”), and I can see an educational benefit to school kids, but I can see how it might also help us professionals, especially technical communicators. Think about it for a moment. Cognitive science, as Tyler points out in his video, is about why we do what we do, and what elicits reactions or responses. How important is that to technical communication? Very important! So having a team of experts out there who can start helping others understand the power of cognitive science would be great. I’m all about STEM causes, and this sounds like a great one! You could also say that as an advocate of mobile learning, this is a different twist on that concept!

So, what are you waiting for? Throw a couple of dollars to the Think Tank cause. Hopefully, it will help!

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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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Is English an International Language? – Part 1

Posted on February 5, 2013 by TechCommGeekMom

I mentioned a while ago that I had several writing projects that were coming up, and the first of them is now published! I was asked by the STC-PMC to write a two-part article about the differences and similarities between American and British English. Of course, I think there’s much more to that simple debate, and this is a favorite topic of mine, so I gladly accepted the challenge. The bigger challenge was to try not to write an entire book!

To find the original article, see the January/February 2013 edition of the STC-PMC Newsletter here.

The article itself is below:

Is English an International Language?
Part 1

Is English an international language? Yes…and no. There is no question that English is a predominant global language. Half the world’s technical and scientific periodicals are written in English, as is eighty percent of the information stored in the world’s computers. There is no question that English is the most prominent language on the Internet, which has contributed to its continued spread around the world.

However, among English speakers, there can be huge differences, as if English speakers from different countries actually spoke different languages. The argument is often made that those who speak English do speak the same base language with just a few different spellings or colloquial idioms now and then. This is only partially true. While most of the world thinks of English in terms of American or British English, there’s also Canadian, Indian, Australian, New Zealander and South African versions of English to consider among others. Each version of English has further nuances that distinguish itself from another version. For the most part, an Australian can understand a South African, an American can understand a New Zealander, and someone from India can understand someone from the UK. But there will be moments that any one of those speakers could elicit a bewildered “EH?” amongst themselves in understanding.

Since most countries that speak English as the dominant language or a second language are former British colonies or Commonwealth countries, British English is usually the standard taught in schools. The exception to this, of course, is American English, which is usually taught in the United States and much of Central and South America as a second language. Even so, between American and British English, one would think that with a few small exceptions, they are essentially the same language, right?

What many Americans don’t realize is that British English has enough nuances that in several cases, we can’t understand our British brethren, and vice versa. For example, if a person came up to you in London and mentioned that he had a mate who sold so many crisps from his lorry that the crisps were falling out the boot and bonnet, would you know what that person meant? If you’ve watched a lot of BBC America or read enough books from the UK (as I have), then you might. An American would have to translate what the Londoner said, which was that he had a buddy who sold potato chips out of his truck, and the chips were falling out of the trunk and hood. Another example would be that if an American said that he would lose his pants over a financial deal, a Brit would misunderstand it to mean that the American would be losing his underwear over the deal, as “pants” is used to refer to underwear instead of “trousers” in the UK. Those are just two of many examples of how Brits and Americans don’t necessarily understand each other.

This divide is an important consideration in technical communications. Single-sourcing and translation are a large and continually growing component of technical communications. While software is becoming more intuitive about translating written content into different languages, it’s not flawless. Using a standard commonality in the language would be desired as a result.

See the March/April issue for Part 2.

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How important is a credential in tech comm?

Posted on February 1, 2013February 1, 2013 by TechCommGeekMom

I was recently involved in an online discussion on Facebook with some friends about the benefit of having a Masters degree in this day and age. A friend of mind had posted this article which argued that having a Masters wasn’t worth the expense or time:

My Master’s wasn’t worth it

A big problem I had with the article is that it seemed like people weren’t focused enough, in some respects, when it came to what they were doing with their degree. For example, I agree that MBAs are a dime a dozen, and people often get them thinking it’s going to provide some sort of “magic bullet” in their career. I’ve never taken a business course, and I’ve done just fine in business without one. I’m sure there are certain jobs and specialities that it’s warranted, but some get it just to say that they earned it. MBAs seem to be losing their value. Another chap had the problem that he’d have to do his internship all over again due to an illness during his first one. Without that internship completed, he couldn’t graduate and get his license to become a practicing psychologist. He tried to get a job without the degree, but he couldn’t, but he also didn’t bother to try to get another internship either. The main theme I seemed to see was that people went into Masters programs with only half a plan–that they only had a Plan A on how to use their degree, but no Plan B, C, or D.

Part of the reason I waited so long in my own life to get a Masters degree was that I didn’t know what major I wanted to do for my Masters degree. Ironically enough, many years ago I had looked at a communications program somewhat similar to the one I did, but at the time more than twenty years ago, I really didn’t understand what the degree was about, and I didn’t get into the program, or else I just didn’t apply. If I couldn’t explain the degree to my parents, then how could I justify it for myself? A lot changed in twenty-plus years, and it was just timing, circumstance, and a better understanding of knowing what my skills were and the need to enhance them professionally. I started out with a somewhat plan, but by the time I graduated, I had a much clearer idea of what my options were, and there was a Plan A, B, C, and D. In fact, life took a slightly different turn for me than expected, and I ended up following a combination of Plan C and the unknown Plan E. 😉 And I do that with no regrets, but I still had a plan, and I knew my options in getting my degree.

The ironic thing that happened to me this week, also related to a Masters degree, is that a fellow graduate of my program contacted me through LinkedIn, and in the e-mail conversation we had, she started to question whether it was worth getting the degree that we both had earned. She was working a retail job, and turning down full-time jobs because they were paying less than her last full-time job from several years ago. From the conversation, I could tell that the problem was that she didn’t know how to promote the fact that having her MSPTC gave her an advantage over many people, thus making her a stronger candidate for a job. (I also reminded her that some of those other tech comm jobs that paid less than her old job probably also paid a lot more than a retail job, not that there’s anything wrong with a retail job.) She didn’t have a plan or an idea how to utilize all the knowledge she accumulated over the same amount of time that I had earned my degree. In fact, she had taken most of the same classes as I had, so I knew the value of what she had learned and earned with her degree.

Between these two incidents, it got me to thinking about the value of having a credential in technical communications. How important is a credential in tech comm, anyway? I can only speak from my own experience, but I think it can help a lot, depending on your circumstances. The job market in technical communication-related positions is very competitive these days, so any advantage is a plus. One of the arguments of the article above is that getting a Masters degree is expensive. I won’t lie–it IS expensive. But spending over US$ 100,000 to get a degree? Anyone spending that much for their MA or MS is getting ripped off. After doing some research after the fact, I found I went to one of the more expensive programs out there, and yet I know that I’ll be earning that much more with my new job because of the degree in my hand. In other words, I’ll be recouping my investment within the first year or so. So, I’m not too upset in that respect.

But financial considerations aside, is it worth the time and effort? Again, I think it’s only if you have some semblance of a plan of what you want to get out of the program, and what you plan to do with the knowledge you gain. Additionally, you need to know how to promote why the credential gives you an edge over others, or perhaps even puts you on par with others in the field. You also have to understand what flexibility that education can provide you, even with a plan in place. But do you have to be limited to only getting a Masters degree? I don’t think so. Looking back (and I knew this when I started this tech comm trek), that even if I had only earned my Tech Comm Essentials graduate certificate, it already gave me an edge over others that didn’t have something like that. It did help me get two jobs during the process of earning my full Masters, after all, and even if I hadn’t completed my Masters, I felt that I had a more solid foundation to move forward in the career direction I wanted.

One of the great advantages of being the technical communications field is that it’s very broad. There are SO many specialities within this field that having a broad enough exposure can allow one some flexibility if a credential is earned. With my degree, I felt that I had the ability to get a good job in technical writing and editing, user experience/strategy, web design, content management/strategy, social media, corporate communications and e-learning design. Others in my program went in other directions with health communications, and web analytics, for example. And yet, there are so many other specialties that are within technical communications that we, as technical communicators, should theoretically have the most flexibility in the job market than many others out there. (This begs to argue my specialist versus generalist debate again.) So, in my view, unless you’ve already been involved in technical communications for a very long time, getting any kind of training, re-training or credential only adds to your professional value.

My perspective hasn’t changed much since I wrote my blog post, The Meaning of Graduating with a Masters Degree in Technical Communications, almost 9 months ago. Once I actually had my degree in hand, I just did my best to take off with it. Yes, it still took me six months to find a job, BUT I found that having both my grad certificate and Masters gave me a lot of credibility in the eyes of potential employers as well as opened some doors that I don’t think would have opened if I hadn’t pursued the degree. I initially concentrated on e-learning and m-learning in the last few months, but it was falling back on my knowledge and experience of content management/strategy and web design that ultimately helped me gain employment. And so far, I like my job, which is good.

I realized that the ID/TC Education Resources section of this blog doesn’t have as many tech comm credential programs listed, and recently I was asked for some help in identifying some schools that had tech comm programs. I was able to expand my list for the requester, but I haven’t posted that research here yet, and I hope to do so soon. I’ll post something to alert everyone of the update once it’s done.

But in the meantime, do some Googling on your own, or visit the STC Education website for more information. I know that the STC not only offers many webinars and certificate programs, they also have a special certification program as well. That would be a good place to start. As I said, unless you are already a very well-established technical communicator, getting any kind of credential, whether it be a certificate showing completion of a single course, or a full graduate degree, can only help one’s career in providing professional value to what one can offer. But, you should only get that credential if you can justify and plan a way to use it and promote it for yourself.