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Delivering a Technical Communication Course to Distance Learners

Many Irish technical communicators do not have a recognised qualification in technical writing or communications, but have found employment as writers in IT or e-learning companies, or moved into the profession following training or education in Engineering, Science, IT, or Humanities disciplines. To advance their technical communication careers, they often need to extend the scope of their qualifications to include a professional technical communication component.

Since 2000, the University of Limerick has run a technical communication certificate course for distance learning students. Students of this course take four modules, either two or four per semester over one or two years, in: Foundations of Technical Communication; Theory of Technical Communication; Contexts of Technical Communication; and Documentation Management. The content of these modules is exactly the same for distance students as for full time students of the Graduate Diploma in Technical Communication (except that the full-time students take four additional modules in e.g. programming, information systems development, localisation and Human-Computer Interaction).

The distance learning version of the course is both a work in progress and a hybrid system: we actively encourage students to provide feedback and make suggestions for changes to content and delivery based on their learning experiences. It is a hybrid system because material is delivered via a commercial Learning Management System (Blackboard), e-mail, and possibly face-to-face interaction (students may come on campus to register, and to take workshops in various technical communication tools).

This innovative course has proved very instructive, for the course delivery team as well as the students! This presentation will examine:

  • Strategies for delivering content to distance learners, and specifically our hybrid system of course delivery.
  • The profile of current and past students.
  • The logistics of running intensive courses by distance and electronically, e.g. teaching and assessing software and practical skills (in addition to theory); managing courses; providing learner support; providing feedback to students; and building motivation into the course.
  • The design of content for delivery electronically.
    Problems and possible solutions (including workload, student motivation, copyright issues, and availability of software).
  • The value of offering programmes to distance students.

About Yvonne Cleary

Yvonne Cleary is a Junior Lecturer in Technical Communication at the University of Limerick, where she has worked since 1999. She has been involved in the development of various courses (including an MA in E-Learning Design and Development, and the Graduate Certificate in Technical Communication). Her research interests include web site localisation and usability, and the profession of technical communication in Europe.