Week 7

Submitted by admin on Mon, 05/07/2007 - 10:39

By Monday, February 23, at midnight

  • Read the Instructions Project description thoroughly. Weeks seven through ten will be focused on this project.
  • Read: Instructor Blog #4: Technical Instructions
  • Read: Chapter 19—Technical Descriptions in TCT
  • Read: Chapter 20—Instructions in TCT
  • Watch this video (from Common Craft). Consider its approach to readers/users. What level of expertise does it assume? How does it present the technology to those readers (word choice, style, tone, level of detail, design, and even the medium)?


  • Post (by midnight tonight): Reading Response (300 word) on Chapters 19 and 20 and Instructor Blog #4. Focus your report on the chapter 20's discussion of tailoring your instructions to help specific audiences perform a specific task and chapter 19's emphasis on concrete yet accessible descriptions. Point to concrete examples you have encountered to flesh out your response (you might even consider discussing the video example we have provided or another example from Common Craft). Also, connect your discussion back to the previous chapter's information on audience and context. For example, how would you describe your technology to audiences with different levels of expertise (i.e., knowledge of the technology, general technological awareness, vocabulary)? Consider also the ethics of successful instructions. In Instructor Blog #4, we warn against treating users as "idiots," and suggest treating them as "novices" instead. What are the drawbacks of the "idiot" approach, and what problems could this approach create for you as the expert producing instructions? Make sure to tag your blog post with the appropriate "Reading Response" week tag by selecting it from the "Reading Response" drop-down box when you submit your post.
  • Also, enjoy Cosmo Kramer's attempt at technical description:

By Wednesday, February 25, at midnight

By Friday, February 27, at midnight

  • Post (by midnight tonight): Step 1: Proposal. Review the Instructions Project description for a description of the proposal. Make sure to tag your blog post with the appropriate "Proposal" tag by selecting it from the "Instructions Project" drop-down box when you submit your post.