Cleaning a Dirty Beach, and the value we add
While it may be clear to us that "we add value to any organization", what do those who work with us have to say?
A discussion forum for the STC Intercom column, "The Academic Conversation"
The purpose of this forum is to enable conversations about academic topics, how they are taught, and how they are practiced in technical communication. The blog invites colleagues and friends to share in the conversation.
Latest Activity
Thomas Barker left a comment for Liz Pohland"Hey Liz. Welcome to the forum. You'll see that it's still growing."
Thomas Barker replied to Thomas Barker's discussion Teaching visual-spatial thinking"My conversation with Craig brought this comment from him about learning visual rhetoric.
"Normally to think visually and spatially, students need to learn using the same mode, i.e., visual examples, spatial environments. Since a lot of…"
Thomas Barker replied to Thomas Barker's discussion Visualizing Information"Here's a blog entry by Tom Johnson on visualization in writing. http://idratherbewriting.com/2010/09/28/visuals-engage-users-why-arent-there-more-illustrations-in-help-content-visual-imagination-1/"
Thomas Barker posted a discussionVisualizing Information
My current topic is intended to support the December Intercom issue on visualizing information. I'm interested in three broad areas: the teaching of media and visuals, researching in visualization, and the practice of using visuals and digital media in the workplace. At this point I'm gathering resources but I'd like to have this discussion as a starting place. Technical communication academics have long consulted the work of these theorists in visualizing information: Edward Tufte…See More
Thomas Barker replied to Tom Johnson's discussion Question about the choice of the term "rhetoric'"Thanks for the comment. The term rhetoric is meant to evoke the tradition of theory and analysis that underlies academic approaches to communication. As such, it has lots of explanatory power when someone is trying to say why one design works and…"
Tom Johnson posted a discussionQuestion about the choice of the term "rhetoric'
Dr. Barker,I was checking out the PhD program at Texas Tech the other day and noticed the juxtaposition of rhetoric with technical communication. This intrigued me, because rhetoric is usually an academic topic never mentioned in the workplace. I'm wondering how rhetoric fits into the tech comm discipline. Are you using rhetoric to mean discourse, persuasion, engagement, or something else? Regardless of the definition, why choose the term rhetoric, which seems as ancient as Aristotle and…See More
Thomas Barker posted a discussionMedical Writing
I recently wrote a column in The Academic Conversation about medical writing. I'll upload the column. My questions would be: http://intercom.stc.org/2010/05/communication-is-the-best-medicine/ The column focuses, as usual, on the research, teaching, and practical aspects of medical writing, and it contains a list of further resources. I'd like to know if readers have additional resources to suggest, or…See More
Forum
Cleaning a Dirty Beach, and the value we add
While it may be clear to us that "we add value to any organization", what do those who work with us have to say?
Started by Milan Davidovic Apr 10, 2011.
Teaching visual-spatial thinking 1 Reply
Dr. Craig Baehr teaches in our program at TTU. His book, Web Development: a Visual-Spatial Approach, contains a great definition of visual-spatial thinking: "Visual-spatial thinking is based on an…Continue
Started by Thomas Barker. Last reply by Thomas Barker Oct 29, 2010.
Visual analytics
http://parvac.washington.edu/The mission of the Pacific Rim Visualization and Analytics Center is to "advanc[e] visual analytics for the enhancement of…Continue
Started by Thomas Barker Oct 28, 2010.
Teaching visual rhetoric
http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~salvo/680V/syllabus.htm Dr. Mike Salvo teaches a course in Visual Rhetoric at Purdue that focuses on…Continue
Started by Thomas Barker Oct 28, 2010.
Blog Posts
Rhetoric in Practice
Here lies the most difficult question. To what extent does rhetoric affect writing in the technical communication workplace? Clearly the answer is "a lot" but how does the formal study of rhetoric make a difference in the lives of practicing technical communicators?
Do practitioners of technical writing use the term but have little understanding of its meaning? Or do people simply say "visual rhetoric" or "the rhetoric here" and expect us to substitute "effective visual presenation… Continue
Do practitioners of technical writing use the term but have little understanding of its meaning? Or do people simply say "visual rhetoric" or "the rhetoric here" and expect us to substitute "effective visual presenation… Continue
Posted by Thomas Barker on November 17, 2009 at 3:01pm
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