English 5533: Advanced Technical Writing
Online Genres and Usability

Spring 2001
Brenda Camp Orbell, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
Office: Morrill 107B
Phone: 744-8949
Office Hours: Monday, 7:00—8:00 pm; Tuesday/Thursday, 3:30—5:00 pm  
Orbell@okstate.edu

Course Description

An in-depth exploration of theoretical, practical, and technical considerations for designing, developing, and testing online genres. Students will design and develop an online help project, an informational website, and an instructional website using state-of-the-art technology, including Dreamweaver, Authorware, RoboHELP, and Photoshop. Students will evaluate the projects through usability testing and web heuristics. (Students do not need prior experience with HTML coding; the course includes an introduction to HTML basics and instruction in the software used to develop the projects.)

Required Reading

• Batschelet, Margaret W. Web Writing/Web Designing. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2001.
• Hackos, JoAnn T., and Dawn M. Stevens. Standards for Online Communication. New York: Wiley, 1997.
• Rosenfeld, Louis, and Peter Morville. Information Architecture for the World Wide Web. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilley, 1998.
• Selected Readings on Usability and Online Help

• Fleming, Jennifer. Web Navigation: Designing the User Experience. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilley, 1998.
• Horton, William. Designing and Writing Online Documentation. New York: Wiley, 1994.
• Nielsen, Jakob. Designing Web Usability: The Practice of Simplicity. Indianapolis: New Riders, 1999.

Class Attendance, Project Work, and Lab Times
Because of the project-driven nature of this course and the specialized software required to produce the projects, attendance is vital to the success of your projects and your teammates’. You are expected to attend all classes and all meetings scheduled by your project teams. I will also open the Electronic Classroom on Sunday afternoons so that students can have access to the software.

Course Design and Grades
This course is intensely project-driven and requires a significant amount of software learning. However, the design and development of the projects will be based on the course readings. To accommodate these characteristics, the semester’s work is divided into four units and a final examination. Each part involves completing assigned readings, developing a project, and learning a software application. The first week or two of each unit focuses on the readings and learning the software. The remaining weeks of the unit concentrate on planning, developing, and testing the project. Your grade will be based on the quality of your work on four course projects and a final examination.

• 10% Unit I: Web Basics
• 20% Unit II: Information Architecture
• 30% Unit III: Developing and Testing a Medium-Scale Informational or Instructional Website
• 30% Unit IV: Designing and Testing Online Help
• 10% Final Examination

• Reading: Batschelet’s Web Writing/Web Designing (Chapters 1 through 8 by January 29)
• Individual Project: Small-Scale Information Website
• Technology: HTML and Adobe Photoshop
• Grade: An assessment of the website as well as your use of HTML
• Duration: 4 weeks (January 22 — February 5)

Unit II: Information Architecture (20%)

• Reading: Rosenfeld and Morville’s Information Architecture for the World Wide Web (February 12)
• Individual Project: Architecture for a Medium-Scale Informational or Instructional Website
• Technology: Dreamweaver
• Grade: An assessment of the website architecture as well as the planning documents, design materials, and report you develop for the project
• Duration: 3 weeks (February 12 — February 26)

Unit III: Developing and Testing a Medium-Scale Informational or Instructional Websites (30%)

• Reading: Hackos and Stevens’s Standards for Online Communication (complete by March 5) and Selected Readings on Web Usability (complete by March 26)
• Group Project: Medium Informational or Instructional Website
• Technology: Dreamweaver or Authorware
• Grade: An assessment of the website as well as the materials generated during the development process, including your planning documents, design materials, and usability reports
• Duration: 4 to 5 weeks (March 5 — April 2 or 9)

Unit IV: Designing and Testing Online Help (30 %)

• Reading: Selected Readings on Online Help (complete by April 2)
• Group Project: Online Help Facility
• Technology: RoboHelp
• Grade: An assessment of the online help project as well as the materials generated during the development process, including your planning documents, design materials, and usability reports
• Duration: 4 to 5 weeks (April 2 or 9 — May 7)

Final Examination (10%)

• Students enrolled in the Technical Writing master’s program will complete a two-hour final examination in which they are expected to demonstrate their critical understanding of the course readings and lectures.
• All other students, in lieu of the final examination, will submit a report that draws upon the course readings and lectures to evaluate the major projects.
• Date: May 14