Recent Student Presentations & Publications
Laura Batson | Carrie Hannigan | Christopher Lam | Halcyon Lawrence
Laura Batson (TECH, Ph.D. candidate) and Professor Susan Feinberg presented a paper at the 35th annual Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication (CPTSC) conference, "How Service-Area Populations Shape Program Design and Delivery." They called on other scholars and colleagues to create sustainable research groups between undergraduate and graduate students in technical and scientific communication.
Batson and Feinberg also have an essay, "Managing Collaboration: Adding Communication and Documentation Environment to a Product Development Cycle," in a newly published collection from Baywood Publishing, Connecting People with Technology: Issues in Professional Communication, edited by George F. Hayhoe and Ellen M. Grady. Batson and Feinberg describe a communication and documentation model used to produce e-learning computer games. Their model provides a process for managing a project with a high turnover rate of multidisciplinary specialists.
Carrie Hannigan (PhD, TECH) has published Kaplan Technical Writing: A Resource for Technical Writers at All Levels. The 624-page textbook is coauthored with Diane Martinez, Tanya Peterson, Carolyn Stevenson, and Carrie Wells.
In June 2008, Hannigan participated in a panel at the Online Teaching Conference in Oceanside, Calif. Her presentation, titled "Facilitating Small Group Work Online," focused on how online instructors need to consciously assist students in group work assignments to make sure every student is reaping the benefits of this type of interaction.
Of the conference, Hannigan said that it was inspiring to be able to exchange ideas and experiences with online instructors from elsewhere. Further information about the conference can be accessed at www.cccone.org/08Conference.
Christopher Lam (Ph.D. student, TECH) reviewed Online Education: Global Questions, Local Answers for Journal of Business Communication, 44, pp. 96-100.
Lam also presented a paper, coauthored with Professor Matt Bauer, on "Incorporating Experimental Designs in Business Communication Research" at the Association for Business Communication (ABC) conference in Lake Tahoe, Nev., October–November 2008.
Lam found the ABC conference especially helpful because each presenter had his or her own timeslot, allowing for more extended interaction between presenters and attendees. A spirited question-and-answer session followed Lam' presentation, and he was able to gain important feedback from the attendees about their attitudes toward and experiences with experimental research.
Overall, he described the conference as a great opportunity to share his work with peers from around the country. A written version of Lam and Bauer' paper has been accepted for the conference proceedings.
Halcyon Lawrence (TECH, Ph.D. student) presented "Beyond Binary: Technical Communication and the Knowledge Student" at the IEEE International Professional Communication Conference at Concordia University in Montreal in July 2008. The conference theme focused on opening the information economy and "exploring certain communication-based aspects of the information economy," including perspectives on teaching and training.
A native of Trinidad and Tobago, Lawrence presented a case study of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of the West Indies. Her paper argued that traditional forms of post-secondary engineering education are insufficient to meet the needs of the knowledge student, especially in developing economies. A written version of her paper appears in the conference proceedings.
About the conference, Lawrence noted, "The entire experience was an invaluable one. Ultimately, it gave me an opportunity to understand the process involved in developing a proposal, researching and writing a conference paper, and having it reviewed and accepted."
She encourages all graduate students who are part of the technical communication program to engage in this process: "It was also a great opportunity to network with people who currently work in the field of technical communication and with students who are pursuing similar programs around the world."
Freddrick Logan (TECH, Ph.D. candidate) with Karl Stolley, assistant professor of technical communication, presented research supported by one of two grants awarded nationally by the Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication (CPTSC) at the 35th annual CPTSC conference, "Programs in Context: Past, Present, and Future," held October 4–6 in Minneapolis. The grant supports graduate student work on "Open Source Software Resources in Distance Education."
Logan and Stolley offered arguments for open-source software as a tool for teaching technical skills and achieving digital literacy, as well as an invaluable resource for technical communicators.