This 11th formal session introduced the roles and tasks of technical writers to MSc. students in Management of Information Systems.
The class has ten working students, which attend the classes after their regular work. Students arrived at their own pace, with Prof. Ângela Nobre using the initial time to talk to students about upcoming classwork. Eventually, eight of the ten students arrived.
My presentation proceeded without any incidents, and then students asked about the profession and considered how their companies might apply technical writing. The questions were lively and plentiful, creating a very positive experience.
Why did the report take so long?
This report took four months to complete.
Reports make sense when practitioners present new talks, as a way to capture some of the rich interaction that follows. Other practitioners usually offer further insights into each presentation.
Sessions aimed at students reuse past presentations, which makes the corresponding reports repetitive. Also, students do not feel part of the community. Therefore, students mostly abstain from contributing to the public notes, besides thanking for the session.
While presentations to students make sense to disseminate technical writing, I believe that we should engage students in a different way, perhaps using active learning practices.
Invitation (11-Nov)
Greetings to all technical writers, and to everyone interested in technical writing!
Next Tuesday there will be a class for students in the MSc. in Management of Information Systems at Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal, 50 Km South of Lisbon. Since the class will be delivered in Portuguese, the rest of the announcement will also be in Portuguese.
Saudações!
No âmbito da cadeira Organizações e Sistemas de Informação do Mestrado em Gestão de Sistemas de Informação, a professora Ângela Nobre organiza uma aula aberta sobre escrita técnica:
- Terça, 15 de Novembro, 18h30-20h30
- Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal, Escola Superior de Ciências Empresariais, Sala C1-07
A aula terá uma única apresentação (a mesma que foi apresentada na conferência CAPSI):
Joaquim Baptista, escritor técnico sénior
Gestão do Processo de Negócio, Tecnologia e Inovação Organizacional: o papel estruturante da Escrita Técnica.
Tem sido habitual nestas aulas abertas uma animada interacção entre oradores e alunos. Estão todos convidados a participar… especialmente os residentes na margem Sul que se queixam que “Lisboa é longe”.
Attachments
The 11th Report — 11-page report of the meeting, including the slides of the presentation. For technical reasons, the report must currently be hosted on an external site.