STC Partners with Blackboard for a Tech Comm MOOC

By Kevin Cuddihy

STC takes a “massive” step forward in online education this September and October when they partner with Blackboard for a tech comm Massive Open Online Course (MOOC).

“MOOCs held by educational institutions attract thousands of attendees,” explained STC Director of Education and Meetings Lloyd Tucker. “But to our knowledge, no other professional association has ever attempted one. We’re extremely excited to be blazing the trail.”

According to Wikipedia, a MOOC is “an online course aimed at large-scale interactive participation and open access via the Web. In addition to traditional course materials such as videos, readings, and problem sets, MOOCs provide interactive user forums that help build a community for the students, professors, and teaching assistants.” And Blackboard is one of the leading companies in the field. “It’s a great opportunity,” enthused Phylise Banner, director of online teaching and learning at Union Graduate College and head of the team organizing the MOOC. “We’re partnering with one of the leading providers of academic supports systems, of LMSs.”

The STC MOOC will take place over five weeks (30 September–1 November) and explore the field of technical communication. It will highlight the roles and responsibilities of technical communication professionals from a variety of field specializations. Subject area experts will be responsible for developing content areas, designing learning activities, and presenting at least one synchronous learning event during the MOOC. And STC is inviting members of our SIGs to be study group facilitators as well to add to the expertise. Each week will cover a different topic area:

• Introduction to Tech Comm (30 September–4 October)
• Content Development and Delivery (7 October–11 October)
• Content Strategy/Content Lifecycle (14 October–18 October)
• Instructional Design (21 October–25 October)
• Usability/User Assistance (28 October–1 November)

“The tech comm MOOC gives you the opportunity to be part of a large community of learners—to participate as a content developer and a content curator as well as a student,” said Banner. “It exposes you to a rich array of resources that you may not be aware of related to the topic at hand. In our MOOC, the benefits are to have an understanding of the entire field and to take a larger perspective. You can participate on a micro level—details of what you’re interested in—and a macro level, to see the bigger picture and what others are interested in.”

The MOOC format includes an open Web presence, scheduled synchronous sessions (and recordings), discussion areas, facilitated study groups, social media components, guided activities, and aggregated content from participant blogs, Twitter posts, etc. After successfully completing this MOOC, participants will be able to:

• Define technical communication
• Understand the function of technical communication in industry and academia
• Identify the elements of effective technical communication
• Develop basic core technical communication skills
• Establish methods for integrating effective practices into current and future work
• Seek out professional opportunities as a technical communicator
• Recognize the value of STC and other related professional organizations
• Further explore related technical communication research and applied effective practices

By definition, MOOCs are open to all. As such, the tech comm MOOC will be completely free and open to both STC members and nonmembers worldwide. “Everyone can benefit from attending this MOOC,” stated Banner. “It’s a benefit for anyone at any level. It’s designed to have content for beginners and to have areas to explore. Intermediate people can hone their skills and learn about other areas they’re perhaps interested in, brush up on expertise, or explore different areas. And for experts, it’s a place to share and add to the content, to add to resources, participate in discussions and conversations, and even take on the role of a leader.”

See the STC website (www.stc.org) for more information on how to register as the MOOC gets closer, and keep an eye on your emails from STC as well. If you’re interested in volunteering to help, email Lloyd Tucker at lloyd.tucker@stc.org. Then prepare to learn—and more.

“It’s more than just an education opportunity,” said Banner. “It’s a professional development opportunity, networking, and even research.” Join STC on this exciting new venture into the world of massive open online courses!