By Jackie Damrau, Editor
Books Reviewed in This Issue
The Global PR Revolution: How Thought Leaders Succeed in the Transformed World of PR
by Maxim Behar
In Other Words: An Illustrated Miscellany of the World’s Most Intriguing Words and Phrases
by Christopher J. Moore
Leadership Intelligence: The 5Qs for Thriving as a Leader
by Ali Qassim Jawad and Andrew Kakabadse
Microlearning: Short and Sweet
by Karl M. Kapp and Robyn A. Defelice
Beyond Human Error: Taxonomies and Safety Science
by Brendan Wallace and Alastair Ross
Writing About Screen Media
by Lisa Patti, ed.
Writing Science in the Twenty-First Century
by Christopher Thaiss
Transforming Organizations: Engaging the 4Cs for Powerful Organizational Learning and Change
by Michael Anderson and Miranda Jefferson
Conducting Your Literature Review: Concise Guides to Conducting Behavioral, Health, and Social Science Research
by Susanne Hempel
Speaking of Writing: A Brief Rhetoric
by Allegra Goodman and Michael Prince
Social Media and the Public Interest: Media Regulation in the Disinformation Age
by Philip M. Napoli
The Emoji Revolution: How Technology Is Shaping the Future of Communication
by Philip Seargeant
The Complete Project Manager: Integrating People, Organization, and Technical Skill, 2nd ed.
by Randall L. Englund an Alfonso Bucero
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association: The Official Guide to APA Style, 7th ed.
by American Psychological Association
The Mad Scientist’s Guide to Composition (A Somewhat Cheeky but Exheedingly Useful Introduction to Academic Writing
by Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock
Theories of Human Learning: Mrs. Gribbin’s Cat, 7th ed.
by Guy R. Lefrançois
Data Skills for Media Professionals: A Basic Guide
by Ken Blake and Jason Reineke
Digital Reading and Writing in Composition Studies
by Mary R. Lamb and Jennifer M. Parrott, eds.
Universal Access Through Inclusive Instructional Design: International Perspectives on UDL
by Susie L. Gronseth and Elizabeth M. Dalton, eds.
The Global PR Revolution: How Thought Leaders Succeed in the Transformed World of PR
Maxim Behar. 2019. Allworth Press. [ISBN 978-1-62153-715-1, 298 pages, including index. US$29.99 (softcover).]
Up front in The Global PR Revolution: How Thought Leaders Succeed in the Transformed World of PR, Maxim Behar claims that public relations (PR) is “the most dynamic, creative, and captivating business in the world” (p. xi). This occurred once social media provided direct access between a business and its customers. No longer does it take a hired PR entity to reach your company’s users; no longer do people need to wait on hold for an operator to connect them. The consumer’s voice is immediately heard. Brands are no longer solely in the power of the companies. Consumer power over brands is enormous.
Such a momentous change has trickle-down consequences for technical communicators who may not realize that we write for the public eye. If your manual can be directly downloaded in PDF format from a website, then you have become part of a PR solution. The accuracy and usability of your documentation may well determine how a user perceives the business.
As expected, Behar’s focus is on the history and changes in PR, concluding with where PR agencies now offer most value. A PR group can be quick to recommend actions to control crises due to press attention, such as results from a catastrophic failure or major faux pas in handling a complaint. Whereas company executives might just wait to see if the issue goes away, PR staff advise this is seldom the case in a social media-rich world. The author claims a bad decision is usually better than no action. Being proactive is wise.
Behar has collected input; including case studies, examples, and insight; from dozens of leading global PR people. This might be a book to suggest to your managers and could inspire communication regarding crisis control. The Global PR Revolution is must reading for anyone involved in the ubiquitous PR industry.
Specific places where technical communicators can add their expertise to PR is monitoring written responses going out on blogs and on Facebook pages. Make sure that proper grammar and spelling are being used. Don’t be surprised at what you see since social media conversations are started by an army of amateurs whose spell checker likely has run amok. We should add value wherever we can, including a fact check to make sure that our replies are transparently honest.
Don’t expect this PR revolution to simply fade away. However, we can be the one(s) in our company encouraging the need for being proactive. And shouldn’t the care of a company’s social media presence be automatically considered as at least part of the technical communicators’ bailiwick?
Donna Ford
Donna Ford has been an STC member and a technical writer in the hardware, software, and government healthcare industries. She holds an Information Design certificate from Bentley College. Donna is an author who also reviews books online for the US Review of Books.
In Other Words: An Illustrated Miscellany of the World’s Most Intriguing Words and Phrases
Christopher J. Moore. 2019. Bloomsbury Publishing. [ISBN 978-1-63557-403-6. 128 pages. US$18.00.]
Every language has its idiosyncrasies that makes it just a tiny bit more difficult to understand if you are not a native speaker. Is that because some people experience schadenfreude when witnessing others garble common sayings? Perhaps it is a universal weltschmertz (world pain)? Or maybe just a need to create a book that explains colloquialisms from across the globe so you can use them in everyday conversation. So, Bob’s your uncle, Christopher Moore created In Other Words: An Illustrated Miscellany of the World’s Most Intriguing Words and Phrases to fill that gap.
This book contains dozens of phrases from multiple cultures, spanning ancient Greece to modern Japan. Moore has grouped these phrases, along with their accompanying translations and explanations by time and region, for example, the ancient word or the far north. A handy pronunciation guide is located at the start, and each cultural phrase has a phonetic pronunciation included. Often, the direct translation of the word or phrase means little in English, such as cavoli riscaldati (Italian for “reheated cabbage”), so Moore explains the true meaning of the colloquialisms. In the case of cavoli riscaldati, it stems from a longer proverb about a pointless attempt to revive a former love affair. Additionally, most entries are supplemented by a wonderful illustration by Lan Truong which further adds flavor to the piece. Together, Moore’s clever writing and the beautiful illustrations make for a delightful book. The intended audience must be Americans, since the one culture that is not investigated is that of American jargon. This absence is barely noticed as you page through the book absorbing multicultural sayings.
Perhaps joining a kōhanga reo (Maori for “language nest,” where children are taught almost-dead languages) will help you boost your foreign vocabulary. Or, consider building up your guanxi by giving this book as a gift for your favorite lexophile. Could owning In Other Words turn you into a word worm yourself? By hook or by crook, it will!
Timothy Esposito
Timothy Esposito is an STC Fellow with over 20 years of technical communication experience. He is the past president of the STC Philadelphia Metro Chapter. Before becoming president, Timothy was chapter vice president, treasurer, webmaster, and scholarship manager.
Leadership Intelligence: The 5Qs for Thriving as a Leader
Ali Qassim Jawad and Andrew Kakabadse. 2019. Bloomsbury Business. [ISBN 978-1-4729-6393-2. 202 pages, including index. US$28.00 (softcover).]
Leadership Intelligence: The 5Qs for Thriving as a Leader tackles its topic as it relates to the corporate world today. Ali Qassim Jawad and Andrew Kakabadse assert that what works today in the corporate world includes “nimble minds” and “rounded perspectives” when it comes to leadership and solving problems. They have done research concerning effective leadership in the corporate world, noting five key leadership intelligences and their corresponding quotient (Q):
- IQ: Cognitive intelligence
- EQ: Emotional intelligence
- MQ: Moral intelligence
- PQ: Political intelligence
- RQ: Resilience intelligence
As an example, a definition for EQ is the ability to manage your own emotions and those of others. PQ relates to a process of discussion to reach agreement, harmony, and a way forward.
The audience here could be anyone in a leadership position including the executive or board levels. Jawad and Kakabadse tested the 5Qs on leaders worldwide.
They concluded the 5Qs contribute to becoming a well-rounded, effective leader for any situation. The authors also note that individuals can nurture and practice the 5Qs through learning and development, as well as relate to four levels of leadership: operational, general management, executive management, and board level. For example, Jawad and Kakabadse state, “Those who take charge handle differences and tensions, which after a while can wear you down” (p. xiii).
The ideas and information the authors present in Leadership Intelligence are worthwhile, thoughtful, and useful.
Jeanette Evans
Jeanette Evans holds an MS in technical communication management from Mercer University. She has worked with groups such as Philips Medical and Cuyahoga Community College doing technical writing and supporting courseware development. Jeanette also co-authored an Intercom column on emerging technologies in education and is currently a NEO STC newsletter co-editor.
Microlearning: Short and Sweet
Karl M. Kapp and Robyn A. Defelice. ATD Press. [ISBN 978-1-949036-73-2. 200 pages, including index. US$24.99 (softcover).]
Microlearning: Short and Sweet considers many definitions for microlearning—what it is and what it isn’t—and attempts to converge that information into this compact book. It was written to demystify microlearning, offer learning theories and research that support microlearning, and present an actionable road map.
Spoiler alert! The definition used in this book is, “Microlearning is an instructional unit that provides a short engagement in an activity intentionally designed to elicit a specific outcome from the participant” (p. 11).
Chapters 1 through 4 cover the foundations of microlearning. Chapters 5 through 8 cover planning and development.
Chapter 2 focuses on the principles of learning theories and domains. Each learning theory (behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism, and connectivism) represents an opportunity to use microlearning with examples of how each theory supports it. The chapter also shows how different types of learning outcomes tap a different learning domain (cognitive, affective, and psychomotor).
In Chapter 3, Kapp and Defelice present six use cases to help you identify opportunities for microlearning: pensive, performance, persuasive, post-instruction, practice, and preparatory. For example, pensive microlearning asks your audience to reflect upon an idea, while practice microlearning helps to hone a skill. You’ll even find a worksheet in this chapter that helps you determine the most appropriate use case for your situation.
Chapter 4 explains how to incorporate a use case and put microlearning into action. This chapter also provides scientific evidence for using microlearning to deliver instruction. This book will help you visualize the practices that will work best for you, provided you have an idea of what you want to communicate.
Chapter 5 gets you thinking about a microlearning strategy, including developing an overall goal for the learning initiative, identifying performance indicators, building the use case, and creating an audience profile.
Chapter 6 emphasizes the importance of—and the factors influencing—planning and implementation. It takes you through pre-production, production, and post-production considerations.
Chapter 7 is all about designing microlearning and highlights writing concisely, creating questions that are precise and objective, and selecting graphics and visuals that add value (besides podcasting, video, and gamification).
Chapter 8 discusses why measurement and evaluation matters and employs the who, what, when, where, why, and how questions. You’ll also learn to use the SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis to evaluate the team that developed the microlearning.
While microlearning needs as much attention as any other form of training, don’t be discouraged! Microlearning is an easy read that gets you focused. Whether a novice or a pro, you can pick and choose what you need to create microlearning.
Michelle Gardner
Michelle Gardner, CPTC, is an STC member and a technical writer for Harris Computer. She has a bachelor’s in Journalism: Public Relations from California State University, Long Beach, and a master’s in Computer Resources and Information Management from Webster University.
Beyond Human Error: Taxonomies and Safety Science
Brendan Wallace and Alastair Ross. 2019. CRC Press. [ISBN 978-0-367-39103-4. 288 pages, including index. US$74.95 (softcover).]
Beyond Human Error: Taxonomies and Safety Science breaks down traditional notions of human error and provides practical advice for evaluating accidents and preventing disasters. Although the paperback edition was released in late 2019, there are no revisions from the 2006 hardcover edition.
Despite its age, this book may appeal to several types of technical communicators: those working deeply in user-centered design or human factors, those who would like to further develop their content strategy skills, and those involved in risk communication.
The connection to those working primarily in risk communication is most obvious. The authors present relevant anecdotes of safety science research from the rail and nuclear energy industries. They argue that people are not computers into which safety rules can be downloaded. Instead, people must interpret the rules, and those interpretations vary by person and by context. The authors recommend a case-based approach that is developed from the lower rungs of an organization rather than from the top down.
For those practitioners and scholars of user-centered design, the authors summarize the contributions of psychology and human factors theory in preventing disasters, while also challenging the value of rules-based, cognitivist approaches to safety science. Those who are familiar with Paul Dombrowski’s analyses of the groupthink and communication failures in the Challenger disaster will relish this volume’s detailed discussion on the design and testing failures amid the familiar organizational and political pressures that led to the tragic explosion of the space shuttle.
Finally, for those who work in the areas of content strategy, the authors provide advice on and examples of developing and testing a valid and reliable taxonomy. In this case, the authors examine the methods used to evaluate and refine safety report taxonomies by testing report writers’ ability to use the same terms. They describe these studies in enough detail that a content strategist could replicate the studies’ methods to determine the confidence in a taxonomy among a team of writers. Content strategists might appreciate the perspective of a different field.
The book’s overall tone feels academic. This isn’t to say that scholars and practitioners will be hard pressed to find practical nuggets of advice or that the language is turgid. Rather, the book’s subject traverses engineering, psychology, research methods, and philosophy, which requires the reader to wade through lengthy passages on topics that seem tangential to their primary interests. While Beyond Human Error covers a lot of ground, each chapter seems to stand on its own, and the final chapter brings together all pieces. Readers from different audiences could simply limit themselves to the chapters that interest them most and still extract useful information. On balance, I found the book readable, highlighted by accessible discussions on hermeneutics (the theory of interpretation) and psychology. For the technical communication practitioners I noted earlier, this book is worth the investment in time.
Michael Opsteegh
Michael Opsteegh is an STC Senior Member and a technical writer in the software and financial services industries since 2004. He is a lecturer in the technical communication program at Cal State Long Beach. Michael holds a master’s degree in English and is a Certified Technical Professional Communicator (CPTC).
Writing About Screen Media
Lisa Patti, ed. 2020. Routledge. [ISBN 978-0-8153-9352-8. 248 pages. US$42.95 (softcover).]
Lisa Patti’s edited volume aims to give students the basic knowledge and strategies to write about screen media of several types, including film, social media, video games, and music videos. The effort is ambitious and laudable, even if the result isn’t perfect.
She divides her book into two parts. The consistently excellent first part, “New Frameworks for Writing About Screen Media,” consists of five chapters written entirely by the editor. Each chapter follows the pattern of main text followed by ingenious practical tips and resources.
These chapters give useful and often totally original advice. Patti details, for example, how she teaches students to use a process of Collaborate—Frame—Curate—Follow (up). Nicely chosen images from selected films reinforce the full details of how to analyze what you’re seeing and hearing, develop your “critical argument,” and take advantage of digital tools.
The second part of the book consists of pieces written by 51 contributors, averaging five pages in length. Each chapter includes a boxed summary, main text, and references. The quality here varies widely: Some contributions are gems that instructors will find excellent for classroom use, while a few probably should have been left out of the collection.
One of the stronger chapters is TreaAndrea M. Russworm and Jennifer Malkowski’s “Playing to Write: Analyzing Video Games.” Especially interesting is their original take on how to get difficult-to-find games. Also very strong is Derek Johnson’s expert details on how “media scholars can transform lists of media franchises into more critical assessments of the franchising processes through which agency and constraint unfold within and across entertainment industries” (p. 177). Other authors go into such writing opportunities as film festivals, Andy Warhol’s cinema, archival footage, music videos, transnational media, outdoor advertising, streaming portals, interviewing, academic blogging, video essays, and blurbs. All in all, you get a veritable smorgasbord of topics.
I’d make three recommendations for strengthening the collection. First, Patti’s contributors are all faculty members or students. She should get on board professional, nonacademic writers who are heavily engaged on social media and would have much to say.
Second, an editor should not expect readers to check the ends of all the chapters to compile a list of resources—they need an overall bibliography, particularly if Patti is gearing her book toward student researchers.
Finally, the book needs an index. The staggering count of 41 non-indexed chapters makes it impossible to pursue themes and names.
If you want to consider wide-ranging opportunities for writing about screen media, Lisa Patti’s entertaining volume can be a good place to start.
Avon J. Murphy
Avon J. Murphy is an STC Fellow and technical editor in western Washington. A retired college professor and government writer, he is a contractor and principal in Murphy Editing and Writing Services, specializing in computer and Web technologies. Avon served as book review editor for Technical Communication for 17 years.
Writing Science in the Twenty-First Century
Christopher Thaiss. 2019. Broadview Press. [ISBN 978-1-55481-304-9. 342 pages, including index. US$40.37 (softcover).]
Because science communication is increasingly important, the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science and other similar centers have come about to help scientists share their work with lay audiences. Publishers of academic textbooks have also increased their offerings in this area. Canadian publisher Broadview Press joins the market with a nicely produced textbook on writing in STEM fields.
Writing Science in the Twenty-First Century targets two primary courses: undergraduate writing courses for STEM students and STEM content courses with a writing component (often called writing in the majors or disciplines). Although the book isn’t written for first-year composition and isn’t an introduction to academic writing, the book could certainly augment such courses, particularly at universities, colleges, or technology trade schools focused on STEM education.
Although advertised as a text for research writers and those doing science journalism or science blogging, other texts better focus on the details of writing for these specialized genres. This text is best for general courses where less depth and detail are required. For example, the two-page section on “Numbers and mathematical symbols” lacks examples of how to include math into writing. I’ve found math inclusion to be a confusing task for students but one that is straightforward to explain, particularly with examples. The section instead provides general purposes for including math in various genres depending on audience needs (p. 64).
Christopher Thaiss writes with a friendly and conversational voice, addressing students directly: “Let’s look at this article from the online New York Times to see how voice works in a piece of STEM journalism” (p. 200). The explanations are approachable, and the text effectively uses bullets, bold text, headings, and so on to convey content. Chapters are structured consistently, with an introduction to the topics, the chapter goals, exercises throughout, and a conclusion.
This textbook covers the requisite content, like multimodal writing, ethics, and oral presentations. Three chapters focus on academic journal articles and research reviews. Two discuss non-academic genres: STEM journalism and science blogs. These are all solid introductions to the material. While this is a full-color book with a clean page design, it could have included more graphical material throughout; most graphics appeared in either the chapter on posters and infographics or the one on multimodal writing. The chapters on style and editing sentences use text highlighting, for example of subject-predicate pairs, to illustrate important concepts.
Broadview Press also offers websites with additional content. The Instructor’s Guide is a brief PDF text addressing the two types of courses mentioned previously. The strength of this guide is the section, “Best Practices in Using Student Writing in Your Teaching,” and the entire text is particularly good for STEM instructors and teaching assistants who may not be familiar with typical university resources like the writing center or a WAC director. The website provides chapter quizzes and outlines, and a sample syllabus for an upper-division writing course, complete with sample assignments.
Kelly A. Harrison
Kelly A. Harrison, MFA, teaches technical writing at Stanford University. In collaboration with a colleague, she recently received an NEH grant for curriculum development at San José State University, where she has taught a range of writing courses. She has written print and online content for various high-tech companies.
Transforming Organizations: Engaging the 4Cs for Powerful Organizational Learning and Change
Michael Anderson and Miranda Jefferson. 2019. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. [ISBN 978-1-4729-4931-8. 258 pages, including index. US$35.00.]
What is refreshing about Michael Anderson and Miranda Jefferson writing about Transforming Organizations: Engaging the 4Cs for powerful organizational learning and change is the ultimate dose of reality they provide. This is no fairy tale story. True transformation is a long-range endeavor that is difficult, problematic, and requires a level of effort not necessarily understood by organizations trying to engage in these seismic change attempts. The level of frankness is refreshing. Even though organizations are in a constant state of change, they must almost stop during said change to accomplish transformation. Anderson and Jefferson advocate for the formation of a dedicated transformation team with absolute commitment and engagement from leadership. Transformation is, as they say, not a one-day workshop.
In case readers have forgotten the 4Cs—critical reflection, creativity, communication, and collaboration—the authors spend time in Chapter 1 defining and discussing the terms. Although readers can expect to see the usual case study examples that have become the norm in business books, the examples do not overwhelm the how-to advice contained within. Specifically, the questions included at the conclusion of Chapters 3 through 8 are useful and immediately applicable to both new and existing transformation plans. In Chapter 3, a short case study example about an educational organization highlights the problems that arise when leaders are not engaged in transformation within their own organizations.
The ideas in Transforming Organizations can be applied whether readers are engaged in waterfall or agile methodologies. They can also be applied to determine if an organization is ready for transformation, which the authors note is often not the case. If readers are looking for ways to assess readiness, this book can help. There are also elements of knowledge management found in Chapter 6 when discussing critical reflection. This book will appeal to a broad spectrum of roles across organizations including executive leadership, human resources, change managers, knowledge managers, and training managers.
Anderson and Jefferson try to introduce a new term, coherence makers, for what readers will understand to be frameworks and guides. While understanding the meaning of the term and its intent, sticking with something more familiar allows for quicker cognitive understanding for the reader. Some of the included images are difficult to read or do not add value to the text.
Readers short on time should read the Introduction, which includes a helpful summary of each Chapter, and then go straight to Chapter 9. The authors reiterate that transforming organizations is a complex act fraught with problems. They emphasize the need for broad leadership and employee engagement. They provide critical questions that can be taken right from the page into a meeting. They enable readers to identify where (awakening, applying, accelerating, advance, adept) in a continuum they and the organization reside in terms of transformation. Finally, they never lose that dose of realism while showing readers transformation is possible.
Liz Herman
Liz Herman, PhD, is a knowledge management practitioner and is certified in project management and technical communication. She is an STC senior member currently serving as the Technical Communication Book of Knowledge Committee Chair. She works for Senture as its Director of Knowledge Management.
Conducting Your Literature Review: Concise Guides to Conducting Behavioral, Health, and Social Science Research
Susanne Hempel. 2020. American Psychological Association. [ISBN 978-1-4338-3092-1. 146 pages, including index. US$29.99 (softcover).]
Literature reviews provide a sound overall understanding of a topic within a field of study and provide the context for subsequent research. Reading the most important publications in a field creates a gestalt that informs a research design and helps researchers provide the context readers need to understand the importance and relevance of new research. As a research aid during preparation for a research project, literature reviews clarify what’s been done before, what worked, what didn’t work, what knowledge gaps exist, and what must be done to fill those gaps.
In Conducting Your Literature Review: Concise Guides to Conducting Behavioral, Health, and Social Science Research, Susanne Hempel demystifies the forbidding task of performing a literature review by providing a concise, powerful set of guidelines in a highly logical sequence. She begins with the crucial task of defining the scope and methods for your review, including a review of the main ways to find published information, and continues with descriptions of what to do with the information once you find it. Hempel focuses on psychological research, from the perspective of undergraduate and graduate students, but her advice is robust and will benefit working researchers in any field.
Hempel emphasizes the trinity of technical communication: audience, goal, and information. The book’s overall approach matches her recommended process to the goals of the literature review, keeping in mind the review’s audience, and she frequently reminds us that the review process must be as rigorous as the research it supports to avoid “selection” bias (overemphasizing or neglecting subsets of a field of research) and “reporting” bias (producing an unbalanced or inconsistent summary). Each chapter ends with a summary checklist that emphasizes the key points and contains multiple examples to make abstract points concrete.
The advice is consistently rigorous and logical, though I had some quibbles. For example, Hempel notes that the most commonly cited papers in a field are a valuable resource, but there’s a risk that papers on a given subject by early authors lead to citations by subsequent authors only because those papers have already been cited (what I call the “bandwagon” effect), not because of the research’s inherent value. Omissions include the lack of an explicit warning to not base one’s summary of a paper on its Abstract, and no mention of the importance of backups. (Literature reviews represent a large investment of time, and you don’t want to lose that investment to a computer glitch.) Ironically, there are few literature citations, although there are many useful website references. Finally, a concluding chapter that puts everything together within an ethical context would have been nice.
Quibbles notwithstanding, I strongly recommend this small gem of a book to anyone who needs to learn how to harvest the immense garden of modern knowledge to find the most nutritious morsels.
Geoff Hart
Geoff Hart is an STC Fellow and author of the book Writing for Science Journals: tips, tricks, and a learning plan.
Speaking of Writing: A Brief Rhetoric
Allegra Goodman and Michael Prince. 2019. Broadview Press. [ISBN 978-1-55481-434-3. 360 pages, including index. US$39.95 (softcover).]
In Speaking of Writing: A Brief Rhetoric, Allegra Goodman and Michael Prince provide an indispensable, engaging guide to basic rhetorical concepts and how to write well. Through a creative structure and engaging prose, they make dry and difficult-to-parse concepts come to life, allowing readers to discover what makes writing work and not work in chapters that mimic the process of learning when guided by cogent, thoughtful instructors.
What makes this book so engaging is how the information is presented. Each of the ten chapters introduces a concept and an example writing assignment that illustrates the concept that four student “characters” with distinct interests and personalities work through. The characters struggle through common missteps in the writing process to ultimately become more proficient in the chapter’s main concept and writing assignment genre. Goodman and Prince balance the voices of the characters with their own authorial voices, guiding the readers through the key concepts in clear, concise prose. At the end of each chapter, there are activities and “microreadings” for the reader to read, analyze, and work through. The microreadings are particularly interesting, as Goodman and Prince provide selections from diverse authors and speakers to exemplify the chapters’ concepts and genres, from fiction writer Neil Gaiman to pro football player Ray Lewis.
“Chapter 1: What You Bring/What You Can Expect” introduces readers to the book, writing a literacy narrative, and how to develop a writing process. “Chapter 2: Rhetoric and the Rhetorical Situation” provides readers with a primer for essential rhetorical concepts such as ethos, pathos, logos, kairos, audience, and genre. “Chapter 3: From Reading to Writing about Texts” walks readers through how to analyze texts, take notes, annotate, summarize, and paraphrase. “Chapter 4: From Reading to Writing about Images” shows readers how the methods of rhetorical analysis and persuasion discussed previously can be applied to visual media. “Chapter 5: Building an Argument: Claims and Support” discusses how to create claims and arguments and support them with evidence. “Chapter 6: Academic Arguments: Thesis and Organization” distinguishes the differences between thesis statements and topics. “Chapter 7: Draft and Revision” illustrates the complex process of improving a draft. “Chapter 8: Responding to Other Voices/Other Sources” instructs readers how to use citations correctly. “Chapter 9: Writing and Research” teaches how to use the skills from previous chapters to create longer research papers. “Chapter 10: Voice and Style” discusses the differences between voice and style and how they can be adapted for different audiences.
The concepts in Speaking of Writing may be too basic for seasoned technical communicators, but readers looking for an introduction to or a primer on essential writing and rhetorical concepts will be hard-pressed to find another textbook as fun, educational, and interesting.
Dylan Schrader
Dylan Schrader is a proposal developer at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, where he also earned an MA in Professional Communication.
Social Media and the Public Interest: Media Regulation in the Disinformation Age
Philip M. Napoli. 2019. Columbia University Press. [ISBN 978-0-231-18454-0. 282 pages, including index. US$35.00.]
Despite the benefits they were meant to bring, social media platforms have become powerful disinformation channels that threaten the orderly functioning of democratic institutions. While many have come to view the situation with alarm and demanded that “something” be done, few have undertaken the careful analysis needed to begin to get a handle on the problem.
In Social Media and the Public Interest: Media Regulation in the Disinformation Age, Philip Napoli focuses on the dominant role social media plays in the curation, distribution, and consumption of news and information, and systematically develops the ideas needed to create a media governance framework appropriate to social media platforms.
Napoli examines the arguments the platforms use to dodge accountability for the often-toxic environment they have enabled and finds them wanting. “We are ‘Tech’ companies, not media companies,” fails on many grounds, including reliance on the traditional media business model—selling access to their audience to advertisers. The First Amendment argument—the remedy for bad speech is counter speech—also fails. To be effective, counter speech must be timely, reach the original audience, and come from a known source—none of which holds in the social media environment.
Napoli reviews the history of media governance—the system of norms and regulations that have evolved to keep journalism fair, honest, and able to meet its obligations to provide the public with the factual information needed for informed decision making. He carefully reviews the frameworks (and legal rationales) that have governed earlier platforms—print, broadcast, cable—and considers their applicability to social platforms. In the end, he suggests, any governance framework will probably require a combination of self-governance and outside regulatory interventions.
While the platforms need better governance, Napoli argues, social attitudes need to be addressed as well. In recent years, the concept of the public interest has shriveled into the sum of individual wants and needs to be reinvigorated to again include what benefits society. We also need to throw off the attitude that “everyone is a journalist now,” he argues, and again learn to respect professional expertise and practice.
In the end, Napoli reminds us, social media is not synonymous with the Internet, opening the possibility of a regulatory framework that applies to social media but not to the Internet as a whole—avoiding Internet censorship, but denying information the weaponization social media affords. Finally, he suggests, that if actions taken to tame social media cause us to rely on it less, as a society we would probably be better off.
Making the social media platforms serve the greater good is a thorny problem, fraught with complexity. With Social Media and the Public Interest, Napoli has laid out the essential issues and arguments with the precision of a well-written legal brief. Those serious about the problem couldn’t wish for a more thorough briefing.
Patrick Lufkin
Patrick Lufkin is an STC Fellow with experience in computer documentation, newsletter production, and public relations. He reads widely in science, history, and current affairs, as well as on writing and editing. He chairs the Gordon Scholarship for technical communication and co-chairs the Northern California technical communication competition.
The Emoji Revolution: How Technology Is Shaping the Future of Communication
Philip Seargeant. 2019. Cambridge University Press. [ISBN: 978-1-108-72179-0. 238 pages, including index. US$17.99 (softcover).]
How much fun can it be to read a book about emoji? I wanted to find out when I picked The Emoji Revolution: How Technology Is Shaping the Future of Communication to read and review. I was not disappointed as what I found in The Emoji Revolution met my expectations. There is an element of fun and lightness throughout the narrative. However, the topic’s overall treatment is serious and scholarly, so we find a mix of serious and fun, and a bit of the best of both worlds.
Can author Philip Seargeant really convince us that emoji are “in the front line of a revolution in the way we communicate” and communicating with emoji provides an example of “ingenuity and creativity in the heart of human interaction” (as stated on the back cover of The Emoji Revolution)? The answer in my view would be “yes” as emoji let us communicate far and wide with graphics as well as the written word though, of course, what we communicate with emoji is limited. In addition, emoji are indeed ingenious and creative as well as being fun and helpful. I keep thinking of the idea that a picture can be worth a thousand words. And, ok, now I could add an emoji ϑ to show you how I feel about what I just said.
One of the many topics Seargeant covers in The Emoji Revolution includes addressing the question of creativity and language. He states that “language is one of the most salient ways in which we can express our creativity” (p. 152). He tackles the topic of creativity by explaining various definitions for this term and explains how emoji add a creative element to expressing ourselves in written language.
Seargeant argues that the use of emoji on the phones or other devices we use so much shows us how technology is becoming part of our everyday lives. But are these emoji “ushering in a new era of empathy and emotional engagement on the internet” (again as stated on the somewhat “sensationalistic” back cover of The Emoji Revolution)? That may be a stretch but, then again, we can always hope.
Jeanette Evans
Linda M. Davis is an independent communications practitioner in the Los Angeles area. She holds an MA in Communication Management and has specialized in strategic communication planning, publication management, writing, and editing for more than 25 years.
The Complete Project Manager: Integrating People, Organization, and Technical Skills, 2nd ed.
Randall L. Englund and Alfonso Bucero. 2019. 2nd ed. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. [ISBN 978-1-5230-9840-8. 336 pages, including index. US$69.95 (softcover).]
Randall L. Englund and Alfonso Bucero’s The Complete Project Manager: Integrating People, Organization, and Technical Skills targets professional project managers looking to improve their performance and project success rates. However, many skills described would benefit technical communicators who are often expected to perform a similar role.
The authors argue that a successful project manager must integrate three types of skills: domain expertise, business skills, and leadership (p. 5). They break these into twelve discrete categories, from leadership and management skills to negotiating, sales, and conflict management skills. Each skill has a designated chapter; readers can skip around to dive more deeply into skills they want to improve.
Chapter 2, “Personal Skills,” is useful for those thrust into a project manager role without a business background. The authors emphasize having a positive attitude and being assertive in decision making; often people underestimate how much decision-making authority they have. “Push the envelope and go beyond what you believe is your authority level to make decisions,” they write. “Make your intentions clear through transparency, demonstrating willingness to engage, and being proactive” (p. 57). Besides interpersonal attitudes, they outline specific actionable guidelines for networking: being an active volunteer in organizations, exchanging references, treating each person you meet as important (and a potential opportunity), and following up regularly to keep relationships active.
Another section applicable to any workplace is “Conflict Management” (Chapter 5). The primary sources of conflict are “resources” (getting the right people and tools for the job), “objectives” (differences in opinion about project goals), and “identity” (personal beliefs or historical precedence) (p. 128). Project managers should foster an “open environment where people bring up problems early and everyone engages in brainstorming or collective reasoning to determine a range of options” (p. 131). When disagreements persist, try reframing the conflict from each participant’s point of view to get team members to see things in a different way.
The Complete Project Manager is content-heavy and would serve as a useful textbook for a related course. For an independent learner, the chapters are self-contained to let you pick and choose, and each has a succinct summary to reinforce key points. Some case studies are more helpful than others; consistent placement and formatting would improve the usefulness of these real-life business examples. The book also contains a lot of overly complicated diagrams and flowcharts that add bulk but don’t simplify information.
Overall, I would recommend this book to professionals who want to hone specific project management skills.
Bonnie Winstel
Bonnie J. Shamp Winstel is an STC member and a technical writer for a small software company in Huntsville, Alabama. She received her master’s degree in English and Technical Communication at the University of Alabama-Huntsville in May 2013.
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association: The Official Guide to APA Style
American Psychological Association. 2020. 7th ed. American Psychological Association. [ISBN 978-1-4338-3216-1. 428 pages, including index. US$31.99 (softcover).]
It’s been a decade since the 6th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association appeared, and at last we now have the seventh edition. Like most publishers and organizations that base their house style on APA guidelines, Technical Communication is working toward the transition, which APA originally hoped would be complete for all users by mid-2020.
You’ll find hundreds of changes large and small between the sixth edition (APA 6) and the seventh (APA 7). The first thing you may notice is that APA 7 contains 155 more pages in total, and the nicely written index is twice as large. The editorial staff also introduce more graphical detail, printing almost twice as many tables and figures. In addition, the font is noticeably smaller (a major difficulty for me as my eyes are near 80 years of use). This means that much more material has been packed into the volume.
One of the two most significant additions in content is the new chapter devoted to Journal Article Reporting Standards (JARS). APA developed these standards and first reported on their full systemization in 2018. Here’s why you should know about JARS: “These standards provide guidelines for authors on what information should be included, at minimum, in journal articles. By using JARS, authors can make their research clearer, more accurate, and more transparent for readers” (p. 71). The editors introduce reporting standards across research designs, for quantitative research, for qualitative research, and for mixed methods research. Once you’ve read this introductory chapter, you can find deeper material at https:/apastyle.apa.org/jars.
Also significant is the new chapter “Bias-Free Language Guidelines.” APA is to be congratulated for its greatly expanded discussion and numerous examples of avoiding bias in such areas as age, disability, gender and sexual orientation, race and ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Even if you never use APA in your work, you should read this chapter.
Changes figure prominently in APA recommendations concerning references and citations. Of particular note: (1) When doing an in-text citation of a work with multiple authors, name only the first author, and then write “et al.”; (2) in your reference list, however, include up to the first 20 authors; and (3) don’t include publishers’ locations in references.
APA makes some interesting new recommendations about writing mechanics as well. A huge cry went up when APA 6 favored two spaces following terminal punctuation of sentences in manuscripts; that misstep has disappeared. Besides Times New Roman 12 point, APA now approves of Calibri 11 point, Arial 11 point, Lucida Sans Unicode 10 point, and Georgia 11 point. Gone are the details on shading cells within tables, replaced by the admonition not to use shading at all. Finally, you’re now encouraged to use the singular they wherever possible.
The editors strongly recommend that we continue to take advantage of their online resources, at https://apastyle.apa.org/. Like the book, the website provides huge quantities of information, enriched here by expansions upon topics, updates, cross-references to the manual, links to outside resources, a lively blog, tutorials, and responses to users’ feedback. Chelsea Lee, APA blog monitor, in early 2020 pointed to a most welcome feature: “The style and grammar guidelines pages will show whether content is new, revised, expanded, or the same as the sixth edition.”
The APA editorial staff and contributors have given us yet one more excellent tool for preparing journal manuscripts according to APA style. As a technical communicator, you can learn a good deal by looking closely at their revised guidelines.
Avon J. Murphy
Avon J. Murphy is an STC Fellow and technical editor in western Washington. A retired college professor and government writer, he is a contractor and principal in Murphy Editing and Writing Services, specializing in computer and Web technologies. Avon served as book review editor for Technical Communication for 17 years.
The Mad Scientist’s Guide to Composition (A Somewhat Cheeky but Exceedingly Useful Introduction to Academic Writing)
Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock. 2020. Broadview Press. [ISBN 978-1-55481-445-9. 248 pages, including index. US$21.95 (softcover).]
The Mad Scientist’s Guide to Composition (A Somewhat Cheeky but Exceedingly Useful Introduction to Academic Writing) is probably the most high-spirited book we are ever likely to review in these pages. Aimed at college freshmen struggling with the daunting process of learning to write the kind of expository prose that will be required in their college papers, Weinstock harnesses the trope of the mad scientist creating an experimental monster. With cocky humor, he invites students to treat their essays as experiments where they can unleash their creativity and try different things until it all comes to life. Milking the trope, research becomes “grave robbing,” planning becomes “readying the lab,” writing drafts becomes “conducting experiments,” and so on. And to top it off, the text is replete with monster movie stills, and tongue-in-cheek asides—“Do not read Latin incantations aloud unless you know exactly what they mean!” (p. 226).
But don’t be fooled; the merriment serves a serious purpose, keeping its intended readers engaged with a subject—writing papers—many of them dread.
Weinstock has an excellent grasp of the challenges novice writers face—lack of ideas, shaky skills, fear of failure—and using a friendly, casual tone, he tells them what they need to know. He deftly covers all the nuts-and-bolts mechanics—sentence structure, citing sources, formulating arguments, warnings about plagiarism (“don’t anger the dead”)—that one would expect to find in any composition handbook. What makes this guide special, aside from the humor, is the emphasis it places on treating crafting an essay as an experimental adventure, where initial missteps are to be expected and totally okay.
Weinstock stresses that a good essay (and an A grade) is usually the result of post first draft work that too often gets neglected. He covers retroactive outlining where one rearranges thoughts and blocks of text found in early drafts to improve organization and clarity. He also urges students to engage in cooperative peer reviewing—he covers both how to review and how to respond to comments—a valuable real-world composition tool many won’t encounter until grad school.
Inviting students to learn by example, he draws on academic essays about the role of monsters in popular culture, both from academic journals and from exemplary student work, many of which are annotated to show points made in the text. “Now-it's-your-turn” exercises invite students to practice what they have just been told.
If I had had this when I was doing my undergraduate work, it would have saved me a lot of learning time. And, I suspect, many a graduate student, and not a few working technical writers, would benefit from what is found here as well. Considering that this is a composition handbook, Weinstock has performed a miracle: He has brought the dead to life and produced a handbook that students might not only read but heed.
Patrick Lufkin
Patrick Lufkin is an STC Fellow with experience in computer documentation, newsletter production, and public relations. He reads widely in science, history, and current affairs, as well as on writing and editing. He chairs the Gordon Scholarship for technical communication and co-chairs the Northern California technical communication competition.
Theories of Human Learning: Mrs. Gribbin’s Cat
Guy R. Lefrançois. 2020. 7th ed. Cambridge University Press. [ISBN 978-1-108-73599-5. 548 pages, including index. US$57.99 (softcover).]
Planning to teach a course on learning theories, or simply want to learn more about them since you never formally studied instructional design? Theories of Human Learning: Mrs. Gribbin’s Cat offers a wealth of information about learning. Divided in five parts, this textbook gives a thorough historical overview of learning theories, from early behaviorism to modern cognitivism and artificial intelligence. The last part of the textbook provides a comprehensive summary and supplementary materials, including glossary, references list, and indices to research items by person’s name or subject.
What initially drew me to the book? Mrs. Gribbin and her cat, Schrödinger. Lefrançois begins each chapter with the tale of Mrs. Gribbin dictating the textbook to the author as Schrödinger accompanies them. After the story ends, Lefrançois continues using Mrs. Gribbin’s voice to deliver the chapter objectives in a fun manner. The footnotes sprinkled throughout the textbook enrich Mrs. Gribbin’s story by providing additional food for thought. For example, a footnote in Chapter 7 shows Mrs. Gribbin connecting Bruner’s categorization theory with Hebb’s theory (p. 249). This running narrative makes this textbook both captivating and informational.
This well-organized textbook also helps readers find the information they need. Each chapter begins with a detailed outline, followed by a Mrs. Gribbin story and chapter objectives narrated by her. The book then delves into the subject matter and includes each major theorist’s biography. Through Mrs. Gribbin, Lefrançois explains the reason behind the biographies: “Many psychologists think that people’s personal lives often profoundly influence their professional lives.” (p. 115). Each chapter ends with a section on educational implications, and a main points summary. This reliable format makes information easy to digest.
Theories of Human Learning also features several thoughtful graphics that illustrate key concepts. Notable examples include: a table examining the principal differences between behaviorism and cognitivism (p. 243), a graphic that ranks 10 distinct learning strategies by effectiveness (p. 321), a figure showing Keller’s ARCS model of instructional design (p. 363), and a table that lists key words associated with theorists and their theories (p. 443).
The only criticism I had with the book graphics was that some of them were difficult to read due to low contrast between box shading and text. I noticed the online instructor resources website (www.cambridge.org/lefrancois7ed) provides graphic files of these figures. Although I could not review these online resources since only verified instructors can access them, I assume those graphics appear in color and therefore may be more readable. Overall, the content of the figures and tables made up for readability issues.
In Theories of Human Learning, Lefrançois assembles a solid collection of information on learning theories. The first and last chapters of the textbook serve as perfect bookends to the wealth of information within. If you want a quick summary for personal enrichment, skip directly to Chapter 12. However, if you want to delve into more detail, read the entire textbook. Mrs. Gribbin and her cat add a touch of intrigue and fun to what could have been dry academic subject matter.
Jamye Sagan
Jamye Sagan is an STC senior member with more than 15 years of technical communication experience. She is the Pharmacy Communications Advisor for H-E-B in San Antonio, TX. Jamye is active with the Instructional Design & Learning SIG, where she has contributed several Summit session reviews for the SIG’s newsletter.
Data Skills for Media Professionals: A Basic Guide
Ken Blake and Jason Reineke. 2020. Wiley Blackwell. [ISBN 978-1-119-11896-1. 210 pages, including index. US$32.95 (soft cover).]
Data Skills for Media Professionals: A Basic Guide walks “word people” through the analysis of publicly available data and suggests stories based on that information. It provides step-by-step instructions and screenshots to help readers follow the examples. Potential errors are also noted, and the reasons behind each step are explained. No knowledge of spreadsheets and only basic computer skills are assumed.
Like a textbook, the examples are meant to be worked through sequentially, building on skills acquired in previous chapters. A companion website includes prepared sample data, but the book also explains where the information originated and how it was prepared. Most of the samples come from Tennessee, Blake and Reineke’s home state. However, sources for similar data for other areas are provided.
The authors also discuss how choices made when presenting information can subtly influence readers, for example, if chart axes are scaled to exaggerate a minor numerical difference. However, while the potential problem with data that includes only two gender choices is eventually addressed, the exclusion of unstably housed people from the authors’ poll of a sample of people with Tennessee addresses is not mentioned.
Following good instructional practices, each chapter includes a recap of the skills learned. Icons are also both shown and described, helping those with different learning styles better retain the information. Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel are used for the examples, with explanations why one or the other program is better suited to a task and, when possible, information on how to accomplish the same analysis in the other program.
Tasks range from basic data cleaning and filtering to data visualization in maps, pivot tables and statistical sampling methods, such as chi-square tests and regressions. The final chapter briefly explains certain functions built into spreadsheet programs, the use of Google forms for polling and data adjustment over time, such as for inflation.
All in all, this is a well-executed course in data wrangling for journalists and others interested in discovering patterns and stories behind numbers. The detailed table of contents helps readers to locate a specific skill they might need. However, including the various locations and organizations that served as data sources in the index seems an odd choice, given that most readers’ interest in these specifics will likely be limited to having sample data for practicing the skills described in Data Skills for Media Professionals.
Barbara Jungwirth
Barbara Jungwirth writes about medical topics (www.bjungwirth.com) and translates medical and technical documents from German into English (www.reliable-translations.com). She has written for print and online media since her high school days and majored in media studies. You can find her on Twitter at @bjungwirthNY.
Digital Reading and Writing in Composition Studies
Mary R. Lamb and Jennifer M. Parrott, eds. 2019. Routledge. [ISBN 978–1-1384-8410-8. 240 pages, including index. US$150.00.]
A fascinating collection on digital reading and writing, this volume features three sections on collaborative reading, teaching writing and reading in digital spaces, and implications and institutional contexts. The variety of engaging perspectives on digital reading and writing within the field of composition range from the familiar—working with Google Docs and rhetorical approaches to reading—to newer developments, like working with specific digital annotation tools. Fortunately, the collection also includes discussion of possible approaches to assessment. While individual articles may interest experts outside the field, this text is designed for composition scholars and faculty.
The practice-oriented chapters, such as social annotation, Google Docs, and clipping and tagging digital texts, appeal to readers who use digital tools in their scholarship and teaching but are not centered in composition studies. One chapter of interest to many digital rhetoricians and technology scholars is Craig and Davis’s “A Difference in Delivery: Reading Classroom Technology Policies.” Not only does this chapter review existing policies on device use in specific courses and campuses, but it provides productive, pro-active suggestions on how to develop meaningful policies appropriate for classes and content. Similarly, their suggested activity around having students take stock of the technologies they use (pp. 81–82) can provide a much-needed shared grounding between faculty and students about just what technology is. Additionally, given this chapter’s construction, presentation, and arguments—respectful, connecting to key relevant texts, and research—this chapter could easily be used by Centers for Teaching and Learning as well as faculty-generated or faculty-driven discussions about classroom best practices regarding technology. Such powerful articles, ones that can be effectively used in multiple contexts, is not only helpful and inspiring, but they also offer powerful models to graduate students and scholars new to the field.
Bohannon and Greer’s “Mapping Students’ Information Literacies Against WPA Learning Outcomes in First-Year Writing” shares important, site-specific research with a readily replicable research methodology that—hopefully—will be supported by WPA and/or CCCC and enacted in writing programs around the country. Their research provides direct, specific information about how students conduct research, cite their sources, and then inform possible changes in pedagogy to improve students’ skills and understanding of the research process. While their mixed modality approach may not be replicable at all locations, their approach—and findings—offer important insights to faculty who want to understand what their students do and where their skills rest. And they provide a model on how to replicate their research.
The editors have assembled articles that can support and assist students, teachers, scholars, and administrations working with digital reading and writing within composition. Given the content, this book would have far greater readership if it were more affordable.
Gregory Zobel
Gregory Zobel is an associate professor of Educational Technology at Western OregonUniversity.
Universal Access Through Inclusive Instructional Design: International Perspectives on UDL
Susie L. Gronseth and Elizabeth M. Dalton, eds. 2020. Routledge. [ISBN 978–1-1383-5108-0. 382 pages, including index. US$49.39 (softcover).]
Universal Access Through Inclusive Instructional Design: International Perspectives on UDL (Universal Design Learning) presents an engaging, robust selection of 47 instructional design articles. These chapters’ authors come from many countries and fields as well as diverse academic positions. This wide variety of articles is generative and helpful for several reasons. First, the eight themed sections that address topics like inclusive design, design cases, and future directions make the book accessible to multiple audiences as well as offers great reading options for practitioners, students, and faculty working in related areas like instructional or curriculum design, accessibility, diversity, and inclusion.
Second, these snapshot chapters range from a few pages to less than eleven pages. Such brevity offers readers access to multiple contexts within each chapter. Additionally, this provides different introductory views to important topics. For faculty teaching related content, these chapters are long enough to provide important points of exposure that can fit into the content area without completely redirecting their students or readers away from their course learning goals. Finally, for those teaching workshops, these short chapters provide quickly readable and accessible content without overloading participants.
One highlight is Chapter 26, Bastedo and Swenson’s “General Accessibility Guidelines for Online Course Content Creation.” This concise, tightly organized chapter makes for great introductory reading for those new to accessibility. It also offers a standard against which to compare existing accessibility guidelines for online learning programs and Centers for Teaching and Learning. Strangely, the chapter omits video and audio’s role in online learning as well as how to make media accessible—they do mention a tool for helping identify YouTube captions that have videos (p. 212), but this is not enough. Fortunately, there is a snapshot, chapter 28 by Rogers, that is about using the YouTube automated captioning tool. Similarly, Chapter 37 by Bar and Shrieber have a great example on using Legos to teach educators about UDL, but they also completely omit closed captioning in making content accessible. This is a serious oversight given the rise of multi-media, video, and accessibility in online learning.
The captioning gap can be seen throughout the collection. Bauder, Cooper, and Simmons do mention captioning, but it only appears to be presented in the role of having students caption to “improve listening skills/spelling skills” (p. 149). Strangely, the index places captioning, a critical part of accessibility and an underlying component of UDL, a subhead under video.
Focusing on captioning and accessibility in this review is meant to underscore how complex UDL is but also how integral accessibility, especially accessible video. When authors discuss accessible video, especially in a UDL context, it’s prudent to at least acknowledge captioning. Despite this shortfall, this collection is well worth acquiring. It is clearly usable, either in total or in excerpts, in numerous teaching, training, and professionalizing contexts.
Gregory Zobel
Gregory Zobel is an associate professor of Educational Technology at Western Oregon University.