British Columbia Institute of Technologywww.bcit.ca/study/courses/comm1260

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COMM 1260 - Designing and Writing Online Help

Communication Part-time Studies Course

School of Computing and Academic Studies

Course Details

This hands-on course combines concepts and practice as students work through all stages of designing and writing a quality Help system, including analyzing user needs, designing information and visual schemas, writing, indexing, and testing. Students will have the opportunity to learn about industry-standard authoring tools and publishing formats, and discuss the future trend of online Help. (3.0 Credits)

Prerequisite(s)

Before taking this course, students must have completed their technical elective (COMP 1850 or COMP 2007 or COMP 2369). Students must also have one of the following English prerequisites, as well as intermediate word processing skills (MS Word 2007 for Windows) include the ability to insert cross-references, assign paragraph styles, and create a table of contents and index.): 1) English 12 "C+" or equivalent www.bcit.ca/admission/upgrading/englishproficiency.shtml ; or 2) COMM 0015 score of 70 or better. Students who wish to confirm their English level are strongly advised to take COMM 0015. Students do not need to submit transcripts for entrance to this course. BUT, in the case of formal or informal grade appeals or reviews they will be asked to show proof of their English prerequisite.

Cost

$562.09

Spring/Summer 2013

Below is one offering of this course for the Spring/Summer 2013 term.

CRN 56775

Wed Apr 24 - Wed Jul 17 12 Weeks

Class Meeting Times

Dates Days Times Locations
Apr 24 - Jul 17 Wed 18:30 - 21:30 DTC Rm. 364

Instructor

Chris Ninkovich

Course Outline

Cost

$562.09

Notes

  1. No class on Wednesday, May 1. The course end date has changed from July 10 to July 17.

This course offering is in progress. Please check back next term or contact the appropriate Program Assistant [PDF] to determine when this course will be offered again.

In Progress

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, the student will be able to:

  • Determine suitable content for a Help system, based on audience needs and logical workflows.
  • Organize information into different topic types (conceptual, procedural, reference, and wayfinding) and know the basic structure of each topic type.
  • Design a consistent and predictable information flow and visual schema to help users quickly and easily find the information they need.
  • Write topics to industry standard guidelines.
  • Provide multiple pathways to access information by developing a table of contents, index, and effective links. They will also be able to explain how progressive disclosure and various search methods affect a user's ability to access information.
  • Ensure the quality of a Help system by testing and completing quality checklists.
  • Understand the differences between standard Help formats such as HTML Help, WebHelp, and Flash Help.
  • Assess industry standard help-authoring tools to determine which will best meet organizational and user needs.
  • Understand how the emergence of XML Help, task panes, push versus pull delivery, and an integrated approach to user-support may impact traditional Help systems.

Related Programs

COMM 1260 is offered as a part of the following programs:

School of Computing and Academic Studies

  1. Technical Writing
    Part-time   Associate Certificate

Programs and courses are subject to change without notice.

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Registration News

Registration is currently open for the Spring/Summer 2013 term.

The sneak preview for the Fall 2013 term starts Fri, May 24 at 8:30 am (PDT). Web registration for the Fall 2013 term will open Sun, May 26 at 9:00 am (PDT).

Students may also register by phone, mail or in-person, starting Mon, May 27 at 8:00 am (PDT).

Classroom Locations

Classroom locations are subject to last minute changes. Please check the Part-time Studies Classroom Locations listing at www.bcit.ca/rooms on the first day of any course you are registered for.

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