SELF REFLECTIONAS A TECHNICAL COMMUNICATOR

ADDRESSING MY AUDIENCE

From the very first unit of the semester to the very last, I've developed as a technical communicator by learning about how to address my audience.

Before I took this course, I wrote all of my papers with a minimal focus on who I was writing to and what I was writing for. However, after going through the process of designing a resume and cover letter made to send to a specific employer, I learned the value of knowing my audience.

Through making presentations, learning about different countries and their values, and aiming to make an accessible product, I have learned how to cater to my audience. Before writing a formal proposal for a product this year, I would not have once thought about how to make my work accessible to someone with any form of impairment. This is because I had always written for myself, and not thought about the audience I was writing to.

This course has made me reevaluate my communication in general, and adapt to the different situations I'm in.

CREATING TECHNICAL DOCUMENTSBefore setting foot into our Introduction to Technical Writing class, I didn't even know what a technical document really was. My first impression was simply, a document regarding technology. After attending the first class, I was fortunately proven incorrect.

Throughout the semester we have created a number of technical documents from formal proposals, to progress memos, to instruction sets. I have learned how valuable these documents are in solving problems and how they provide an easy way to communicate with your peers effectively.

While creating an instruction set in unit 4, I realized how important these documents were and how they can be used to solve problems in direct ways. Our instruction set was, itself, a technical document, and we had to learn how to tailor it to a specific situation and make changes along the way to improve it.

TECHNICAL PROSEEven after having some experience as the class progressed, I didn't quite understand that the language was different in technical communication than other kinds. After learning this, I became much more aware of how I was saying things when I was speaking to my peers or giving a presentation.

We learned about how we have to be mindful to disabilities and how we design products or instructions to be accessible to everyone, and not just the majority of people. Throughout the course we learned when it is appropriate to use certain types of language like formal and informal language when doing projects, presenting ideas, or just giving status updates.

I expect that learning how to write technical prose will help me significantly in the future when I'm talking to my employers and co workers. From learning how to write a proper cover letter to a potential employer, a status update to a professor on an assignment, or a properly written presentation to a group of peers, this class has taught me exactly how to communicate effectively and write effective technical prose.

CREATING DOCUMENTS

I've learned quite a lot about creating effective technical documents in this class. These documents included those I would use in direct communication with peers and documents such as instruction sets for products or services.

One of my favorite exercises in class was when we had the opportunity to read instruction sets for simple games and realize what they really had in them. Reading all of the sections I never used to made me realize how much goes into telling someone how to play Apples to Apples or other games like it.

Seeing examples of both good instructions and bad instructions allowed me to create my own documents and do them the right way.

COLLABORATIONI can honestly say that I have never had a good experience in a group environment until I began this class, which made collaboration one of my favorite aspects of this class. I was able to learn how to make communication within a group of peers actually work. Dividing responsibilities, understanding each other's strengths and weaknesses, and organizing meeting times hasn't been effective in groups for me until I learned even more about the process.

I have learned a lot about how collaboration works in the right environments with the right people. After taking a personality test we were able to see what kinds of people we work best with and were able to avoid those we wouldn't have worked well. While this couldn't happen as easily in a real work environment, it was helpful for me because I was able to make sure I finally had a good group experience so I could take that experience and use it to help me in my future projects.

TECHNOLOGY AND TOOLSI used to think that all I needed to complete my projects for school was a subscription to Microsoft Office 365. However, through the course of the semester I learned that there are many more tools at my disposal to use for group projects, as well as individual assignments. Google Docs, Skype, and messaging applications have allowed me to communicate and collaborate with my group mates and get our projects done on time and in the easiest ways possible.

Learning how to choose the kinds of tools and technology has helped me a great deal with my success in this class and undoubtedly will help my success in the future. Being able to critically evaluate these methods is going to help me solve problems in more effective ways and look forward to using my newfound skills in the area.

A SEMESTER IN A SLIDEThe semester that I spent in this class has taught me more than I thought was actually involved in technical communication. While at first it seemed like a lot to grasp and I felt overwhelmed about the amount of information, I was able to grasp it and use it in my projects throughout the course. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about technical communication this semester because I know that this is one of few courses I am taking that I will be able to use in the future. I may not have to answer trivial questions about history or mathematics when I choose to go into a career, but having good technical communication skills will absolutely help me from now on.