Looking Back

In this week's post I will be reflecting on my experience studying the MA in Technical Communication & E-Learning at UL. A look back as we drive forward I enrolled in this course in September 2019, and on the 30th June 2021 I will submit my final assignment. As part of this reflective blog we…

The Dreaded Interview Assignment

What was it? The interview assignment was the most significant portion of assessment for TW5212: Workplace Issues in Technical and Professional Communication. It consisted of three tasks that amounted to 70% of our grade for the module. First we had to determine a suitable interviewee, and write the interview questions. Next we had to interview…

Creating a digital resource

As I begin the incredibly daunting task of creating a substantial e-learning resource for my research project, I have been reflecting on my favourite assignment from last year. For EL6072 Interactive Courseware Workshop, we were tasked with creating a digital learning resource of our choice. At the time I was a little intimidated at the…

Software for Technical Communication

One of the first things I look for when I see a job listing is the software listed under required skills. Often this can be a long list of products with intimating names. I have realised over the last few years through my work and my studies I have gained experience with a large amount…

Inclusive Design on Social Media

When TikTok first came on the scene I immediately dismissed it as something I was far too old to engage with. While that may have been true, I found myself sucked in by the pandemic anyway. I suspect I am not alone. One of the major things that struck me about the platform above any…

To CC or not to CC?

That is the question. Short answer is yes, you should include closed captions when you create content that can use them. As instructional designers we should always strive to make our content as accessible as possible. Subtitles vs Closed Captions, is there a difference? I wasn't aware until very recently that yes there is a…

Introverted Technical Writers

I stumbled upon an interesting blog post on the difficulties and challenges of technical writing this week. I was not entirely surprised but certainly relieved to find a lot of the problems I encounter are par for the course for writers. It was not a shock to see 'Dealing with subject-matter experts' ranks high among…

Nice to meet you

So what are we doing here? I am writing this as part of my studies on the MA in Technical Communication & E-Learning at the University of Limerick. Writing a reflective blog is a requirement of EL6082 Learning and Collaboration Technologies. Who am I? I'm Róisín, I am a full-time Technical Writer working in the…