About the AuthorPenny Bencomo is a technical writer residing in Albuquerque, NM. She has two Bachelor of Science degrees from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology: one in geology, and one in technical communication. She credits her success in life to her husband Michael. Contents |
How Technical Communicators Can Use Educational TheoriesIn recent years, technological advances in education have been driven by new technologies rather than based on educational theories (Russell 64). As a result, instructional designers have gone from focusing on learning to focusing on the interface between the user and the machine, the human-computer interaction. While this interaction seems simple at first, previously established educational theories seem outdated by the technologies they are applied to (Russell 64). In order to make modern learning more meaningful, this paper proposes that technical communicators be educated in educational theories, particularly activity theory. Technical communicators are taught to be knowledgeable of the technology that they use and write about and be equally aware of the purpose of the document and the needs of the end user. A technical communicator is an ideal addition to any educational design team. One of the best ways to make a technical communicator a more effective instructional designer is to include some educational theory in his or her education. Activity theory is easy to learn and is well adapted to the principles of technical communication, such as audience awareness, minimalism, and clarity. The Example: Activity TheoryActivity theory emphasizes the tools that people use to interact with their environment. A tool mediates activity that connects a person not only with the world of objects, but with other people as well. This means that a person’s activity assimilates the experience of humanity (Nardi 83). What does this mean, the experience of humanity? Every time a person improves a tool, they leave their experience behind for the next user. Every tool that a person uses has the experience of every designer and previous user who provided feedback. Humans learn through trial and error, and their tools evolve to suit their needs. With computer tools, designers have to determine the nature of interaction between humans and the computers before starting to design a curriculum. Designers have to determine what goals can be reached with the new tool, the previous experience of computer users, etc. (Nardi 51). This means that the designer must be aware of his or her audience, the same as in technical communication. History of Activity TheoryActivity theory started as a cultural psychological theory in the 1930s in Russia, but it has since become a popular lens in education for explaining how people learn from and interact with their environments. Russell describes activity theory as a “heuristic framework for asking important questions that other theories may not raise so clearly, and for seeing relationships among those questions that may guide design and evaluation” (Russell 65). Activity theory was founded long before the development of modern education and the invention of computers, but it has become quite useful in the creation and evaluation of online education, collaboration, human-computer interaction, and more (Russell, Nardi, Constantine, Jonassen, et al.). Activity theory is an important part of describing human-computer interaction, which is also known as HCI. Human-computer interaction is often referenced in technical communication. While it is beyond the scope of this thesis to describe the numerous relationships between HCI and technical communication, it is defined as the successful cooperation between a computer and a user in order to perform a task. This will be discussed further in the section regarding computer-based education. Principles of Activity TheoryActivity theory is a conceptual framework comprised of a collection of concepts and categories for defining activity and how it is affected by a person’s background (Constantine 2). Activity theory is defined by a number of different principles: Human behavior is social. Interactions between computers and humans are also social.  Figure 1: Simplified Activity Theory Diagram, adapted from Jonassen & Murphy.
Figure 1 is a simplified example of how activity theory operates with regard to a learner and his or her surroundings. Each intersection on the graph is a major player in activity theory, and the following paragraphs describe these players in more detail. The designer/creator is the person or group who is responsible for the project. This could be the designer or a team of researchers (Worthen 26). Looking at potential miscommunications or cultural sensitivities that can occur in the activity and using the triangle to analyze them can allow the designer to anticipate problems and determine actions to prevent such incidents (Beaumont). Without the awareness of his or her audience, the designer could easily alienate or offend the learner, rendering all learning from that interface useless. The user is the person or group of people that will receive the product that has been created. Also known as the subject or audience, this person’s or group’s needs are met in order to achieve success. The user is socially constructed (Worthen 26). The user does not operate in isolation, so the user’s community must also be considered. The community is composed of the people who are related to the other elements in the activity theory triangle but are not the intended receiver (Beaumont). Again, understanding the community’s values and culture are crucial to audience awareness. The laws and constraints are parts of the environment that cannot be controlled (such as 24 hours in a day) or the laws or traditions that guide the activity. These constraints include the history of the activities being investigated (Worthen 26). Laws, constraints, or limitations are often outlined in the design or requirements document, which is familiar to most technical communicators. Tools are the artifacts or tools are the objects that are used to mediate the activity. This can be a set of instructions, or in this situation, a computer. It is important to note that at this point in the activity triangle something is designed to mediate the activity. A technical communicator often works as a tool designer. This could be a typeface, a website, a physical object or anything else the user could use as a tool. How these tools are designed affects the outcome of the activity (Beaumont). The goal of the activity triangle is to create success for the user. Success defines the specific ways that the receiver has their needs met. This might be creating a service that is easy-to-use, reliable, and solves a previously unmet educational need. The Role of Activity Theory in EducationActivity theory posits that every person leaves an imprint on everything in their environment. It follows that any kind of ideals that a designer, educator, programmer or developer might instill their opinions or ideologies into a subject, intentionally or not. Some educational professionals believe that using technology in education can be a possible way to remove the ideologies. Some researchers wonder if there might be a way to teach students to question paradigms and come up with new, innovative ideas (Amory 2010). The more experience a student has, the more he or she learns through related activity. Learning builds on previously learned information that is relevant to the new learning. The new information builds upon previous learning, and reinforces the previous learning (Jonassen et al. 69). The building of knowledge upon experience and previous education is called indexing or scaffolding. The name scaffolding emphasizes how knowledge can build upon a knowledge foundation and then itself to strengthen and fortify new information. The most universal use for activity theory seems to be analyzing new educational methods. The flexibility and simplicity of activity theory is what makes it so easy to apply in so many areas of technical communication. The significance of activity theory lies in its ability to analyze the dynamic human interactions mediated by computers. Learning is not a neat transfer of information but a complex and messy network of tool-mediated human relationships that must be explored in terms of the social and cultural practices that people bring to their uses of the tools they share (Russell 71). Why Technical Communication and Activity Theory?Technical communication has so much in common with activity theory that many technical communicators already use some of the principles. Activity theory, however, adds more depth and intricacy to these principles. Activity theory is an organically evolving learning theory since it constantly changes. The theories themselves are in a state of constant flux because they are based on the people who are learning. Activity theory grows and changes as people do. Not only has activity theory become more evident in technical communication, but it has become more common in many learning venues. YouTube, according to its website, is to help people discover, share, and explore videos. Since its inception, it has turned into a much more powerful application: a learning tool. A video mediated activity theory-based learning tool, to be exact. Make Magazine, Threadbanger, and many other sites use videos to show learners how to perform certain activities. Being able to see the steps that make up an activity may be more effective than trying to interpret a diagram, a series of pictures, or a step-by-step written set of instructions. Each of these methods has a time and place when the methods should be used, and a good grasp of audience awareness can tell technical communicators when to use each method. Technical communication has several core skills that are helpful in the implementation of activity theory. These skills are important in any technical communicator’s creations. These skills are universal to all technical communicators. They mesh very well with activity theory. These skills are:
Each skill can be used individually or cooperatively in any given project or to create a usable tool for the audience or user. The training of a technical communicator often includes the usage of cutting-edge communication technology. Social media applications provide functionality or actions that support a larger activity. In his 2009 paper “Integrating Social Media into Existing Work Environments: The Case of Delicious,” Karl Stolley used activity theory as a basis for why the social media website Delicious was a good tool for technical communicators. Activity theory addresses both individual and social participants, so it is well suited to describing both the individual and social uses of social media. Activity theory establishes a tiered hierarchy that can be used to analyze an activity: activities, actions, and operations. Purposeful human activity is the highest level on the hierarchy and can be understood in terms of conscious actions. The lowest level of the hierarchy is unconscious actions, also called operations. Repetition of actions can cause the actions to become automatic or unconscious, turning them into operations. Natural human capabilities can be extended by mediating artifacts such as computers that will ultimately allow the individual to attain goals that could not be attained otherwise (Stolley 356). A technical communicator could come up with new educational use for social media or other kinds of software that were initially designed for recreation. Even if they did not discover the new usage, they could evaluate the application’s interface. Technical communicators also use techniques that are common in many industries. The flexibility of technical communication is one of the reasons New Mexico Tech requires all students to take a technical writing course to prepare students for professional writing. Professionals may be required to write collaboratively, and group work is encouraged in many schools, from high school to college. Collaboration among learners or professionals aids in developing, testing, and evaluating different beliefs and hypotheses within learning contexts. Through the process of articulating covert processes and strategies, learners are able to build new and modify existing knowledge structures (Jonassen et al.13). Collaboration can occur through online writing, chats and emails, and the use of free software like Google Docs. Activity theory supports social methods of learning. When speaking about one form of education that technical communicators produce, instruction manuals, Carroll and van der Mejj (1998) suggest that to make them more genuine and user centered, the writer must capitalize on users’ interests and previous knowledge. By directly building on their prior skills, knowledge, and experience, the material will be clear and tangible (Carroll 31). This technique shares many of the same principles as activity theory. Activity theory may be very helpful situations where learners have a hard time visualizing what an educator is trying to teach. Concepts with large amounts of theoretical data or large-scale concepts could be aided by having informational modules that can be seen during a lecture and referenced afterwards. These informational modules could be interactive graphics that show, for example, what happens to layers of sedimentary rock after the user inputs a fault, the layers undergoing compression, and any other geologic events that may occur. If additional material is created in modules, advanced learners can skip the modules they do not need, and learners who need more help reinforcing certain theories can replay modules until they understand the material. Tools can be anything from physical tools and computers to anything that can support and complement human abilities in building an efficient system that can lead to higher accomplishments. For example, scissors make the human hand an efficient cutting tool, while eyeglasses improve vision. External tools integrated into functional tools are experienced as property of the individual (Nardi 50). Computer tools share a common attribute with all tools: they are integrated into functional organs. Tool mediation is a way of transmitting cultural knowledge. Tools and culturally developed ways of using tools shape the external activity of individuals, and through the process of internalization, influence the nature of mental processes (Nardi 53). A very powerful tool has come into play in education recently: the mobile computer, paired with wireless internet. The most obvious benefit of mobile computers is that they free users from the constraints of wired computers. Students can then study and communicate in any physical location, social setting, or at any time of day. These tools allow students to transcend the constraints of the physical world (Gay & Hembrooke 55). A less apparent benefit is that forms of social participation that occur within those settings. Wireless computers support on demand learning, a technique that delivers information right when it is needed, and students may receive context appropriate information or complete a skill building task at the most appropriate teachable moment (Gay & Hembrooke 54). Wireless computer-mediated learning environments support the learning process by helping students find and organize information, construct their understandings in an appropriate context, and then communicate those understandings to others in other contexts (Gay & Hembrooke 53). |