atw: Re: It was Friday a few days ago

Hey Jill, a question or two upon reflection. 
 
How has our art changed compared to 1857 to 2009 when it comes to
communication and the principles of the "How To" you refer to here? 
 
Are their significant differences or is the art of step by step
communication sort of still the same?
 
You know, teaching is still teaching, although we understand so much
more about the cognition and psychology of education and learning, it is
interesting to note that teaching and learning is still fundamentally
the same - introduce new information, encourage practice and
refine/retain. 
 
When you look at other professions, trades and jobs, the changes since
1857 have been profound especially in the first principles of many of
them (and this is notwithstanding the developments of new trades and
professions or those trades and professions that have perished). 
 
Yet teaching and communication over time; have they really changed all
that much? Are we truly innovators or are we simply curators of a set of
skills applied to tools that are fundamentally different but effectively
the same? you know, a stick drawing a diagram in the sand, or a stylus
imprinting hieroglyphs on damp clay, or a quill pen and ink, or a
computer and laser printer?
 
As technical communicators, are we a fraternity that selectively passes
on our skills and understanding in much the same way as trade guilds did
(and still do)?
 
What do people think?
 
Regards,

Warren 


 

________________________________

From: austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Jill Nicholson
Sent: Monday, 13 July 2009 17:18
To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: atw: Re: It was Friday a few days ago


I actually got them off the web Janice - but not from the Journalism
review - at least I don't think. It was soooo long ago. My husband was a
journalist and they all tried to win the best headline of the year
(internal prize no doubt related to beer) - the double entendre ones
only of course.
I have his collection of Aussie ones and some are very funny but a lot
name people etc.
While I am on trivia I saw a very old how to manual the other day -
written in 1857 - in the USA. It was superb, although the parallelism
was a bit askew at times. The manual was on how to write - literally, as
it was how to write using a quill pen.
The manual had numbered steps and there was trouble-shooting within each
step. Beautifully hand illustrated of course. I was quite entranced.
Cheers
Jill
Jill Nicholson
N&H Communications
2 Park Ave
Roseville
NSW 2069
jpnicho@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.nhcommunications.com.au

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Janice Gelb" <Janice.Gelb@xxxxxxx <mailto:Janice.Gelb@xxxxxxx> >
To: <austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> >
Sent: Monday, July 13, 2009 2:48 PM
Subject: atw: Re: It was Friday a few days ago


> Jill Nicholson wrote:
>> I know it is not Friday, but my two favorites are:
>> Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
>> Red Tape Holds Up New Bridge
>> 
> 
> _Red Tape Holds Up New Bridge_ is actually the name
> of one of two collections of this sort of thing
> taken from the Columbia Journalism Review, which
> has a regular feature showcasing them that's called
> "the lower case." (The other collection is named
> _Squad Helps Dog Bite Victim_)
> 
> They're no longer in print but you can often
> find them secondhand.
> 
> -- Janice
> 
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