Training Through Social Networking
Social networking is becoming more and more popular. Almost everyone we know can be reached on orkut, facebook, myspace and other well known social networks. The idea of social networking is to enable people to keep in touch and share information, pictures, videos and so on even when they are scattered all over the globe. Logging into a social network brings all your friends together at one place and lets you interact with them freely. An extremely effective tool to reach out to a lot of people at one time.
Now think about this from the perspective of a company which wants to train a group of new recruits. How about creating an unique social network for trainees and interacting with them through it. Not only will it solve a lot of problems pertaining to finding training rooms, equipments, trainers etc, but by virtue of being an unique network within the company, no outsider can get access to it. Training involves extensive information sharing, brainstorming by the recruits, feedback and group discussions. All these can be done with the help of a social network. If you have a new idea, put up a post for all to see and comment. If you want a discussion with your trainer or colleagues, initiate a chat session. All you need is a desk and a PC of your own.
Apart from sharing information and discussing, online web tools offer provisions for virtual meeting places/spaces as well. More on this exciting technology later.
Keep Territories in Mind While Writing English
The young, tech savvy generation might be doing well when it comes to being acquainted with cutting edge technology but when it comes to communication, especially writing, an adverse effect of technology is slowly but surely making its presence felt. Some social networking sites impose a word limit on the users and we all know that mobile messaging (one of the most popular ways of communication nowadays) comes with a character limit. This is leading to the development of a whole new lingo in cyberspace where correct spellings are given very little importance owing to the necessity to provide as much information as possible within the character limits.
While messages like “Tk cr” and “Nice to c u 2″ have come to be accepted in messages and scraps, the trouble starts when people start mixing business communication with personal exchanges. Alarmingly, we are observing more and more people using short forms and incorrect spellings while writing business proposals, letters and so on. They might not be doing it on purpose, but heavy messaging and frequent chatting is modifying their writing style in such a way that they are failing to spot the incongruities of messaging lingo in their official assignments.
Care should be taken to avoid this at all costs as such writing will not be tolerated outside personal exchanges. Messages should be written in proper and correct English to avoid this habit from creeping into the writing style or if that is not possible, a conscious effort to keep personal messages personal and official communication official has to be made. Since messaging and social networking are here to stay and influence almost everybody, educational institutions have a role to play in making young minds aware of this problem.
Exploring Technical Writing Jobs
Time to look at another prominent and attractive opening in the domain of language and communication, namely, technical writing. A basic research reveals that almost all big and small companies in the industry have requirements for technical writers. So if you happen to be good with the English language and are looking for a job that involves writing and also exposes you to cutting edge technology and latest products launched by different companies then technical writing could be a profile you will enjoy.
Most companies would require you to write about their products, launches and other news related to their research. So you will be writing user manuals, designing brochures and working closely with the development team to form a good understanding of the offerings of your company. As a technical writer, you will be catering to all the users of your company’s products and that can be a big number. You need to remember that your audience will consist of people with and without an understanding of technology so your writing should explain things in a clear and straightforward manner.
People generally get put off by a lot of text so you will have to cultivate a skill for designing. If you take a look at the user manuals of products launched by some big names, you will see almost every page carries pictures, illustrations and the text is arranged in short paragraphs. Often buletted points are used so that the main features get highlighted. If you are trying to explain to your clients how to operate a product, it is important that you show the various processes through pictures in addition to writing the steps down. Using different font colours and formatting will make your work visually appealing. You can consider using different background colours for different sections. Needless to say that a good knowledge of MS Office and a few photo-editing software will be an added advantage.
As for the origin of technical writing, I got a surprising piece of information in the process of finding out more about it. According to Wikipedia, the practice of technical writing can be traced back to ancient Greece and the Renaissance (fourteenth to seventeenth centuries). However, the full fledged utilisation of it came into being during the first world war when a lot of technical documentation was required by the military,manufacturing, electronics and aerospace industries.
Faculty Training-A Step in the Right Direction
In an earlier post I had discussed that the general unfamiliarity of teachers with technical vocabulary is a major problem ailing our technical institutions. A lot of the course material is lost on the English teachers who largely hail from a non-technical backgrounds and they struggle to explain things to their students. Now it is heartening to see that something is being done about this issue.
The Indo-US collaboration for Engineering Education (IUCEE) conducted a training/orientation programme for teachers in the field of technical education. Around 600 teachers participated in a session with acclaimed US professors to familiarize themselves with existing and emerging technology as well as to improve their teaching skills. These teachers will in turn speak to the staff of IUCEE regional centres all over the country enabling a large number to grasp various technicalities and become better equipped to handle technical courses.
Needless to say this will go a long way to improve the employability of teachers aspiring for a position in technical training and students who will be taught by them. I think these workshops should not only be conducted for teachers but for the students also. It will give them a chance to acquaint themselves better with technology and prepare some who want to get into academics.
Check out the report in The Hindu here.