TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Re: Looking for points of view from visual learners
Subject:Re: Looking for points of view from visual learners From:kcronin -at- daleen -dot- com To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Tue, 6 Jul 2004 10:35:30 -0600
When it comes to computers, many not-so-technical people are scared to
death of making a mistake - I know as a rookie I was, too. That's one area
where pictures can be VERY helpful, by showing the user what they should
see on the screen when they complete each process or step you're guiding
them through.
Yes, they may know what elements are supposed to be in the report they're
creating, but it will reassure them a LOT to see an image that proves to
them that they performed the task correctly. So I say: the more images,
the merrier, particularly when you've already determined you have many
visual learners in your audience.
When I went back to school in my 30's, never having used a computer, I was
very relieved (and in hindsight, grateful) that the textbook I had for my
"into to PCs" class showed a screen capture after every STEP in each
process. As a computerphobe, I was vastly reassured by this visual
hand-holding. Had I started with a less visual book, my fear of these
machines might have won out, and I might never have become the towering
colossus of technology (LOL) I am today.
Keith Cronin
a Windows baby who still tenses up at the sight of a colon prompt
ROBOHELP X5: Featuring Word 2003 support, Content Management, Multi-Author
support, PDF and XML support and much more!
TRY IT TODAY at http://www.macromedia.com/go/techwrl
COMPONENTONE DOC-TO-HELP 7 PROFESSIONAL: From a single set of Word documents, create online Help and printed documentation. New version offers yearly subscription service, Natural Search, Modular TOC Utility, Image Map Editor, Theme Designer, Context String Editor, plus more. http://www.componentone.com/doctohelp .
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archiver -at- techwr-l -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.