Society for Technical Communication—Israel Chapter

Two years ago my supervisor asked me to provide a list of courses in which I was interested. At that time I asked several colleagues in the technical communication community in Israel about available courses, but to my dismay, learned that there were no intensive, advanced courses for experienced technical communicators. While I could have taken courses on the tools of the trade, this was not my main interest. As I result I began to look into Distance Learning.

Here again, I was in for a rude awakening. Course after course that I investigated was terribly costly and required hours of on-line work/communication. Nice if I lived if in North America, but I was not willing to arrange my time to meet those of the other class mates for on-line discussions and lectures. Eventually, David Farbrey recommended that I look into a course at Sheffield Hallam University, and low and behold, I'd found what I was looking for - an academic level course (MA) that let me study at my own pace, at home, and did not demand unreasonable time on the net.

I am now approaching the end of year 2 of the 3 year program. So - what have I learned?

• How to base my knowledge on facts rather than intuition
• How other people think and view technical communication
• How to critically analyze my own work
• How to research technical communication issues and apply them to my own place of work
• How to budget time between work, studies, my cat and my personal life (yes, some technical communicators do insist on a life outside of work!)

While the time demand is great, so are the rewards. Its been amazing how many books I've discovered that have actually been helpful in my place of work. In addition, I've found some amazing web sites that give GOOD, QUALITY information about technical communication. One real advantage of studying from a school based in the UK is the lack of bias regarding standards in the USA. Students are encouraged to take international issues into consideration, as a natural part of their audience analysis. Another aspect is that the UK philosophy of education, is reflected by the relatively low cost of this and other programs available there.

There are disadvantages.  This course of study follows the old model for distance learning - with course materials mailed to the student. In essence, it is a true independent learning course, since the burden of research and studying is up to the student-definitely not meant for everyone. Since this particular course handles everything by mail, there is a time lag in communication. Also, they are a bit understaffed, and this means that grades can take a long time coming. Studying alone means that one must be strongly motivated, and have a certain level of confidence in one's work. This is not always easy. In the class room, and even via Internet forums, one can bounce ideas off of others and formulate new theories, get alternative points of view. And of course, as I mentioned before, there is the amount of time invested in reading, searching for and obtaining literature, and then selecting an assignment and completing it on time.

Well, hopefully by this time next year I'll be wrapping up my Master's Thesis. In the meantime, I hope that I've encouraged you not to give up on continuing education. If you've been considering Distance Learning, get on the net and begin searching, ask your friends, get information. If you are a member of STC, this month's issue of intercom is dedicated to continuing education. There are so many different types of programs; if you look hard enough, you'll find a program that is just right for you. 

If you have an experience with distance learning, or some excellent resources to recommend, or an article you would like to have considered for publication on our site, please contact me at desha@013.net