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Technical Communication Essentials

Technical Communication Essentials

This course is part of Technical Communication in the AI Era Specialization

Instructor: Abigail Bakke, Ph.D.

Included with Coursera Plus

Learn more

3 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

Beginner level

Recommended experience

9 hours to complete

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

3 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

Beginner level

Recommended experience

9 hours to complete

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

What you'll learn

Understand, analyze, and manage technical communication.
Research, write, and design technical communication.
Test and edit tech communication.

Skills you'll gain

Details to know

Shareable certificate

Add to your LinkedIn profile

See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills

Learn more about Coursera for Business

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Build your subject-matter expertise

This course is part of the Technical Communication in the AI Era Specialization

When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.

Learn new concepts from industry experts
Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
Earn a shareable career certificate

There are 3 modules in this course

This course is for:

-People who need to brush up on technical communication (tech comm) skills within their current role -People who are interested in pursuing a career as a technical communicator, technical writer, usability specialist, project manager, content writer, or related role. Course Objectives: - Define technical communication, its processes, and its ethical considerations. - Analyze and adapt to audiences for technical communication. - Write and revise technical content for different audiences. - Apply design, usability, and accessibility to technical communication examples. This course isn't meant to present formulas or rules for "correct" writing. Tech comm is too complex for that! Instead, the course will help you hone your strategic thinking and decision-making skills so that you can create the most effective technical communication for your particular situation. First, we'll address the importance of audience, integration with AI, and strategies for analyzing your tech comm situation when you don't know where to begin. Second, you'll practice research and plain writing strategies. Third, you'll learn to design pages, test for usability and accessibility, and revise your communication.

You'll learn what technical communication (tech comm) is and what makes it stand out from other forms of communication. This module covers the connection between tech comm and ethics, the importance of audience, integration with AI, and strategies for analyzing your tech comm situation when you don't know where to begin.

What's included

7 videos6 readings1 assignment2 plugins

7 videosTotal 42 minutes

Welcome1 minute
Defining Tech Comm5 minutes
Ethics in Tech Comm4 minutes
AI and Tech Comm6 minutes
Rhetorical Analysis6 minutes
Audience Analysis11 minutes
Genre Analysis5 minutes

6 readingsTotal 90 minutes

About the Course2 minutes
Describing Tech Comm5 minutes
Ethical Frameworks for Tech Comm32 minutes
Resources for Creating Inclusive Tech Comm10 minutes
Resources for using AI Effectively and Ethically30 minutes
"Using Sample Documents Effectively"11 minutes

1 assignmentTotal 30 minutes

Module 1 Graded Assessment30 minutes

2 pluginsTotal 22 minutes

YouTube: What is Tech Comm?2 minutes
Analyzing the Rhetorical Situation of Workplace Communication20 minutes

You'll learn about managing tech comm projects, gathering data to help you answer your research questions, writing clearly based on audience needs, and defining technical terms precisely and thoroughly.

What's included

5 videos4 readings1 assignment3 plugins

5 videosTotal 33 minutes

Project Management Approaches5 minutes
Working with Others5 minutes
Researching for Tech Comm5 minutes
Plain Language9 minutes
Defining Technical Terms7 minutes

4 readingsTotal 77 minutes

Resources for Agile and Team Leadership33 minutes
Secondary Research12 minutes
Primary Research12 minutes
Resources for Plain Language Writing20 minutes

1 assignmentTotal 30 minutes

Module 2 Graded Assessment30 minutes

3 pluginsTotal 90 minutes

Locating and Understanding a Scholarly Source30 minutes
Summarizing in Plain Language30 minutes
Writing a Technical Definition30 minutes

In this module, you'll learn about how to apply basic visual design principles to make your work more readable, how to test your work for usability and accessibility, and how to revise and edit it to best meet your audiences' needs.

What's included

6 videos3 readings3 assignments1 plugin

6 videosTotal 25 minutes

Visual Design Principles3 minutes
Why to Use Styles3 minutes
Identifying Design Principles in Personas (Optional)3 minutes
Usability6 minutes
Editing7 minutes
Wrap-Up1 minute

3 readingsTotal 45 minutes

"Ten Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design"10 minutes
Accessibility34 minutes
Tech Comm at Minnesota State1 minute

3 assignmentsTotal 80 minutes

Module 3 Assessment30 minutes
Visual Design Principles: Apply and Reflect25 minutes
Applying Usability Heuristics25 minutes

1 pluginTotal 30 minutes

Revising for a New Rhetorical Situation30 minutes

Earn a career certificate

Add this credential to your LinkedIn profile, resume, or CV. Share it on social media and in your performance review.

Instructor

Abigail Bakke, Ph.D.

Minnesota State University

1 Course37 learners

Offered by

Minnesota State University

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Frequently asked questions

To access the course materials, assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience when you enroll in a course. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid. The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.

When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile.

If you subscribed, you get a 7-day free trial during which you can cancel at no penalty. After that, we don’t give refunds, but you can cancel your subscription at any time. See our full refund policy.

Technical Communication Essentials

What you'll learn

Skills you'll gain

Details to know

See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills

Build your subject-matter expertise

There are 3 modules in this course

Preparing for Tech Comm

What's included

7 videosTotal 42 minutes

6 readingsTotal 90 minutes

1 assignmentTotal 30 minutes

2 pluginsTotal 22 minutes

Creating Tech Comm

What's included

5 videosTotal 33 minutes

4 readingsTotal 77 minutes

1 assignmentTotal 30 minutes

3 pluginsTotal 90 minutes

Strengthening Tech Comm

What's included

6 videosTotal 25 minutes

3 readingsTotal 45 minutes

3 assignmentsTotal 80 minutes

1 pluginTotal 30 minutes

Earn a career certificate

Instructor

Offered by

Explore more from Business Essentials

Technical Communication and Artificial Intelligence

Technical Editing

Why people choose Coursera for their career

Open new doors with Coursera Plus

Advance your career with an online degree

Join over 3,400 global companies that choose Coursera for Business

Frequently asked questions

More questions

Technical Communication Essentials

What you'll learn

Skills you'll gain

Details to know

See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills

Build your subject-matter expertise

There are 3 modules in this course

Preparing for Tech Comm

What's included

Creating Tech Comm

What's included

Strengthening Tech Comm

What's included

Earn a career certificate

Instructor

Offered by

Explore more from Business Essentials

Technical Communication and Artificial Intelligence

Technical Editing

Why people choose Coursera for their career

Open new doors with Coursera Plus

Advance your career with an online degree

Join over 3,400 global companies that choose Coursera for Business

Frequently asked questions

When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?

What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?

What is the refund policy?

More questions