Southern Communicator

July 2014

Managing Editor Sue Woolley gives us a preview of the June edition of the Southern Communicator - the Australasian technical communications journal. The journal is available free to TechCommNZ and ASTC members. The June issue is available in PDF and HTML (TechCommNZ and ASTC members, please login to your account first).

Professionalisation of technical communication

In this edition, Saul Carliner concludes his three-part article on professionalisation of the technical communication profession. In this final article, Saul explores the difficult issues of branding, certification and the role of professional organisations.

Theory of multimedia learning

In the February issue of Southern Communicator, Steve Moss contributed a very interesting research article on the effectiveness of screencast instructions compared to written instructions. During his research, he drew on Mayer's cognitive theory of multimedia learning ( Mayer, 2010), which provides a valuable model of how people learn when exposed to multimedia material (any combination of images and words, according to Mayer). This is a very interesting theory for our work as technical communicators, and Steve has generously contributed an overview of Mayer's research for this issue.

Project management methodology for writers

Penelope Goward and I have developed a simple project management methodology for writing projects, and we have summarised this methodology in this issue.

Converting content to online

Some time ago, Janet Taylor developed a handy checklist for things to do to prepare a Word document for online conversion. She dusted it off recently, and discovered that the checklist is just as relevant today.

Wordpress and RoboHelp

Charlotte Brogden has contributed another in her series of articles on Wordpress, and Matthew Ellison has reviewed the latest version of RoboHelp.

Importing and exporting Word macros

If you've ever thought about moving some Word macros or Forms from one PC to another, and decided it's just too difficult, then you may be interested in Eeva O'Mara's instructions on how to do it. It really is easy when you know how.

Sue Woolley

Managing Editor, Southern Communicator