Since I am studying to get a BA in general studies, technical communication was one of the areas I chose to focus on. The outcome I have been focusing on for the general degree is how to communicate to different audiences. Last semester I took ENGL3366 and learned a lot about focusing on my audience. Before I had taken that class, I never gave any thought on who was actually going to be reading what I was writing. I was writing to please myself. Now, I write to please the audience I am writing to because I'm not the only one who is going to read what I write.
ENGL3368 has helped me focus on using communication technologies and media appropriate to users and situations. Instead of just focusing on who I am writing for, I'm focusing on where and when the who chooses to view the website I have created. Being deeply aware of how one website has many audiences who use many technologies helps me build questions to better the website. One user may be viewing the website on a mac while another may be viewing the website on a pc. One user may be a single woman who has excessive free time to view the site while a married with two children woman has minimal time to view the site. Therefore, I need to communicate in a way that can either be viewed in a hurry or in a relaxed mode.
Not only have I learned what is best for a specific audience, but I've learned about certain fonts that view best online. Also, the placement of information has a lot to do with how long someone stays on a website.
Overall, I've learned a lot about what kind of questions a user may have when it comes to using technology to view websites and information online. There are many tricks to keeping the user interested when it comes to communication technologies and media.
No comments:
Post a Comment