Using the Web for Graduate Courses in Technical Communication with Distant Learners

Though not a cure-all for society's ills, the Web is an important medium that is changing the way we work and learn. For graduate education in technical communication, the Web is a new tool that facilitates adult learning through electronic interactive communication. Using the Web as the medium for asynchronous distance learning allows for a high degree of learner exploration and interactivity, without the participants' being captive to a particular location and time. In Mercer University's M.S. program in technical communication management, students communicate with each other and with the instructors through a course home page, which provides students with course syllabus, lectures, outlines, assignments, requirements, a LISTSERV, and technical support. All graduate student research assignments are electronic and posted to the course home page on the Net. Additional improvements continue to be made to the electronic learning environment for these graduate courses.