Technical Communication Quarterly Jul 2011

Technological Literacy as Network Building

Jason Swarts North Carolina State University

Abstract

Following recent work to advocate a strongly social understanding of technological literacy, this article considers how networking technologies are reshaping our understanding of the social. In this context, technological literacy can be understood as a process of constructing the networks in which literate action is defined. I explore the role of technological literacy as a force of network building accomplished through a mechanism of translation. From the comments of experienced technical communicators, I make observations about how technical communicators are taught to be technologically literate.

Journal
Technical Communication Quarterly
Published
2011-07-01
DOI
10.1080/10572252.2011.578239
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
technical communication literacy studies
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (17)

  1. Tham et al. (2026)
    The User Experience of Virtual Reality for Longitudinal Writing: A Diary Study …
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Stambler et al. (2025)
    Beyond Digital Literacy: Investigating Threshold Concepts to Foster Engagement …
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Hsu et al. (2022)
    Connecting Twitter With Scholarly Networks: Exploring HCI Scholars’ Interaction…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  4. Findlay (2019)
    When Writers Aren’t Authors: A Qualitative Study of Unattributed Writers
    College English
  5. Spinuzzi et al. (2018)
    Articulating Problems and Markets: A Translation Analysis of Entrepreneurs’ Eme…
    Written Communication
Show all 17 →
  1. Wall et al. (2018)
    The art of selling-without-selling: Understanding the genre ecologies of conten…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Pflugfelder (2018)
    Failure Matters: Conflicting Practices in a High-Tech Case
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  3. Fraiberg (2017)
    Start-Up Nation: Studying Transnational Entrepreneurial Practices in Israel’s S…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  4. Faris et al. (2017)
    Emerging scholars and social media use: a pilot study of risk
    Communication Design Quarterly
  5. Swarts (2016)
    Composing Networks: Writing Practices on Mobile Devices
    Written Communication
  6. Read (2016)
    The Net Work Genre Function
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  7. Spinuzzi et al. (2016)
    How Magnets Attract and Repel: Interessement in a Technology Commercialization …
    Written Communication
  8. McNely et al. (2015)
    Contemporary Research Methodologies in Technical Communication
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  9. Read et al. (2015)
    Visualizing and Tracing: Research Methodologies for the Study of Networked, Soc…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  10. Gruber (2014)
    Mirror Neurons in a Group Analysis “Hall of Mirrors”:Translationas a Rhetorical…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  11. Pigg (2014)
    Coordinating Constant Invention: Social Media's Role in Distributed Work
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  12. Andersen (2014)
    Rhetorical Work in the Age of Content Management: Implications for the Field of…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication

References (53) · 9 in this index

  1. Akrich M. (1992)
    Shaping technology/Building society: Studies in sociotechnical change
  2. Akrich M. (1992)
    Shaping technology/Building society: Studies in sociotechnical change
  3. Augé M. (1995)
    Non places: Introduction to an anthropology of supermodernity
  4. Callon M. (1986)
    Power, action, and belief: A new sociology of knowledge?
  5. Cook (2002)
    Layered Literacies: A Theoretical Frame for Technical Communication Pedagogy
    Technical Communication Quarterly
Show all 53 →
  1. 10.1002/9781444319514
     ↗
  2. 10.1007/978-3-322-89613-1
     ↗
  3. Clarke J. (2008)
    Literacies, global and local
     ↗
  4. Diehl et al. (2008)
    Grassroots: Supporting the Knowledge Work of Everyday Life
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Drucker P. F. (2001)
    The essential Drucker
  6. 10.1075/aals.2.10gee
     ↗
  7. Geisler C. (2003)
    Analyzing streams of language: Twelve steps to the systematic coding of text, talk, and o…
  8. Grabill J. (2008)
    Making things: Rhetoric and community change
  9. Grabill J. T. (2005)
    Multiliteracies meet methods: The case for digital writing in English education
    English Education  ↗
  10. Gurak L. J. (2001)
    Cyberliteracy: Navigating the Internet with awareness
  11. Hart-Davidson B. (2005)
    Technical Communication and the World Wide Web
  12. Henderson K. (1999)
    On line and on paper: Visual representations, visual culture, and computer graphics in de…
  13. Huberman A. M. (1994)
    Handbook of Qualitative Research
  14. Johnson-Eilola (1996)
    Relocating the Value of Work: Technical Communication in a Post-Industrial Age
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  15. Johnson-Eilola J. (2005)
    Datacloud: Toward a new theory of online work
  16. Kim L. (2004)
    Fitting academic programs to workplace marketability: Career paths of five technical comm…
    Technical Communication
  17. Lanier C. R. (2009)
    Analysis of the skills called for by technical communication employers in recruitment postings
    Technical Communication
  18. Latour B. (1987)
    Science in action
  19. Latour B. (1991)
    A sociology of monsters: Essays on power technology and domination
  20. Latour B. (1992)
    Shaping technology/Building society: Studies in sociotechnical change
  21. Latour B. (1993)
    Ecologies of knowledge: Work and politics in science and technology
  22. Latour B. (1999)
    Pandora's hope: Essays on the reality of science studies
  23. 10.1093/oso/9780199256044.001.0001
     ↗
  24. 10.1007/BF01059830
     ↗
  25. 10.4324/9780203481141
     ↗
  26. Law J. (1992)
    Shaping technology/Building society: Studies in sociotechnical change
  27. 10.1145/1180875.1180950
     ↗
  28. Martin M. & O'Sullivan R. ( 2007 ). The case for “technical communicator.” Retrieved from http://www.stc.org/…
  29. 10.1215/9780822384151
     ↗
  30. 10.1177/030631279402400402
     ↗
  31. 10.1215/9780822383550-001
     ↗
  32. Moore A. H. (2007)
    The new economy, technology, and learning outcomes assessment
    EDUCAUSE Quarterly
  33. 10.1023/A:1015241914483
     ↗
  34. 10.1109/IPCC.2005.1494198
     ↗
  35. Rice (2009)
    Woodward Paths: Motorizing Space
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  36. RUDE (1995)
    The Report for Decision Making: Genre and Inquiry
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  37. Selber S. A. (2004)
    Multiliteracies for a digital age
  38. Selfe C. L. (1999)
    Technology and literacy in the twenty-first century: The importance of paying attention
  39. Spafford et al. (2010)
    Accessibility and Order: Crossing Borders in Child Abuse Forensic Reports
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  40. Spinuzzi (2007)
    Guest Editor's Introduction: Technical Communication in the Age of Distributed Work
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  41. 10.1017/CBO9780511509605
     ↗
  42. 10.1145/344599.344646
     ↗
  43. 10.1177/030631289019003001
     ↗
  44. 10.1017/CBO9780511560880
     ↗
  45. (2010)
    Technological literacy framework for the 2012 national assessment of educational progress
  46. Whiteside (2003)
    The Skills That Technical Communicators Need: An Investigation of Technical Com…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  47. Winsor (2001)
    Learning to Do Knowledge Work in Systems of Distributed Cognition
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  48. 10.56021/9780801837579
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 23 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Mar 2026
    Surveys as UXR: Using Design Thinking to Shape a Survey-Based UX Assessment for Rural Audiences ↗
    Kaitlin J. Coyle; Derek G. Ross
    assessment technical communication qualitative research literacy studies
  2. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly Jan 2026
    LinkedIn in Business and Technical Communication: A Textbook Analysis Grounded in Digital Literacy ↗
    Sarah Moore; Kathryn Lookadoo
    modern rhetorical theory teacher development technical communication digital rhetoric social media literacy studies
  3. Journal of Business and Technical Communication Jan 2026
    Increasing Literacy on the Scams Targeting Latines: Generative Artificial Intelligence, Digital Technologies, and the Latine Community ↗
    Gabriel Lorenzo Aguilar
    rhetorical criticism technical communication artificial intelligence literacy studies
  4. Pedagogy Oct 2025
    Contributors ↗
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism genre theory cultural rhetorics first-year composition writing pedagogy advanced composition creative writing writing across the curriculum graduate education two-year college service learning teacher development technical communication professional writing labor and working conditions archival research multimodality artificial intelligence literacy studies race and writing gender and writing disability studies literary studies editorial matter
  5. Technical Communication Quarterly Apr 2025
    Beyond Digital Literacy: Investigating Threshold Concepts to Foster Engagement with Digital Life in Technical Communication Pedagogy ↗
    Danielle Mollie Stambler; Nupoor Ranade; Daniel L. Hocutt; Stephen Fonash; Jessica Lynn Campbell; Ann Hill Duin; Isabel Pedersen; Jason Tham; Saveena (Chakrika) Veeramoothoo; Gustav Verhulsdonck
    writing pedagogy collaborative writing threshold concepts technical communication professional writing digital rhetoric literacy studies race and writing