Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Apr 2015

Using Isocrates to Teach Technical Communication and Civic Engagement

Allen Brizee Loyola University Maryland

Abstract

Building on work by Dubinsky, Haskins, and Simmons and Grabill, this article explains how a technical communication instructor used Isocrates and informal usability testing to help guide a service-learning project involving the One Laptop Per Child XO-1 notebook. For the project, engineering students received feedback from peers and elementary school teachers to determine the feasibility of using the XO-1 with at-risk children aged 6 to 9. Despite initial positive impressions, the service-learning students discovered that the XO-1 was not suitable in this situation. This article discusses Isocratean theory and how his ideas can inform a pedagogy of civic engagement in technical communication.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
2015-04-01
DOI
10.1177/0047281615569481
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Topics
classical rhetoric writing pedagogy service learning technical communication
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (7)

  1. Dubinsky (2025)
    Book Review: Technical Communication for Environmental Action by Williams, Sean…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Duncan (2022)
    “Expanding Ethical Pedagogy in Technical Communication: Learning from Killer Na…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Batova (2021)
    An Approach for Incorporating Community-Engaged Learning in Intensive Online Cl…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Brizee et al. (2020)
    High-Impact Civic Engagement: Outcomes of Community-Based Research in Technical…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  5. Angeli et al. (2018)
    Introduction to the Special Issue: Medical Humanities and/or the Rhetoric of He…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
Show all 7 →
  1. Getto et al. (2017)
    Mapping Personas: Designing UX Relationships for an Online Coastal Atlas
    Computers and Composition
  2. Nielsen (2016)
    Facilitating Service Learning in the Online Technical Communication Classroom
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

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CrossRef global citation count: 12 View in citation network → Build reading path →

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