Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Oct 1996

Helpviewer or Textbook? The Case of Ganesh Helper

Bas A. Andeweg ; Jaap C. De Jong

Abstract

Using new media in supporting students learning to write is a challenge for technical writing teachers. In this article we describe our effort to convert the paper course material to an on-line advisory system, called Ganesh Helper. Through the logging of students' actions and observations it was possible to assess some aspects of the use of Ganesh Helper (searching, browsing, and switching between writing and reading) while the students were writing part of a report. A questionnaire taught us that a majority of the students found the helpviewer easy to use and useful. But in the case of Ganesh Helper most of the students still preferred the textbook to the helpviewer.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
1996-10-01
DOI
10.2190/9vhq-wkfq-wnbq-wuuq
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Open Access
Closed
Topics
technical communication
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References (10)

  1. Elbow P. (1981)
    Writing with Power
  2. Elling R. (1994)
    Rapportagetechniek, Schrijven voor lezers met weinig tijd (Report Writing Techniques, Wri…
  3. Andeweg B. (1994)
    Ganesh Helper 2.0, Adviezen en voorbeelden voor het schrijven van technische rapporten en…
  4. Duncan R., Constructing Your Own Windows Helpfiles, in PC Magazine, pp. 325–329, April 1993.
  5. (1992)
    HAG: Help Authority Guide
Show all 10 →
  1. Brockman R. J. (1996)
    Writing Better Computer User Documentation: From Paper to On-Line
  2. Horton W. (1994)
    Designing and Writing On-Line Documentation
  3. Weiss E. H. (1991)
    How to Write Usable User Documentation
  4. Andeweg B. A. (1996)
    Effective Teaching and Learning in Writing
  5. 10.1007/978-94-011-2674-8_11
     ↗
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