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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.
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Other Articles on Communication by This Author
Section:
| Bergmann, L., Brizee, A., Wells, J. (2012) The engaged dissertation: Three points of view. In: Gilvin, A., Roberts, G. M., Martin, C. (eds) Collaborative futures: Critical reflections on publicly active graduate education, Syracuse, NY: Graduate School Press, Syracuse University. Google Scholar | |
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| Brizee, A. (2014) Toward participatory civic engagement: Findings and implications of a three-year community-based research study. Computers and Composition: An International Journal 32: 22–40. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
| Brizee, A., Sousa, M., Driscoll, D. L. (2012) Writing centers and students with disabilities: The user-centered approach, participatory design, and empirical research as collaborative methodologies. Computers and Composition: An International Journal 29(4): 341–366. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
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