Writing and communication have not historically been a focus of STEM programs in higher education. Many students concentrate solely on the technical skills required by their program without developing these “softer” skills. A student’s lack of writing and communication skills can lead to trouble once they graduate and enter into the work environment that requires reports to be written, ideas to be presented to various audiences, and collaboration amongst colleagues and multiple stakeholders. Fortunately, more STEM programs seem to be embracing the idea that there is a place for technical writing and communication skills in their programs. The Online Technical Communication Center (OTCC) at the Colorado School of Mines is a resource that supports both faculty and students in this area.
The OTCC is a service provided by The Writing Center at the Colorado School of Mines. The Colorado School of Mines is an R1 public research university focused on science and engineering located in Golden, Colorado. “The Online Technical Communication Center (OTCC) connects students and faculty with resources to develop their oral and written communication skills in STEM. All resources are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International license (CC-BY-NC). The resources are designed to be shared and modified by the public to meet your individual communication needs. The OTCC is funded by the Colorado Department of Higher Education Open Education Resources grant and the Colorado School of Mines Writing Center.”
Universities already provide many writing labs and centers. The Purdue Online Writing Lab (Purdue OWL) is a well-known resource for robust writing resources. Purdue OWL offers a broad range of categories that include some STEM-focused areas such as Professional, Technical Writing, and Writing in Engineering. Purdue Owl’s drawbacks are that it is focused exclusively on writing, is presented in a text-heavy format, and is copyrighted. These features mean that it may not be effective for all learners and has limitations on its use. The mission and focus of the OTCC make it unique in the world of writing and communication centers. I appreciate that it made deliberate decisions to make the resources open and adaptable for other institutions to build from it. The OTCC provides STEM-focused support categories in grammar, presentations & oral communication, general writing, and writing pedagogy support.
While not as robust as Purdue Owl, the content is carefully curated by faculty, student, and company feedback. It’s a simple, intuitive interface with a clear structure, and no searching is required. A unique offering highlights other forms of communication beyond writing.
The Presentations & Oral Communication section highlights that “oral communication is an essential component of any STEM field. The ability to convey complex ideas in an engaging and accessible manner can greatly influence the way an audience understands your ideas.” It provides topics such as Active Listening, Constructive Feedback, Nonverbal Communication, and Visual Graphics in STEM. Each topic has a short, easily digestible video and an accompanying handout, exercise, or quiz. I appreciate the interactive nature of the presentation to assist with learning the concept actively.
They also provide access to a Canvas Site version of the OTCC. Canvas is the learning management system utilized at Mines and many other higher-education institutions. Having the Online Technical Commination Center resources fully integrated into Canvas allows instructors to easily assign relevant lessons or exercises within their courses.
The Online Technical Communications Center is a reliable resource for students and faculty in STEM fields. It provides relevant information and tools in an interactive manner that is easily digestible. For further information and to visit the site yourself, please see the OTCC School of Mines.
Anna Seiffert, Director of Resource Acquisition and Discovery Services, University of California Santa Barbara
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