DITA for Content Development (SyncRO oXygen)

Course Name

DITA for Content Development (SyncRO oXygen)

Contact Hours: 48 (an estimated time frame devoted to a course of study from start to finish that can vary from student to student)

Course Description

Since the late 1990s, employers have increasingly turned to DITA for their document needs. DITA streamlines content authoring, reduces recurring costs, increases productivity, accelerates time to market, improves the customer experience, allows for reuse of topics in more than one deliverable, simplifies translation, and enables output to the most in-demand formats such as XHTML, HTML5, CHM, PDF, RTF.

Just a quick look at indeed.com shows some 30 job announcements per month seeking writers with demonstrable DITA knowledge.

Note: The instructor provides live online coaching and troubleshooting through an application such as TeamViewer or Zoom.

Materials Included:

  • Vendor- and instructor-supplied web-page and video tutorials on oXygen topics
  • Free online textbook is called Online Technical Writing. It has no ISBN. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 1997-2017.

Please note: Course of study may be completed earlier than indicated.

Outcome

Upon successful completion, you will be able to:

  • Explain the need for structured authoring and single sourcing in a detailed and well-informed way.
  • Explain topic-based authoring and how it facilitates structured authoring.
  • Distinguish, in a detailed and well-informed way, between the three main types of DITA topics: task, concept, and reference.
  • Use oXygen to create properly structured and formatted DITA projects.
  • Demonstrate the multiple ways of reuse content in DITA projects.
  • Create a DITA map and successfully incorporate DITA topics into it.
  • Demonstrate the principles of good technical writing and formatting.
  • Use the editorial and review workflow comfortably.

Assessment

In this course, it will be your responsibility to access the course through your individual login, perform the required activities and assignments, and send your completed work to your instructor. All coursework must be performed according to the guidelines stated in the course syllabus. A skilled senior-level technical writing professional will review your submissions for technical accuracy, utilization of industry standards, and achievement of an in-depth understanding of the course objectives.

Specifically, you demonstrate that you can do essential DITA tasks by sending DITA work components and projects to your instructor. The course also contains one or more quizzes to ensure your understanding of essential DITA concepts, namely, structured authoring and single sourcing, and topic-based authoring. And, finally, this course expects you to demonstrate the principles of good technical writing and formatting. You will be given ample opportunity to revise and retest your work to an acceptable level.

Unless you or your organization requires a letter grade, you will be given a grade of "successful completion" upon successfully completing at least 80% of the units in an individual course module.

Outline

Week 1: Structured Authoring & DITA: Overview. Learn about the key concepts at the basis this course: structured authoring, topic-based authoring, single sourcing. There will be a quiz on these concepts at the end of this unit.

Week 2: DITA: Concept & Task Topics. Get familiarized with the oXygen interface. Learn and create a concept topic and a task topic, and send to your instructor for review.

Week 3: DITA: Reference Topics & Short Descriptions. Learn and create a reference topic. Create or revise short descriptions all three topics that you have created so far. Send all three topics to your instructor for review

Week 4: DITA Maps & Navigation. Learn and set up a DITA map; incorporate the three types of DITA topics, guides, and reference; send to your instructor for review.

Week 5: DITA: Content Reuse (Single Sourcing). Learn how single-source (reuse) DITA topics: using the same topics for different audien5es, different product releaes, and different components of a product library

Week 6: DITA: Cross-References & Links. Learn and create a project in which you use DITA keys to reuse chunks of information in a DITA project. Send this project to your instructor for review.

Week 7: Applying CSS to DITA Projects. Learn and create a project in which you use DITA conrefs and keyconrefs to reuse chunks of information in a DITA project. Send this project to your instructor for review.

Week 8: Final DITA Project. Create a complete substantial DITA project that is in keeping with industry standards. Send this project to your instructor for review.

Books

Students are required to purchase the following: SyncRO oXygen license, $100 USD. Students may opt at their discretion to also purchase the following text: DITA Best Practices. IBM Press, 2011. e-book B005FEOU48 (US); paperback 978-0132480529