Re: xmetal and dita training classes: necessary?

Subject: Re: xmetal and dita training classes: necessary?
From: Yves Barbion <yves -dot- barbion -at- gmail -dot- com>
To: quills -at- airmail -dot- net
Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2009 20:11:23 +0100

Hi Scott

Sure, the "XML-awareness" of the students has an impact too. I often see a
"paradigm shift" here on various levels:

- From book authoring to topic authoring, separating content from
context.
- From WYSIWYG to WYSIOO (What You See Is One Option), separating content
from presentation (layout). Many authors are used to WYSIWYG authoring,
using tools like Adobe FrameMaker, Word, InDesign, QuarkXPress etc. Now,
they have to learn that the layout in which the text is presented on their
screen is not necessarily the same layout of their output (PDF, XHTML,
Help...). They still focus too much on layout and formatting things like
indent, spacing, the bullet in bulleted lists etc.

Indeed, Scott, to understand DITA, it helps if you have a background in XML.
Many technical writers, however, don't have this background, which is why I
also teach them a class of "XML for non-developers". They don't need to be
able to design DTDs or Schemas, or to develop XSLT, but they do need to
understand the main concepts.

Ideally, I teach them these classes in the following order:

1. Structured, topic-oriented authoring.
2. XML for non-developers.
3. DITA authoring.
4. DITA publishing.


Cheers

--
Yves Barbion â Managing Director â Adobe-Certified FrameMaker Instructor
www.scripto.nu â skype: yves.barbion â T: +32 494 12 01 89



On Wed, Feb 11, 2009 at 4:41 PM, <quills -at- airmail -dot- net> wrote:

> Yves,
>
> What was the skill level of the students in regard to XML and structured
> language in general? Did that have an impact?
>
> Since I have a background in XML, DITA seems to be just another schema when
> I examine it and the features you mention dovetail nicely into general
> structured language.
>
> Scott
>
>
> Yves Barbion wrote:
>
>> Hi David
>>
>> I have already taught several DITA classes and my experience is that my
>> students find it harder to learn all about DITA (principles of
>> topic-oriented authoring, content units, content model, conref,
>> ditaval...)
>> than to learn how to use the tool.
>>
>> In my DITA classes, I teach my students how to create a prototype DITAmap,
>> using their content and the DITA-FMx plug-in for FrameMaker and/or XMetaL.
>> I
>> also teach these classes over the Web, using skype (audio) and
>> Acrobat.com.
>>
>> If you're interested, feel free to contact me off-list.
>>
>> Best regards
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

ComponentOne Doc-To-Help 2009 is your all-in-one authoring and publishing
solution. Author in Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor, Microsoft Word or
HTML and publish to the Web, Help systems or printed manuals.
http://www.doctohelp.com

Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control! http://www.helpandmanual.com/

---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-

To unsubscribe send a blank email to
techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/archive%40web.techwr-l.com


To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/ for more resources and info.

Please move off-topic discussions to the Chat list, at:
http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/listinfo/techwr-l-chat


References:
xmetal and dita training classes: necessary?: From: Handy, David
Re: xmetal and dita training classes: necessary?: From: Yves Barbion
Re: xmetal and dita training classes: necessary?: From: quills

Previous by Author: Re: xmetal and dita training classes: necessary?
Next by Author: RE: I had say it because I was afraid no one else would.
Previous by Thread: Re: xmetal and dita training classes: necessary?
Next by Thread: Visio shape problem


What this post helpful? Share it with friends and colleagues:


Sponsored Ads