Technical Communication Resource Center

 Harvey Hall 205 - 715-232-1222
Faculty Contact Person: Matt Livesey

Open Lab Hours

To be scheduled

 

Purpose

The Technical Communication Resource Center (TCRC), reconfigured in 2005, is the hub of the Technical Communication program and a support center for all advanced writing courses. The TCRC is designed to accommodate situations in which students work in groups, learn new software, learn to present materials in a wide range of media, and learn to manage communication projects. In short, the TCRC facilitates a group-based, software-sophisticated, project-creation area for teaching and learning.  

The student chapter of the Society for Technical Communication also holds activities in the TCRC.

 
The TCRC includes 12 stations that supply wired access (100mg)  to laptops, 8 desktop stations (5 PCs, 3 Macs) that support multimedia creation, four tables for group work, a scanner, a printer, an overhead projector, and a resource area.

History

 Thanks to the efforts of Helen Quinn and Sylvia Gengenbach, former members of the English and Philosophy Department, the TCRC was first approved in May of 1983 with an $8000.00 grant from the Stout Foundation. It became operational that fall, with two personal computers, one printer, and $2000.00 worth of software. It was located in the basement of Harvey Hall where the current Stout Solutions Research Promotion Services offices are now housed. In the late fall of 1983, another $15,000.00 was set aside by the Liberal Studies Council to upgrade the lab. With this money, five computers and two printers with accompanying software and furniture were added to the lab.

As equipment and student use expanded, the TCRC outgrew its space in the basement of Harvey Hall. By the mid 1980's, it had moved to its present location in Harvey Hall 205, and boasted eleven computers. Another lab modernization took place in 1988, adding sixteen computers and a local area network. In 1994, twenty of the computers were upgraded and ten were equipped with Ethernet connections, allowing internet access. Since 1998, equipment and software upgrades have taken place each year.