UNT TECM Alumna Speaks to Students; Redesigns and Teaches Course | Technical Communication
April 16, 2019

UNT TECM Alumna Speaks to Students; Redesigns and Teaches Course

Autumn Hood, senior user experience (UX) designer at Sabre Corporation, adjunct instructor, and UNT tech comm alumna, spoke about the profession of UX design to Dr. Campbell's TECM 2800 class on Tuesday, April 2nd.

UX CAREER

At Sabre, Hood creates and works with mockups, prototypes, and best practices. She maintains a working knowledge of Sabre's software, including how the code and systems function, and spends her time sending emails and creating meeting reports.

"I'd really say the job is 75 percent working with others," said Hood. "The other 25 percent is the design process."

UNT CAREER

In conjunction with her position at Sabre, Hood works as an adjunct instructor for the Department of Technical Communication, where she teaches TECM 2700. This is a course she taught as a tech comm graduate student.

"I loved the academic environment, and teaching was a great way to stay involved," said Hood.

Next fall, Hood will combine her academic and workplace experience by teaching TECM 4300 (Usability and User Experience) for the department.

REDESIGNING TECM 1500

Hood recently redesigned TECM 1500, New Media for your College Career, and now teaches it.

Hood mentions the difficulty of redesigning TECM 1500 as rewarding. During the redesign, she leveraged her previous teaching experience as a tech comm graduate student, building the course in just three months.

"Working on the course was definitely hard," said Hood. "You don't really know the challenges you'll face."

Previously, the course focused on using new media, including Facebook, Twitter, and video game Second Life. The course is now designed to give freshmen and sophomore students an overview of different job roles, along with their titles and tasks, in the development of technologytechnical writers, ux designers, business analysts, product managers and more.

"If this course is successful, you will have the vocabulary and autonomy to further investigate these topics as a potential major and/or career," states Hood in the class syllabus.

REDESIGN SUCCESS

Following the launch of the course this semester, Hood has found success with her inaugural group of students. She is particularly proud of her lecture topics relating to her UX job at Sabre.

"I feel like I can add a lot to my lectures about that content," said Hood. "I have a relevant perspective that enhances what I'm talking about."

Moving forward, she is excited about improving her coursework.

"My goal for this class is practicality," Hood said. "I want students who leave here to be able to talk to a technical communication professional and hold an intelligent, equal conversation."

(Photo by You X Ventures on Unsplash)

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