Facilitating interaction, collaboration, community, and problem-solving capabilities in blended and fully online technical communication programs: an introduction to the special issue

I first started teaching technical communication online over a decade ago. While teaching online was new to me, I had been teaching courses about instructional design and e-learning for a few years, so I learned—through preparing those courses—how best to teach online. In particular, I learned about the importance of clear objectives, structured content, information design, aligned assessment, and engaging activities. I learned about constructivism, connectivism, and the benefits of problem-based learning to encourage deeper learning.