Learn by doing...it wrong: lessons from seven years of industry-led service learning

Abstract

The iFixit Technical Writing Project (iTWP) is an industry-led, service-learning project for university technical communication classes, developed to give students real-world experience in process documentation while helping to address the global e-waste crisis. Over the past seven years, the iTWP has positioned over 10,000 student-authors as writers, engagers, and advocates in a community of 90 million users. This experience report will discuss our lessons-learned in crafting an impactful industry partnership or service learning project including the use of data, balancing stakeholder needs, and communication/feedback structures focusing around implementing UX and technical communication practices into iterative program design.