With the growing popularity of Texas Tech's online Master of Arts in Technical Communications (MATC) and PhD in Technical Communications & Rhetoric (TCR), both the technical communication faculty and students are exploring ways to teach usability at a distance. They decided to kick off their discussion on November 9th, World Usability Day (WUD), a day whose sole purpose is to increase awareness about the importance of developing user-friendly products.

The Department of Technical Communication at Texas Tech University operates the usability research lab, complete with a control room to record users who are testing certain products. Dr. Brian Still, Texas Tech University User Research Lab Director, explains, "Usability engineering is about creating software or other products that involve users as key contributors in making sure that the software is usable for whoever uses it."

Currently, the usability course for the online programs must be completed in Lubbock. The TCR students attend a two-week, on-campus intensive study session each year. The MATC students have the option to take a usability course; students taking this course are required to come to Lubbock to take the course. Though the Texas Tech Usability Lab is a very convenient and efficient place to learn and work in Lubbock, Texas Tech University hopes in the future to allow students to take a usability course at a distance. Whitney Bates, a MATC graduate, said, "I think distance education for the usability lab is an important option for students and an attainable goal." Dr. Locke Carter, program coordinator of the MATC and TCR online programs, organized a retreat on November 9th at TTU Center at Junction in Junction, Texas for his current doctoral students. Visit the blog which has been set up to prepare the doctoral students' for their discussion in Junction.