Can DITA facilitate the reuse of training modules across different crops, farming techniques, and certification tracks?

November 10, 2023
|By Bryan Tipper

DITA provides a robust framework for facilitating the reuse of training modules across different crops, farming techniques, and certification tracks in agricultural education. This reusability is highly beneficial as it allows instructional content to be efficiently adapted and repurposed, saving time and effort while maintaining consistency and quality.

Modular Content Structure

One of the key strengths of DITA is its support for modular content creation. Training modules can be broken down into smaller, reusable components, such as topics or sections. These components can cover general agricultural practices, safety guidelines, or certification requirements and are stored in a central repository.

Content Specialization

Content specialization in DITA enables the customization of modules for specific crops, techniques, or certification tracks. By defining specialized document types, you can tailor the training content to meet the unique needs of different audiences. This specialization allows you to reuse the core content while making necessary adjustments for specific contexts.

Example:

Here’s an example of how DITA facilitates content reuse for different crops:


<topic id="general_safety_guidelines">
  <title>General Safety Guidelines</title>
  <body>
    <p>Always wear appropriate protective gear when working in the field.

    <p>Follow proper pesticide handling procedures to ensure safety.

    <p>Refer to crop-specific safety guidelines for additional instructions.</p>
  </body>

In this example, the “General Safety Guidelines” topic contains content that is applicable to all crops. To create crop-specific modules, you can reuse this general topic and add additional specialized content as needed.