Upcoming STC Chicago Events - August 2011

SmartDocs: Content Management and Content Reuse in Microsoft Word
August 11 – Noon (CDT) – 1-hour Free Webinar

Join us for a free 1-hr product demo of SmartDocs presented by Lisa Pietrangeli, Director of Client Solutions and Bryan Lynn, Director of Technology at ThirtySix Software.

» Learn more and register today!



2011 Chicago eLearning & Technology Showcase
August 16 - Day-long Conference at the Union League Club of Chicago, 65 W. Jackson, Chicago, 8:30 am - 5:00 pm

Join STC Chicago, CCASTD, and CISPI for a cutting-edge exploration of new media and interactive tools for elearning. With over 30 speakers presenting 24 breakout sessions in 6 different tracks, there will be something for everyone involved in creating or delivering elearning.

» Details available at the conference website



A Partner Presentation Meeting: Optimizing Content Reuse in Unstructured and Structured Authoring Environments and How to Build a Business Case: Selling Your Ideas to Your Company

August 25 – Partner Presentation Meeting at Charlie’s Charhouse, Elk Grove Village, 6:30 pm check-in, program at 7pm

» Location and Registration Information

Technical Communication in a Digital Age

STC Chicago and Northern Illinois University are pleased to announce the Summer 2011 course, Technical Communication in a Digital Age. This course addresses methods for using technology in the workplace, and for authoring, collaborating on, delivering, and receiving information within challenging new digital environments. Course content and activities will offer new ways for thinking about the role of technical communication in a digital age by­ providing insights into structured authoring, content management, usability, social media, and online style.

The course is designed for people with little or no experience in the field, though it often enrolls a wide range of participants, including workplace professionals. The course consists of seven Saturday workshops (9:00 am - 4:00 pm), each led by an expert in the workshop topic. Participants also work on hands-on projects related to writing for online media. Participants earn three hours of undergraduate or graduate credit through Northern Illinois University. The course professor will be Dr. Jessica Reyman, assistant professor of Rhetoric and Professional Writing at NIU. No prior technology experience is needed.

Registration is now open. For registration information, visit the registration page, or contact the NIU Office of Registration and Records at (815) 753-0681 or by email. Participants should register for ENGL 424 (undergraduate) or ENGL 624 (graduate). Tuition information can be found at NIU's tuition information page.


Other questions? Please contact Jessica Reyman at 815-753-6644 or by email at jreyman@niu.edu.

Schedule for Technical Communication in a Digital Age, Summer 2011

• June 18, Introduction to the Course, Jessica Reyman, NIU
• June 25, Getting Technical about Editing Websites, Jesse Racine, Xeno Media
• July 9, Socializing Your Content: Using Wikis as Content Management Systems, Chris Hester, Infogix
  
• July 16, Web Accessibility and Universal Design, Karl Stolley, IIT
• July 23, A Usable Workflow: DIY Website User Testing, Kristi Leach, Independent Consultant
• July 30, Writing in Multimedia, Cheryl Ball, ISU
• August 6, Participant Presentations
  

The Content Wrangler Community

Scott Abel just announced his new social network for content professionals.

This, from his blog:

The Content Wrangler Community is the new social network dedicated to people who value content as a business asset, worthy of being effectively managed. This is the place where technical communicators, medical and science writers, marketing pros, online community managers, document engineers, information architects, localization and translation pros, taxonomists, bloggers, documentation and training managers, and content creators of all types hang out. It’s much more than a blog. It’s a place to join your peers, to share, to collaborate, to contribute, to find the information you need.

Learn more about it here.

Event blog, anyone?

I oversaw an event blog last fall for my organization's large annual conference. It was really successful, generating comments and lots of positive internal feedback. Do any of you have experience with conference blogs, or opinions?

I posted our guidelines on my blog.

Here is the event blog itself.

Blog content management is an interesting new effort, and I would love to see more conversations about this here.

Thanks!