September At-a-Glance Contest Photo
STC Chicago September 2008 At-a-Glance
In This Issue

Thursdays @ STC Chicago | September 1
September Webinar: Selecting the Right Technology to Support Your Content Reuse
Upcoming Chapter Meetings
STC Chicago 2011-2012 Technical Communication Competition
Why You Should Volunteer as a Judge in This Year's Competition
Chicago eLearning & Technology Showcase | Conference Materials Available Online
2012 Summit Update
STC Webinars
Alliance Meetings
At-a-Glance Photo Contest
STC Chicago Social Networks

Thursdays @ STC Chicago | September 1

Join fellow technical communicators for lunch on September 1 at the following locations:
 
City Location
Caff� Baci at 11:30 am - 12:30 pm
2 N. LaSalle Street (entrance on Madison)
Chicago, IL 60602
  
Northern Location
Noodles & Company at 11:30 am - 1:00 pm
900 North Milwaukee Ave.
Lincolnshire, IL 60069

Southwestern Location
DuPage Inn at 11:30 am - 1:00 pm
2410 Ogden Ave.
Downers Grove, IL 60515

Northwestern Location (New!)
L'Olivo Pizza 11:30 am - 1:00 pm
823 E. Algonquin Road
Schaumburg, IL 60173

Want to start a group of your own? Contact [email protected] to learn how.

September Webinar: Selecting the Right Technology to Support Your Content Reuse  
A successful content reuse implementation consists of a content reuse strategy and technology that effectively supports this strategy. In this session, learn how to identify, evaluate, and select the right technology to support your organization's content reuse needs.

This webinar will be co-hosted by STC Chicago and STC Rochester on September 8th, at 12p (CDT), and include participants from a wide variety of STC chapters. Our presenters are ThirtySix Software's Lisa Pietrangeli and Bryan Lynn. If you attended our chapter meeting in August, this webinar will serve as the perfect follow-up, where you'll learn new information and revisit the essential takeaways from our first meeting. Even if you were unable to join us in August, this webinar can still provide excellent, cutting-edge information that will help you get acquainted with the changing landscape of content reuse.


Upcoming Chapter Meetings

Are you looking for Jack Molisani's presentation on Job Hunting Secrets? This highly anticipated meeting has been moved to the month of October. Check our website soon for details about meeting location and time!


Our September 22 meeting will feature a presentation about Adobe's Technical Communication Suite 3.5 by Adobe's own Dustin Vaughn. The location for the meeting will be Siemens, in Buffalo Grove, Illinois. We'll have details at our website soon.

Dustin Vaughn is a Business Development Manager with Adobe Systems in the Technical Communications group. Prior to joining Adobe, he played an integral part in implementing a structured FrameMaker solution for a large government agency. Dustin is an Adobe Certified Expert in FrameMaker. He has consulting experience and has served as a presenter for Adobe discussing conversion from Microsoft Word to FrameMaker.



Our Thanks to Interpro Translation Solutions,
Sponsor of Our September Chapter Meeting

Interpro Translation Solutions


STC Chicago 2011-2012 Technical Communication Competition

Have you or your company produced technical communication products that you think are worthy of awards? Would you like your work to be recognized by your peers?

STC Chicago is now accepting entries for the 2011-2012 Technical Communication Competition.

The chapter competition is open to everyone who produces technical communication, instructional materials, user support, or promotional materials. Entrants are not required to be members of STC. You may enter work as an individual or on behalf of a colleague or subordinate. For the 2011 competition, students are also invited to participate.

Submission categories include the following:
  • Information Materials
  • Instructional Materials
  • Promotional Materials
  • User Support Materials 
The competition entry fees are $75 for professionals and $25 for students. Payments must be made online. The deadline for entries is October 7, 2011.

Please ship entries with paperwork to the following address:

Elizabeth Burke
STC Chicago Competition
706 New Mexico Trail
Elk Grove Village, IL 60007

More information will be available soon at our website, www.stc-chicago.org.



Why You Should Volunteer as a Judge in This Year's Competition

Are you considering volunteering as a judge at this year's STC Chicago Technical Communication Competition? You're in luck! To help you make your decision, we've developed this list of reasons you should join us and take on the role of judge.   

 

  • Gain Insight: You'll have an opportunity to learn from your peers and see new techniques and styles.
  • Collaborate with Others: Judges work in teams of three to reach a consensus on award levels.
  • Enjoy a Modest Workload: Depending on the number of submissions, you will receive three to four entries to evaluate.
  • Review Entries from Clearly Defined Categories: Most judges review Informational, Instructional, Promotional, and/or User Support materials.   
  • Receive Training on Judges' Orientation Day: You'll be given formal guidelines to help you judge purpose, usability, media presentation, writing, and information design of the entries.
  • Network with Others: Judging is a great opportunity to meet and get to know other STC members.   
  • Acquire Valuable Experience: Judges consistently comment on the value of this experience to their own work. 

Consider the possibilities, won't you? Become a judge and help the chapter create a meaningful and rewarding activity for all involved. Please check our website soon to access the official Call for Judges.



Chicago eLearning & Technology Showcase
The fourth annual Chicago eLearning & Technology Showcase took place on Tuesday, August 16, 2011, at the Union League Club of Chicago. Hosts STC Chicago, CCASTD, and CISPI welcomed 325 attendees, including nearly 40 speakers and a variety of exhibitors and sponsors. Again in 2011, as in each of the previous three years, conference organizers sold all available tickets. If you were not able to purchase a ticket this year, please keep us in mind for next year! 
Chicago eLearning & Technology Showcase Official Program
2011 Official Program



Conference Materials Available Online


The official program (pdf) is now available online. At this year's event, attendees had access to a morning keynote, 4 breakout sessions, and an afternoon keynote. With nearly 40 speakers presenting 24 breakout sessions in 6 different tracks, there was something for everyone involved in creating or delivering elearning.

Photos from this year's event are available at our Flickr site. If you have photos you would like to share, please send them to us at [email protected]. We'll add them to our online collection.

Speaker presentations are available at our SlideShare site. Please check back soon for more. We will add new presentations as we receive them.

For additional information about the eLearning Showcase, stay in touch with us at Twitter and Facebook.

 


STC Webinars

Check out this month's live webinars from STC:

Make It Snappy-Web-Based Reference Guides
Donte Ormsby
Wednesday, 7 September

Oral Questioning Skills for the Technical Communicator

Elizabeth (Bette) Frick
Thursday, 8 September

Successful Strategies for Continuous Improvement
Marta Rauch
Wednesday, 14 September

It's All Fun and Games until Somebody Gets Sued
Paul Pehrson
Thursday, 15 September

Knowledge Transfer: New Opportunities for Technical Communicators
James Conklin
Wednesday, 21 September

Strategic, Competitive Professional Development
Andrea Ames
Thursday, 22 September

Google Analytics: Measuring Content Use and Engagement
Patricia Boswell
Wednesday, 28 September

Registration Rate: $79 for Members, $149 for Non-members, and $29 for Student Members


Alliance Meetings

Chicago Alliance meetings take place at a variety of locations throughout the city and suburbs. For more information about member organizations, see the Alliance page at our website. Then, check out this month's offerings below:

September 7:
Chicago Regional Organization Development Network (ODN-Chicago). "Getting Unstuck: Conversations to Impact the Core Business" with Kendra Coleman, Lucy Hatchell, Johnny Kelleher, and Eric Sanders. Please contact [email protected] for meeting location and other details about the event.

September 10:
Chicago Organization Development Institute Chapter (CODIC). "Guiding Change Under Pressure: Which Three Skills?" with Bruce Mabee at Illinois Benedictine College in Lisle, Illinois. Details are available at the CODIC website.   

September 16:
Loop Professional Development Network (PDN). "Guiding Change Under Pressure: Using the Skills in YOUR Situation" with Bruce Mabee. RSVP to [email protected].

September 15-17:
The International Consortium for Coaching in Organizations (ICCO) Fall Symposium: "Developing Leaders in an Increasingly Virtual Work Environment." See the ICCO website for more information.  

September 20:
National Speakers Association-IL. First session in a nine-session monthly Speaker's University series. Contact [email protected] for details or see the NSA-IL website.

September 22:
Chicago International Society for Performance Improvement (CISPI)/Midwest Society of Professional Consultants (MSPC) - Joint Program with Judy Hale, Judy Filek, and Gwen Nichols-White at Kendall College in Chicago. Details are available at the CISPI website.


2012 Summit Update

As you may know, next year's Technical Communication Summit takes place in Rosemont, Illinois. Planning is already underway at STC Chicago for this important event. For those of you who are new to the region, Rosemont is a mere 20-minute drive from the Chicago Loop. Public transportation is readily available. All events will take place at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare.

2012 Technical Communication Summit - Rosemont, Illinois

 

The Chicago Chapter Host Committee is planning activities, including networking opportunities, trips to local hot spots, and other activities to make the Rosemont-Chicago Summit an unforgettable experience. Anyone interested in working on the Committee and/or volunteering their time at the Summit next May should contact [email protected] for more information.

At-a-Glance Photo Contest

Some of our mystery photos are easier to identify than others! Take a look at the photo at the top of this newsletter. If you can identify the Chicago intersection featured in the photo, let us know. The first person to reply with the correct answer will win a $20 gift card from Amazon.com.  Please send your replies to [email protected] and check our website for news of a winner. Good luck!

Contestants are eligible to win only one prize within any 12-month period. We will notify the winner via email. Additional information about the photo will be posted on our blog.

STC Chicago Social Networks

 

 

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