Some comments and instructions in this page are for audio browsers and users who browse this site with screen readers. If you can see this paragraph and you are not using a text-only or screen reader browser, either the style sheet for screen viewing didn't load (if so, click on "refresh" to reload the style sheet), or you need to use a World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standards-supporting browser that has full XHTML 1.0 Transitional and Strict and cascading style sheet (CSS) level 2 support. (For information about these browsers, see Standards-supporting browsers.) The Society for Technical Communication is a W3C member: http://www.w3.org/.

For additional information, see the Accessibility Design and Features page.

Skip navigation

 
Washington, DC Chapter The Capital Chapter
 
 
The following is the right side navigation menu for the page. 
 

09 Apex® Grand Award

 

Site Information

RSS iconRSS (subscribe)
RSS iconRSS XHTML

Translate graphic

Locations of visitors to this page

 

STC Connections

 

Research Tools

 

Local Information

 
|

Pull browser window out or in to widen or shorten center column line length.

The following is the main content for the page. 

Events

Calendar of Events for 2008-2009

Skip to the Current Month

Listed below are the chapter events held from July 2008 through June 2009. Events are held in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia to accommodate members throughout the area.

June 2008
1-4
STC's 55th Annual Conference in Philadelphia, PA
Register on the STC website.
 
Each year, the STC conference attracts the world's largest gathering of technical communicators with unique educational and networking opportunities. At STC's 55th Annual Conference, you'll learn new tools and techniques, share ideas, network with peers, and preview the latest software and services from dozens of vendors.
 
18
Administrative Council Teleconference, 8 p.m.
 
This meeting is required for elected Administrative Council officers and encouraged for committee managers and committee members. Confirm your participation by contacting the Chapter President, Marylyn King, at .
27
Webinar: Words, Words, Words: Controlling the Unnecessary Sprawl of Terminology. (Time: 11:30 a.m to 1:00 p.m.; Speaker: Michelle Corbin)
Location: Online and on the phone
 
Although there are plenty of words in our language to choose from, our technical environments unconsciously encourage us to create new terms, abuse existing terms, and forget the basics of good technical communication. This presentation will describe why controlling technical terminology is so critical to our success, explain common terminology challenges that writers and editors face today, and discuss tools, tips, and tricks for how you can control the unnecessary sprawl of terminology.

Return to the top Return to the top

July 2008
  
Nothing scheduled.

Return to the top Return to the top

August 2008
27-29
Mapcap Flare Training - Baltimore, MD (all day). (Time: 9 a.m to 5 p.m.; Speaker: Eddie VanArsdall)
Location: Towson University, in Towson, MD
 
MadCap Software is pleased to announce that WDC Chapter member, Eddie VanArsdall, MadCap Software Certified Instructor, will be personally conducting their comprehensive 3-day Training Seminar on MadCap Flare. Mr. VanArsdall has over sixteen years of experience as a technical writer, editor, instructional designer, trainer, and document production specialist. In addition to designing information solutions for government agencies, law firms, the World Bank, and clients in the telecommunications and health insurance industries, he also served as the WDC STC Chapter president. He is truly an industry expert and a great resource to have for 3 days! The 3-day class is a great way to quickly learn all of the powerful features of Flare, and take your documentation to the next level!

Return to the top Return to the top

September 2008
6
Administrative Council Teleconference, 10:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.
 
This meeting is required for elected Administrative Council officers and encouraged for committee managers and committee members. Confirm your participation by contacting the Chapter President, Marylyn King, at .
 

Return to the top Return to the top

October 2008
2
STC WDC Open House & Competition Winners Exhibit. (Time: 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.)
Location: NRECA Conference Center Directions to the event.
 
Be inspired by winning entries from the 2007-2008 STC International Technical Art and Technical Publications Competitions, meet new people, and reconnect with old friends.
 
Our Open House is an informal event during which you can mingle with other chapter members and guests, learn more about the chapter, and enjoy delicious food and drinks catered by Whole Foods. New this year is our display of the traveling exhibit of winning entries from STC's International Technical Art and Technical Publications Competitions. These are the information products that won highest honors—a Distinguished Technical Communication award—at their chapter competitions of origin. They then competed with similar entries from around the world and won again at the international level. To enhance your appreciation of these fine examples of technical communication, actual judging comments will be displayed with each entry, allowing you to learn exactly what made it worthy of an international award, and perhaps then emulating those qualities in your own work.
 
We love students! Each paying attendee may bring a full-time high school or college student as your guest for free! To ensure sufficient refreshments, student guests must register.
 
 
20
Chapter Competitions: Deadline for Competition Entries.
 
 
30
Chapter Competitions: Competitions Sorting Day (Time: 7 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.)
Location: (See competitions committee schedule)
 
 
31
Webinar: DITA for Conditional Text. (Time: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Speaker: Tom Magliery, XML Technology Specialist, JustSystems)
Location: Anywhere with a phone line and a Web connection
 
Do you feel you've taken conditional text to the max – and maybe beyond – in your current documentation suite? DITA, the gold standard for supporting content reuse, includes highly scalable and flexible ways to conditionalize content so that you can deliver more customized content from a small and efficient set of source files. In this webinar, you'll learn
• How DITA conditions can work seamlessly in multiple output formats
• How DITA can handle multiple conditions, such as multiple platforms AND audiences
• A step-by-step process for creating conditional content and creating filtered deliverables
• How working with an XML standard can be more intuitive than working with conditional text in proprietary file formats.
 
This session is appropriate for writers who understand basic XML concepts and are thinking of moving to DITA. Practical examples will be used throughout.

Return to the top Return to the top

November 2008
1
Chapter Competitions: Competitions Entries Pick-Up and Judges' Training. (Time: 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.; Speakers: competitions committee)
Location:
Silver Spring Library
8901 Colesville Road
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Voice: 240-773-9420
TTY: 301-565-7505
URL: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/Apps/Libraries/branchinfo/ss.asp#facilities
Directions: Directions to the Silver Spring Library.
 
 
18
Web 2.0 and Technical Communication - How the New Internet is Increasing Communication. (Time: 6:30-8:30 p.m.; Speaker: Dick Davies, President of Sales Lab Incorporated and a partner in Planphoria)
Handout: available from the Speakers' Handouts and Presentations page.
Location: La Madeleine, Bethesda Directions to the event.

Return to the top Return to the top

December 2008
6
Chapter Competitions: Competitions Consensus Judging. (Time: 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.; Speakers: none)
Location:
First Presbyterian Church
601 N. Vermont Street
Arlington, VA  20171
Phone: 703-527-4766
Map and directions to First Presbyterian Church Arlington, VA.

Return to the top Return to the top

January 2009
13
An Overview of Trends, Tools, and Technologies in Software User Assistance. (Time: 6 - 8:30 p.m.; Speaker: Joe Welinske, WritersUA)
Location: NRECA Conference Center Directions to the event.
 
This presentation provides a cutting-edge overview of the latest trends in software user assistance, defines the key terminology, highlights the most important technologies, and offers predictions on future directions of our field. The seventy-five minute session should be of interest to technical communicators of all backgrounds and experience levels.

Return to the top Return to the top

February 2009
7
Competitions Awards Celebration (Time: 10:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.; Keynote speaker: Janice (Ginny) Redish, Ph.D.); Keynote: "Content Strategist—Why and How Technical Communicators are Naturals for this New Role". Get the banquet flyer. (.pdf)
 
Location: historic 1825 Federal-style mansion, Diplomatic and Consular Officers, Retired (DACOR) Bacon House) Directions to the event.
 
Registration and Payment: Attention: Registration for this event is now closed. If you have already registered but have not yet paid, go to prgm_paypal_feb09.shtml to make a secure online payment through our PayPal page using your credit card, debit card, bank account, or by paying money from a funded PayPal account. Or, you may send a check made out to STC Washington, DC Chapter to

Steve Whitney
Treasurer
STC Washington DC Chapter
PO Box 11186
Takoma Park, MD  20913

Whether or not you participated in the competitions this year, come out and see the winning entries, meet the judges, cheer on the winners, and enjoy a delicious lunch (the menu choices will be Chicken Florentine and Eggplant Parmesan). This is a perfect opportunity not only for networking but for getting your eyes and hands on the state of the art in technical communication. Documentation managers, bring your teams to encourage their competitive spirit. Maybe you'll be encouraged to enter the competition next year!
 
For information about the historic DACOR Bacon House – an 1825 Federal-style mansion, see http://www.dacorbacon.org/
 
 
26
Administrative Council face-to-face meeting, 6 p.m. - 9 p.m.
 
This meeting is required for elected Administrative Council officers and encouraged for committee managers and committee members. Confirm your participation by contacting the Chapter President, Marylyn King, at

Return to the top Return to the top

March 2009
18
Webinar: Providing Effective Editing Comments (Time: 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.; Speakers: Michelle Corbin and Paula Cross)
Location: To participate in this webinar, you need a telephone and a computer with an Internet connection and a browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari are all acceptable).
 
Co-sponsored by STC WDC and the STC Technical Editing Special Interest Group (SIG). As technical editors, we must communicate effectively with writers to affect changes in the information that we are editing. In addition to the editing markup, we use comments and queries to recommend how to improve the quality of the information. In this session, the speakers present a thorough set of guidelines, each with specific examples, for how technical editors can provide effective comments and queries as part of an edit. After defining the different types of comments, they present guidelines for how to word comments (their tone), what you include in your comments (the content), and how you present your comments (their style). The speakers conclude by recommending ways to summarize and present your comments and queries to the writers.
 
 
26
How *WE* Are Smarter Than *ME*: An In-Depth Look Into Wikinomics.
(Time: 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.; Speaker: Julia Loughran, ThoughtLink, Inc.)
Location: Eggspectation, Silver Spring, MD Directions to the event.
 
Mass collaboration is changing how we work and process information. In this interactive discussion, Julia Loughran will highlight some of the key points from Don Tapscott's book, "Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything" and provide additional examples of how this phenomenon is cropping up in all varieties of domains.
 
If you have registered but have not yet paid, go to prgm_paypal_mar09.shtml to make a secure online payment through our PayPal page using your credit card, debit card, bank account, or by paying money from a funded PayPal account. Or, you may send a check made out to STC Washington, DC Chapter to

Steve Whitney
Treasurer
STC Washington DC Chapter
PO Box 11186
Takoma Park, MD  20913

Return to the top Return to the top

April 2009
3 conference logo bullet
Deadline for hotel reservations for the annual conference in Atlanta, GA
You may make your reservation through the Hyatt Regency Atlanta link on STC's conference website, by calling Hyatt National Reservations at +1 (888) 233-1234, or by calling the hotel directly at +1 (404) 577-1234.
Location: Hyatt Regency Atlanta
265 Peachtree Street NE
Atlanta, GA, 30303
Phone: 404-577-1234
 
 
21
Single-Sourcing with MadCap Flare. (Time: 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.; Speaker: Eddie VanArsdall)
Location: Silver Spring Library, Silver Spring, MD (Cost: FREE, light dinner provided)
 
In little more than three years, MadCap Flare has rapidly evolved into one of the leading single-sourcing tools on the market. With the release of Flare 4 in September 2008, MadCap added a number of sophisticated print production features to the product. Flare can now publish to five online and five print outputs. It supports cross-platform WebHelp, HTML Help, DotNet Help, PDF, Word, FrameMaker, and XPS (Microsoft's XML Paper Specification), among others.
 
In this product demonstration, Eddie will show you some of the leading features that set Flare apart from its competitors. If you're an experienced help developer, you will appreciate the ease with which Flare enables you to use topic-based content for help and printed manuals. If you are relatively new to help development, you will learn a lot about single-sourcing and its terminology.
 
21 conference logo bullet
Early Bird registration rate deadline for STC's 56th Annual Conference in Atlanta, GA
Register on the STC website.
Location: Hyatt Regency Atlanta
265 Peachtree Street NE
Atlanta, GA, 30303
Phone: 404-577-1234
 

Return to the top Return to the top

May 2009
3-6 conference logo bullet
STC's 56th Annual Conference in Atlanta, GA
Register on the STC website.
Location: Hyatt Regency Atlanta
265 Peachtree Street NE
Atlanta, GA, 30303
Phone: 404-577-1234
 
Each year, the STC conference attracts the world's largest gathering of technical communicators with unique educational and networking opportunities. At STC's 56th Annual Conference, you'll learn new tools and techniques, share ideas, network with peers, and preview the latest software and services from dozens of vendors.
 
 
13
Escaping Solitary Confinement: More Networking Tips for Freelancers, Work-at-Homers and Other Professionals. (Time: 6 - 8:30 p.m.; Speakers: Gabe Goldberg and Kristen King)
Location: NRECA Conference Center Directions to the event
 
If you have already registered through the Cvent site but have not yet paid, go to prgm_paypal_may09.shtml to make a secure online payment through our PayPal page using your credit card, debit card, bank account, or by paying money from a funded PayPal account. Or, you may send a check made out to STC Washington, DC Chapter to

Steve Whitney
Treasurer
STC Washington DC Chapter
PO Box 11186
Takoma Park, MD  20913

Return to the top Return to the top

June 2009
4
Navigating the Job Search Today. (Time: 6 - 8:30 p.m.; Speakers: Barbara Herzog, James Dittbrenner, Sylvan Von Burg, Susan Musich, Renée Barnow, and Tom Dezell)
Location: NRECA Conference Center Directions to the event.
 
No matter where you are in your career, you should always be prepared to get back into the job market. Come learn the latest trends in the job search process and start laying the groundwork for your next job search. This event will be a progression. Each speaker will host a 25-minute roundtable discussion. At the end of each discussion, you will move to another table with a different topic and speaker. A pizza dinner will be served.
 
If you have already registered through the Cvent site but have not yet paid, go to prgm_paypal_jun09.shtml to make a secure online payment through our PayPal page using your credit card, debit card, bank account, or by paying money from a funded PayPal account. Or, you may send a check made out to STC Washington, DC Chapter to

Steve Whitney
Treasurer
STC Washington DC Chapter
PO Box 11186
Takoma Park, MD  20913


Contact Us

For questions or to delete or amend an event announcement, send an e-mail message to the .

Calendar of Events • Directions Index • Archives of Past Events • Event Announcement Form
• Speakers' Handouts and Presentations

Corporate Sponsorship • Corporate Sponsors Recognition • Previous Sponsors
Membership • Donations Wish List • Scholarships

Last modified Friday, 19-Jun-2009 16:19:03 PDT