Find out more about the election, get to know the candidates, and pose questions by visiting the STC Election web pages.

Nicky Bleiel — STC Candidate for Vice President

Find out more about Nicky Bleiel by visiting her website and by reading her Newsletter Article about the election and her vision for the Society.

Some of us will remember Nicky for her encouraging and enthusiastic participation in the Virtual Town Hall meeting on January 25, 2012. Nicky will be the featured speaker at our awards celebration on March 1st, so we can meet her in person before the elections.  

Ray Gallon — STC Candidate for Director

Ray is an independent consultant specializing in the convergence of content strategy, content development, and usability. He is currently in his second term as president of STC France. Before that, he was the chapter’s education outreach manager, and guided STC France’s mentoring programme.

Ray will be posting specific articles about important issues on his personal blog. Join him there, and leave your comments, or raise the issues that concern you the most. 

As we hear from other candidates, we will be posting updates on our Chapter blog, so stay tuned as we prepare for the 2012 elections.

Good luck to Nicky, Ray, and all the STC candidates.

Slides from the Virtual Town Hall in pdf format

Among the highlights of the presentation were

• the map of our chapter members’ geographic distribution,
  
• a summary of the events we attended in 2011,
  
• a preview of some of the events we are planning in 2012,
  
• and an open and honest view of our finances.
  

The group had a few lively discussions about what STC offers to our members, especially the grant from IBM, potential locations for future meetings (come to the wineries in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley), and the STC job bank.

The group expressed a desire to give support to our local student affiliates. Tiffany Newland will be attending the JMU Student Chapter Meeting in February and suggested that we send her ideas and information about events that would appeal to students at the undergrad or graduate level. Email Tiffany at tnewland at woodmark.com.

Many thanks to some of the STC leadership who attended online
Nick Bleiel
Alan Houser
Judy Glick-Smith
and to all our chapter members and volunteers for a terrific 2011.

Here’s looking forward to communicating with you in 2012.

All the presentations were excellent. In addition to delivering some very interesting research results, the speakers provided links and references to other content that will keep many of us busy learning for the next few months.

Here are some highlights:

• Rebekka Andersen in The Effect of Content Management Systems on Processes in Technical Communication Groups described research that shows how important it is to consider the culture of an organization when attempting to implement content management systems.

• David Farkas described a new non-proprietary format for documents called QuikScan that he and his colleague Quan Zhou developed. The process, which incorporates content summaries within documents, can be used in many writing tools. It saves time and enhances reading comprehension.

• Wendy Freeman in What the Research Says about Use of Social Media by Younger People (It Might Surprise You) presented a thorough analysis of how young people are using social media with some interesting conclusions about what digital literacy means today.

• John Killoran in Search Engine Optimization and the Web Work of Technical Communicators discussed how search engines work and provided tips about writing web content that appeals to search engines.

• Brad Mehlenbacher in Social media and sustaining technical communication summarized the history of social media, explored it strengths and weaknesses, and provided a useful conceptual view of social media that gives a framework for evaluating and using the various forms of media available.

• Martine Courant Rife’s presentation Copyright Law and Professional Online Communication gave us plenty of food for thought about how copyright laws affect technical communication. She also answered our questions about copyrights and requirements of new laws such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

• Ann Rockley in Changing Publication Processes introduced us to some newer forms of publication, including eBook readers and tablet devices, and described the potential of these forms of communication. She showed how to use these emerging technologies and in one case how not to use them.

• Aimee Kendall Roundtree in Medical Writing in Social Media: Practices and Challenges discussed how the health care industry is using social media for communication. She provided a number of very interesting case studies and addressed some interesting issues related to health care and social media, such as whether online social networks can affect long-term health behavior and the competition between the emerging media and traditional, one-way communication policies in the field of health care.

• Stuart Selber in iPads in technical Communication described a research study at Penn State where students were given iPads to use in English classes. The study explored how users implemented the technology and the challenges that students and teachers faced using this form of technology as a medium for communication.

All in all, this was one of the most interesting webinars that I have attended. If STC offers it as a recording, be sure to take advantage of that opportunity.

The workshop was a huge success.

Photos of the day are available on our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150309991531494.343575.86448161493&l=4d6cbe7bda

or on our Flickr stream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/stcwdc/sets/72157627628010989/

Not a facebook or Flickr user? These photos can be viewed by everyone. Just ignore any of  facebook’s requests for you to log on.

Content Strategy in a Day with Rahel Bailie

Purpose

The IDL SIG scholarship was created to assist students who are pursuing an undergraduate degree, graduate degree, or certificate in the area of Instructional Design. Students applying for this scholarship are expected to demonstrate their focus on topics related to Instructional Design through their academic studies, current jobs, graduate or certification program, or special projects.

Award

The IDL SIG will offer two scholarships this year for college students:

• $500 for one undergraduate student
• $1,000 for one graduate student

The awards, wholly funded by the IDL SIG, can be used for registration fees, books, or attendance at the 2010 STC Summit (our annual conference) in Dallas, Texas, to be held May 2-5, 2010 @stc2010. All winners and honorable mentions will be featured in the IDL SIG quarterly newsletter.

Deadline for Entries

Wednesday, February 24th

Please go to http://stcid.ehost.com/wp/?page_id=296 for eligibility requirements, application form, and additional information.

Thank you for sharing this information with students, colleagues, and anyone who might be interested.

STC Class of 2010 Fellows and Associate Fellows Announced

STC is pleased to announce that 24 distinguished members have been named Fellows and Associate Fellows of the Society. They will be recognized at the Honors Banquet at the 2010 STC Summit in Dallas this year.

New Fellows:
Phylise Banner
Michelle Corbin
David Dick
Pamela Ecker
Russell Friend
Barbara Giammona
Ann-Marie Grissino
Kristine Haugseth
Alan Houser
Russell Kahn
Karen Lane
Deanne Levander
Sylvia Miller
Jack Molisani
Neil Perlin
Kathryn Poe
Gloria Reece
Thomas Reed
W.C. Wiese

New Associate Fellows:
Mona M.A. Albano
Barrie Byron
Angela Dianetti
Taryn Light
Nad Rosenberg

STC awards Associate Fellow to Senior Members who have attained distinction in the field of technical communication.

The rank of STC Fellow is conferred upon Associate Fellows who have attained such eminence in the field of technical communication that the Board deems them worthy of being singled out as one of the select few who have distinguished the Society and the profession.

All are welcome to attend the Honors Banquet; please purchase your ticket when you register for the conference.

Congratulations to all the honorees!