For more information about STC elections (at the organizational level), visit http://notebook.stc.org/2010-election/ to find information about the candidates (links at the bottom of the page) and how and when to vote.
STC is once again offering online courses where participants can earn a certificate. The courses are divided into 90-minute sessions and presented live online over several weeks. To obtain the certificate, participants must log in for each of the sessions.
STC certificate programs let you explore a subject in-depth over the course of those weeks. In addition to the practical work skills that you will develop, participating in a certificate program provides you with a unique live opportunity to learn directly from an instructor and to also exchange ideas and tools virtually with the other participants in the program.
For detailed information, follow the link: http://www.stc.org/edu/online-certificate-courses.asp
Looking for special software or other tools to do your tech comm job better? Check the STC website for its newest addition—an online buyers guide which also lists technical communication consultants.
In addition to companies that provide products and services, the names and contact info of more than 650 technical communicators are listed who undertake single projects, ongoing programs, or perform contract work. Many of the listings include a 50-word description summarizing the individual’s strengths and expertise. Access is free for both members and nonmembers.
The Guide & Directory is fully searchable and presented in PDF format for your convenience in viewing: http://www.stc.org/PDF_Files/2009-Online-Buyers-Guide.pdf
As part of STC’s memberships in the National Information Standards Organization (NISO) and Localization Industry Standards Association (LISA), STC has the opportunity to nominate experts to join the working group for the new Simplified English international standard. Details are posted on STC’s Notebook:
http://notebook.stc.org/nominations-for-simplified-english-international-standard-working-group/
Anyone interested should contact Annette Reilly, STC Standards Council Manager, annette.d.reilly@lmco.com, by 13 November with a brief statement of experience and qualifications in this area.
STC’s successful work to extend more beneifts to members outside the US is featured on STC’s Notebook in an October 22, 2009 post, STC’s Education Offerings Attracting International Participants.
Registration for the 11th annual STC India Conference is now open. Find details on the STC India site.
November 1 is the deadline for students to apply to Sigma Tau Chi or Alpha Sigma, STC’s honorary societies.
The STC website has an MS Word file with the application form (linked below). Completed applications and letters of recommendation must be e-mailed to dr.david.dayton@gmail.com.
Transcripts are mailed to the address in the application form: http://www.stc.org/recog/awards01_STX-AS.asp.
About the STC Student Honorary Societies
The Society for Technical Communication encourages qualified students to apply for membership in its honorary societies, Sigma Tau Chi and Alpha Sigma.
Sigma Tau Chi (STX) recognizes students enrolled in a baccalaureate or graduate technical communication program who have a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or above, are exemplary participants in STC, and demonstrate the potential for significant contributions to the profession.
Alpha Sigma (AS) recognizes students enrolled in a two-year or certificate technical communication program who have a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or above, are active participants in STC, and demonstrate the potential to contribute to the profession.
Applications to STX and AS are carefully reviewed and ranked by a committee consisting of three senior STC members (two industry practitioners and one academic practitioner). The committee makes its recommendations to the STC Board of Directors, which notifies the selected students after its January meeting. Students accepted into STX or AS receive one year’s membership in STC, a pin, and a T-shirt.
Completed application forms and supporting documents should be e-mailed as attached Word or PDF files to David Dayton at dr.david.dayton@gmail.com no later than November 1. By the same deadline, an official transcript must be mailed directly from the applicant’s school to the address in the application form.
If you have any questions about the application process, please e-mail them to David Dayton, Chair of the STC Honorary Societies Committee, at dr.david.dayton@gmail.com.
The call for papers for the 2010 Summit is now posted! The Summit will be in Dallas, Texas, USA from 2–5 May 2010 (at the Hyatt Regency Dallas at Reunion.)
http://www.softconference.com/subs/stc/2010/
Last year, ITC had two progressions; one was ITC-sponsored, and the other progression was in concert with the Euro SIG. As well, many of our members gave papers and talks at the 2009 Summit.
Let’s have a repeat performance! If you are interested in presenting a topic related to translation, localization, or another feature of cross cultural/cross language technical communication, please send a note to me and I will begin organizing some ideas.
Please, respond to me (Traci Nathans-Kelly at Kelly@epd.engr.wisc.edu) and not the whole list. At this early stage, we don’t need to crowd people’s inboxes with brainstorming. Once I have a few people submitting some ideas, I will post an anthology of sorts so that others may see where they might contribute to ITC efforts for the 2010 Summit.
Congratulations to the winners of the 2009 Society for Technical Communication Technical Editing Special Interest Group scholarships!
Lindsay Kate Taylor and S. Daniel Siepert
Lindsay Kate Taylor has won the 2009 STC Technical Editing SIG Undergraduate Scholarship. Lindsay is a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she is earning a certificate in technical communication and a Bachelors of Science in English and Spanish. Lindsay was the technical editor for the UW Construction Management program in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department; she worked closely with the director of the Construction Management Department on writing and editing grant proposals and PhD theses. She is currently the copyeditor for the ‘Wisconsin Engineer’ magazine, UW-Madison’s undergraduate engineering publication. Her career goal is to earn a PhD in English and become a professor, and later a director, of technical communication in a college of engineering. Congratulations, Lindsay!
S. Daniel Siepert has won the 2009 STC Technical Editing Graduate Scholarship. Daniel is a student at East Carolina University, pursuing his Master’s degree in Technical Communication. Daniel’s graduate assistantships have given him opportunities to work as an editorial assistant on an article for ‘IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication’ and an academic book on the global digital divide. Daniel has also been able to work with the Renaissance Computing Institute at ECU, designing their website, newsletters, and brochures. After graduation, Daniel plans on finding employment in technical editing or publishing, perhaps freelancing for a university press or professional journal. Congratulations, Daniel!
Each scholarship recipient was awarded $2,000.00 from the STC Technical Editing SIG. Applicants were judged on their work experience, career goals, significant achievements, research project, resume quality, letters of recommendation, and grade point average.
The STC Technical Editing SIG will also be awarding an undergraduate and a graduate scholarship in 2010.
http://stc-techedit.org/tiki-index.php?page=scholarship
Also, thank you to Kelly Schrank, the 2009 TE SIG Scholarship Manager, for her tireless work in making the scholarship program happen!
The STC Nominating Committee has announced the following individuals have been elected to leadership positions at the Society level:
Technical Communication, the journal of the Society for Technical Communication (STC), is soliciting article proposals for an upcoming special issue that will examine how factors of law and of culture affect how technical communicators work in international and cross-cultural contexts. This special issue will be published in November 2010, and the guest editors are Kirk St.Amant of East Carolina University and Martine Courant Rife of Lansing Community College.
SPECIAL ISSUE DESCRIPTION
Legal issues are increasingly affecting the work we do as industry practitioners, academic researchers, university and college educators, and independent entrepreneurs in technical communication. In some cases, these legal issues involve notions of ownership, copyright, and trade secrets. In other instances, legal concerns related to privacy, disclosure, and free speech affect how technical communicators perform different activities. These legal issues are further complicated by different cultural perspectives related to working in global environments and to addressing the informational needs of different cultural groups within our own nations. Very few individuals in technical communication, however, are lawyers or have formal training in issues of law and its intersection with different cultural communication expectations and assumptions. This special issue of Technical Communication will examine the legal issues affecting technical communication practices related to designing materials for or to working with individuals from other nations and cultures.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Completed proposals or questions about either proposal topics or this special issue should be sent to Kirk St.Amant and Martine Courant Rife at tc.special.issue@gmail.com
The schedule for sessions at the STC has been posted.
1. Go to http://conference.stc.org/
2. Choose “Preliminary Program Updates”
3. Choose “Educational Content”
Or the more direct route is this: http://www.softconference.com/stc/am.asp
A nice feature this year is the “Itinerary Planner” that will help you plan your days at STC, located at the URL above.
Notes:
· The Community Reception, where ITC will have a table with the Euro SIG, is Monday, May 4, at 7-830pm. At our table, we will have informational brochures about ITC, coasters with the ITC logo, and ITC buttons.
· Our ITC SIG lunch is May 5. You can opt to attend this by buying a ticket.
· The ITC Business Breakfast is tentatively scheduled for Monday, May 4 at 8am in the Marietta room (this is a correction). Please let me know if you plan on attending. We are serving a lite breakfast of bagels, fruit, and coffees.
STC just announced that there will be lunch included with all paid registrations for all attendees on Wednesday. There is no additional charge for this lunch. It is the closing for the conference, and there is a speaker.
There is much more information here: http://conference.stc.org/
Up to 250 scholarships of $400 will be given to members wishing to attend the STC Technical Communication Summit 3–6 May in Atlanta, GA. Scholarships will be awarded on a first-come, first-awarded basis. To apply for the scholarships, members should download the PDF of the Scholarship Registration Form from the STC website.
http://www.stc.org/2009/03/21/STC-Offers-250-Summit-Scholarships-to-Members.asp
(originally posted on Accessibility SIG site)
STC officials have initiated an option for members to split their dues into four equal payments spread over four months. This optional payment plan is available for both new and renewing members and for all categories of membership except students. There is also an option for spreading out conference registrations payments.
Payments must be made by credit card (Visa, MasterCard, or AMEX). Checks are not accepted for split payments. Payments are manually processed by staff and cannot be completed by the applicant online.
The payments will begin with the receipt of the membership application or renewal. A charge is made on the day of receipt for one-fourth of the total amount owed. A second one-fourth charge is made one month later, the third payment another month later, and the final payment is charged in the fourth month.
STC Director of Membership Lloyd Tucker outlined an example of what happens: “If a person sends in their request for split payment on 2 April for classic dues totaling $175, STC charges one-fourth of that amount ($43.75) on 2 April. One month later, on 2 May, a second $43.75 is charged to the card. Then, on 2 June, the third payment of $43.75 is charged, and the final payment of $43.75 is charged on 2 July.”
“This is an experimental program that we’re offering during these tough times,” explained Tucker. “I think our members will appreciate being able to spread out their payments over four months.”
The split-payment option is well-timed. The membership renewal period ends 31 March.
http://www.stc-access.org/2009/03/20/stc-offers-split-payment-option-for-members’-dues/
For more information regarding the dues option, located on the STC site, go to http://www.stc.org/2009/03/19/STC-Offers-Split-payment-Option-for-Members-Dues.asp
For more information regarding dues payments, see http://www.stc.org/2009/03/20/Split-payment-Option-for-Conference-Registrations.asp
The International Technical Communication SIG is 20 years old this year! Founded in 1989 by Carolyn Luttrell and colleagues, we have come a long way and have seen incredible changes in all aspects of our professional lives. As of this writing, we have over 950 members in the ITC SIG, we have a strong contingency (two progressions and many individual sessions) at this year’s Annual STC Summit, and we have just launched our new website. ITC is a strong and viable online community. For stories and recollections (whether you want to read or offer your own), please link to http://itcglobaltalk.org/?page_id=77
If you have a recollection or contribution you would like to post to Global Talk, please send me a note at kelly@epd.engr.wisc.edu . In coming weeks, I will be contacting some “old timers” directly to solicit contributions to our memory bank. We thank all of our past members, all of our past managers, all of our past elected people, and the many, many volunteers who have made ITC what it is today.
–Traci Nathans-Kelly, ITC Manager
