Past Events
2005-2006
At a Glance
- Third Almost-Annual Conference on Teaching Technical Writing: 28 April, 8:45 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
- STC Region 6 Student Conference: 29 April, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
STC Presents the Third Almost-Annual Conference on the Teaching of Technical Writing
Designed specifically for teachers in the field of technical writing, the conference will address a variety of concerns and tips in the technical writing classroom. The conference will start at 8:45 a.m. and will last until 3:00 p.m. in the Plaster Student Union Room 308 on the Missouri State Campus. For more information, please see the Teaching Program. Presentations are as follows:
- 8:45–9:45: “Tools and Resources for Teachers,” Tom Warren, Oklahoma State University, STC Fellow, Professor at OSU
- 9:45–10:00: Break
- 10:00–11:00: “Crisis Communication as a Collaborative Effort,” Sherry Southard, East Carolina University, STC Fellow, Professor at ECU
- 11:00–11:30: “Socioeconomic Effects on the Classroom,” Alyssa Medlin, East Carolina Univeristy, Ph.D. Student at ECU
- 11:30–12:45: Lunch at the Union Club, Plaster Student Union 400
- 12:45–1:45: “Time Management,” Roger Sell, Missouri State University, Director of Academic Development Center
- 1:45–2:00: Break
- 2:00–3:00: “How People Learn: Implementing a Teaching Methodology in the Classroom,” Steve Gerson, Johnson County Community College, STC Fellow, Professor at JCCC. Sharon Gerson, DeVry Institute of Technology, STC Fellow, Lecturer at DeVry
STC Presents Missouri State's Fourth-Annual STC Student Conference
Expand your knowledge on April 29, 2006, in Strong Hall on the Missouri State Campus! With so many great speakers, we're sure you'll leave knowing you've gained valuable knowledge that you can use now and in the future. Feel free to print out a registration form and return it. Lunch and conference materials will be included in your fee, as well as a great deal of knowledge-building information. For more information, see the Student Program. Check out all the great presentations we have lined up:
- 8:30–9:30: “Information Design,” Tom Warren, Oklahoma State University
- 9: 30–10:15: “Interviews 101: Be Prepared,” Judy Kistler-Robinson, Intervoice, Inc
- 10:15–10:30: Break
- 10:30–12:00: “An Introduction to XML and DITA,” Laura Fugitt, Jack Henry & Associates
- 12:00–1:00 Lunch
- 1:00–2:00: “What Do You Need to Know? Tech Writing/Business Communication Core Competencies,” Steve Gerson, Johnson County Community College, and Sharon Gerson, DeVry Institute of Technology
- 2:00–3:00: “The Evolution of Technical Communication in the Medical Software Industry,” Shannon Conner, Cerner Corporation
- 3:00–4:00: “Surviving the First Year as an Independent Contractor,” Dan Charles, Crankypants Communications
Fundraising Opportunity: We-Bay
Dust off your junk! It’s time for STC fundraising! This year, we’re looking for your sellable junk to take to We-bay in Springfield. They’ll take our items, put them on e-bay, and cut us a check. Look for more information in future e-mails or at spring meetings.
Regional STC Conference Held on the Missouri State University Campus
April 22 in PSU, Room 315
Printable schedule of events for April 22
8:45-9:45 a.m. - Dr. Tom Warren, STC Fellow and professor at Oklahoma State University, will present "Making Successful Assignments."
9:45-10:45 a.m. - Dr. Sherry Southard, STC Fellow and Professor at East Carolina University, will present "Community Building."
11 a.m.-12 p.m. - Dr. Tom Warren will present "A Brief History of Textbooks in Technical Writing"
12-1 p.m. Lunch
1-2 p.m. - Dr. Steve Gerson, STC Fellow and Professor at Johnson Community College, will present "Communication Channels."
April 23 in Strong Hall, Room 202
Printable schedule of events for April 23
Registration form for April 23
8:30-9:15 a.m. - Suzanna Laurent, STC's first vice president and STC Fellow, will present "Revealing Your Hidden Value"
9:15-10 a.m. - Sarah Nord, Technical Writer at Archer Technologies, will present "A Lone Tech Writer's First Year on the Job"
10:15-11 - Kelly Grist, Consumer Technical Writer and Consumer Web Coordinator at Garmin International, will present "Creating Style Guides."
11 a.m.-12 p.m. - Sherry Southard, STC Fellow and Professor at East Carolina University, will present Designing Brochures."
1-2 p.m. Tom Warren, STC Fellow and professor at Oklahoma State University, will present "Trends in the Profession"
Dr. Tom Warren, director of Technical Writing at Oklahoma State University, presented two discussions February 24, 2005.
- Understanding Graphics at 12:30 p.m. in Karls 101
- Styles and Editing in Technical Communication at 7p.m. in Karls 101
Check back soon for PowerPoint versions of these two presentations.
2004-2005
John Turner (April 20, 2004) - Update! This event was funded in part by the Student Involvement Fee, and has been approved by the Student Organization Funding Allocation Council (SOFAC). Lecturer John Turner led a presentation entitled "Writing for the Non-Computer Industry," and he revealed the real world situations and job opportunities that we technical writers may see in the other industries of our field.
Tom Warren (March 16, 2004) - This event was funded in part by the Student Involvement Fee, and approved by the Student Organization Funding Allocation Council (SOFAC). Dr. Warren held three presentations during his visit to SMSU. The PowerPoint presentations are available below:
Some of Dr. Warren's PowerPoint presentations that he gave at Missouri State University in the past:
Applying Communication Theory to Technical Communication
Dan Charles (Feb. 26, 2004) - Dan spoke to our chapter on February 26th about the technology outlook for technical communicators in 2004. An article by Dan on emerging technologies appeared in the January 2004 issue of Intercom. In the mean time, revisit a past presentation by Dan Charles and a coworker, Julie Wilson:
Bake sale fundraiser (Feb. 12, 2004) - Update! The bake sale raised over $140 for STC! Thanks for everyone who baked, sold, and ate our goodies to make this a successful venture for us. STC had a bake sale in Pummill Hall 2nd floor all day on February 12th. Please bring some baked goods (i.e., cookies, cup cakes, etc.) that have a Valentine's Day feel, so we can help fund our free organization.
Rhonda Stanton (Jan. 29, 2004) - Rhonda spoke about her new position as a technical writer for Duck Creek Technologies. She talked about her responsibilities, working with SMEs, the company's perception of a technical writer (she was their first!), and how she felt about changing jobs. See in depth coverage in the Spring 2004 STC Newsletter to be released soon.
Missouri State University STC Newsletter - Read about last semester's main events in our newsletter. Our newsletter is published electronically each semester.
2003-2004
Dana Gillihan (Nov. 6, 2003) - STC welcomed Dana Gillihan, a web development manager for IBM in Raleigh, NC, who spoke to our chapter about what life is like in a rapidly changing web organization at IBM and how to redeploy your core skills to keep pace with new technologies.
At IBM, Dana manages a multi-disciplinary team of writers, editors, web developers, programmers, visual designers, and human factors people who develop websites and web applications for different IBM software products. She graduated from SMSU with a BA in Writing in 1986 and then went on to obtain her MA in English with a technical writing emphasis from Oklahoma State University in 1988. Dana joined IBM as a technical writer in 1988 and has since led a varied career as a writer, editor, user experience professional, web developer, and manager.
Macromedia Dreamweaver (Oct. 30, 2003) - Fawn Warner (web site coordinator at the Discovery Center of Springfield) and STC president, Sarah Nord, presented a workshop on Macromedia Dreamweaver. A room full of participants ran through Fawn's help sheets to produce a sample page from the Discovery Center web site.
Dr. Thomas Warren (Feb. 11-12, 2003) - Dr. Thomas Warren, Oklahoma State University professor and STC Fellow, spoke to us on February 11 and 12. Intro to Project Management was presented on Tuesday, February 11 at 7:00 p.m. in Pummill Hall 202. Analyzing Your Target Group and Making Oral Presentations on Technical Materials were presented on Wednesday, February 12 at noon in the Plaster Student Union theater. These events were funded in part by the Student Involvement Fee, and approved by the Student Organization Funding Allocation Council (SOFAC).
The Art of Graphic Designers (Nov. 14, 2002) - Jason Frazier, Head Graphic Designer of SMSU Publications spoke on various aspects of graphic design.Cantrell Barnes Tour (Oct. 24, 2002) - The management of Cantrell Barnes led a tour group of STC members though their professional printing facility. The mystery of how documents are printed was revealed.
STC Region 6 Student Conference - Our chapter hosted the STC Region 6 Student Conference on April 13th, 2002 here at SMSU. Its theme was "Maximize Your Window of Opportunity." Other conference details: The STC Region 6 Conference (for professionals and students) was held Oct 13-15, 2002 at the Millennium Hotel in Saint Louis, MO. See the conference page for summaries of the presentations. See the STC Region 6 web site for descriptions and PowerPoint summaries of the talks.