Limited Space Remains for Outstanding Workshops

The Society for Technical Communication hosts skills workshops for DFW professionals

Do you have what you need to advance as a technical communicator? The engines are revved to boost your knowledge this fall! The Society for Technical Communication (STC) Lone Star Chapter (LSC), in cooperation with Richland Community College, announces the 2003 Fall Workshop Series to hone professional and technical skills. These affordable and timely workshops are scheduled for Saturday, November 15, 2003.

"We're excited about continuing the success of last year's workshops. The LSC is fortunate to have so much local expertise to support technical communicators in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. It is a great opportunity to add to a personal skill set, too," said Debbie Wiles, President of the LSC. Wiles is enthusiastic about this season's group of sessions.

Wiles also expressed appreciation for the outstanding cooperation of the host college, "We want to thank Richland Community College for their excellent support, allowing us to bring these workshops to the Dallas area."

The LSC brings you the area's best in a host of meaningful topics to boost your skills and let you take your career to the next level. Presenters are experts with many years experience in their subject areas.

Workshops will be held Saturday, November 15, 2003, from 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM at Richland Community College, Thunderduck Hall, 12800 Abrams Road, Dallas, Texas.

Featured morning sessions include:

• From Technical Writing to Training (Professional Skills)-Technical communicators and instructional designers use similar techniques in producing written documents. Jackie Damrau will discuss the ADDIE model for document development, explain specific style guides, and discuss respect for copyrights.
• Getting Started with WebWorks Publisher (Technical Skills)-Thinking of using WebWorks Publisher for your online information, but afraid it may be too difficult to learn? Fear not! Quadralay has improved its interface. We'll cover the basics of setting up a project to get you started. Georgina Cantoni will cover the basics of project setup and get you started.
• Microsoft Office: Honing Your Microsoft Excel Skills (Technical Skills)-Do you have a sneaky suspicion that you have tapped only a small amount of Microsoft Excel's potential? Join this fast-paced workshop geared toward intermediate and advanced users. Elizabeth Bailey will lead participants in understanding decision functions, pivot tables, and file links.

Featured afternoon sessions include:

• Business 101: Starting Your Own Consulting Business (Professional Skills)- You already have the tech com knowledge and experience to be successful. But are you ready to be a consultant? Do you have the business savvy? This course covers 'Business 101': the basics of what it takes to start and run your own one-person consulting firm. Stephen D. Poe will cover deciding whether consulting is right for you, how to get started, and planning that first year. This is an interactive session with a lot of information provided!
• Getting Started Conducting Usability Research on the Job (Professional Skills) - Want to add some usability methods to your bag of tricks? Attend this session to learn more about which usability methods can be used most effectively in your projects. Elisa Miller will provide methods from her own tool bag.
• Microsoft Office: Honing Your Microsoft Word Skills (Technical Skills) - Do you have a sneaky suspicion that you have tapped only a small amount of Microsoft Word 2000's potential? This fast-paced workshop is geared toward intermediate to advanced users. Kathryn Poe will demystify sections, columnar formatting, merging data, using tables for page layout, and creating reusable templates.

Seating is limited to 12 participants per technical session and 20 participants in each of the professional skills sessions. Reservations are on a first-come, first-served basis. Reserve your spot by signing up today! Topics are covered in separate 3-hour sessions. Attendees may select full or half day tracks. Fees cover materials, computer usage, a light breakfast, and a box lunch.

Registration begins at 8:30 AM. Costs for the workshop are:

Visit the LSC website at www.stc-dfw.org for full details and registration information.