In addition to the regular education sessions—the presentations, the workshops, and the progressions—STC also offers a few special sessions to round out your Summit experience.
Project Showcase
This session allow presenters to share their projects with groups of attendees as they walk from table to table. These small groups and discussions will allow technical communicators to share their experiences and project solutions. The Project Showcase takes place on Tuesday, 7 May, from 1:00-2:00 PM. Participants follow.
Creating and Cultivating Community via CHM
Many of us are still supplying Compiled HTML Help (CHM) with our products. Until now, it has been difficult to create community while using this format. However, a new product by Ioratech enables us to create community by adding the relevant functionality to CHM.
Eileen Palsson
From Confusion to Cohesion: Process-Oriented Documentation
The presenters discuss the lifecycle of a large, yet incomplete documentation set from unwieldy guides to a user-friendly, searchable Web-based database. Learn how technical communicators worked with other roles to develop a way to make documentation an integral part of the software implementation and development processes.
Erin Brennum and Celia Groff
Gamifying Your Content
Gamification has become an industry buzzword, but a process that has the potential to completely change how we view user content, business processes, and learning. Stop by the project showcase and learn about a gamification project with Translators without Borders that could potentially revolutionize translator training and help save lives.
Katherine (Kit) Brown-Hoekstra
How Tos: Creating a Quick Path to Success!
Have you ever been asked to make a complex product simple to its users? Using the How Tos, you can get users set up and running in less than an hour. We will demonstrate the practical use of How Tos in technical communication.
Judy Hall and Laura Hartman
MotoDawg: A Case Study in Native App Development
What’s involved in creating mobile apps? Can nonprogrammers do it? This session discusses the creation of MotoDawg, an iPhone and Android motorcycle maintenance app. We’ll look at the concept, design, conversion of that design to 36 app screens, database design, and lessons learned. You don’t have to be a programmer.
Neil Perlin
Role of Attitudes in Assessing TC Instruction Feasibility
This research project examines how an attitude survey of the type used in this study could be a valid and generalizable tool for others to use in assessing the feasibility of teaching technical communication and designing courses or programs in technical communication.
Feng Wang and Xiling Wang
Lightning Talks
Lightning Talks are five-minute talks on topics of interest to technical communicators. Each speaker gets 20 slides, displayed for 15 seconds per slide. Timing is strictly enforced. Expect presentations that are insightful, thought-provoking, humorous, and possibly controversial. Expect to see oratory skills tested, and expect to have fun.
101 Reasons We Love Tech Comm
Join us as we review 101 reasons we love our work. These reasons are gathered from technical communicators throughout the profession. That’s a lot of reasons to get through in five minutes!
Jamie Gillenwater
All You Need is… Accessibility
Accessibility touches all of us at some level. How does accessibility—or the lack of it—affect our lives? What role can—and do—technical communicators play in making our world more accessible? Karen Mardahl plans to open people’s minds to the possibilities that are all around us.
Karen Mardahl
Changing the World
A light-hearted look at how we as technical communicators can act as catalysts for positive change in the world, just by doing our jobs well.
Katherine (Kit) Brown-Hoekstra
Inspiration Redux: Move In the Right Direction
Everyone needs inspiration; this lightning talk will fire you up to "Move in the Right Direction!"
David Caruso
Management Munchies: Nibbles of Leadership Advice
Walt Kelly said, "Food for thought is no substitute for the real thing." Well, maybe not, but come learn what prepping, eating, and enjoying food can teach us about leadership.
Alyssa Fox
Marketing Copy is Dead
Customers don’t want marketing copy, they want real information to help them make buying decisions. In other words, they want the information that technical communicators provide. This lightning talk will provide some quick examples and make this one, important point.
Richard Hamilton
Motivational Editing
Editors have a precarious position, at best. Their primary allegiance is to the reader, but they must also take into account the feelings of the author. Using the sandwich approach, an editor can successfully motivate an author to improve content, and thereby provide benefit to readers.
Marcia Wood
Oh, the Crap I’ve Seen
A tech comm’er looks at 40. This is a look back at my 20 years in technical communication and the interesting things I have seen.
Rhyne Armstrong
Quality Recordings: Quick and Clean
How can you make the best possible audio recordings with the least amount of hassle? Here’s the five-minute lowdown.
Robert Hershenow
The Hairball of Content
Whatever you call yourself, you probably need to wear many hats and work in many disciplines at work. This presentation situates technical communicators at the center of what I call "content work," and presents how we can (and do) extend our activities in tentacular fashion throughout this world of content.
Ray Gallon
The Mars Science Laboratory Tweetup from Close Up
As part of a NASA Tweetup in November 2011, I watched the launch of Mars Curiosity from Kennedy Space Center. As part of a NASA Social, I watched the landing in August 2012. This talk explains how NASA uses social media to build communities and what I’ve learned from participating.
Brenda Huettner
To Serif or Not to Serif
Font selection is partly a matter of taste and preference, but these choices affect readability and legibility. It’s time to move past the serif for print and sans serif for online rule.
Michael Opsteegh
What’s in a Nametag
Nametags are technical communication in a few square inches. Find out the best way to use them to make not just your name but also your presence known. Come see some creative nametags, good and bad, and the best way to wear them.
Nathaniel Lim
Ninja Talk
In a Ninja Talk, someone other than the presenter provides the slides, and the presenter tries to make sense of them and provide a compelling narration. Guaranteed laughs!
Alan Houser
Student Poster Session
The STC Academic SIG invited individual and team submissions to a student poster competition for the 2013 Summit. Both undergraduate and graduate students were invited to submit innovative work in communicating technical content, managing a technical communication group, producing and publishing content, researching content, or promoting the profession. Selected posters will be presented through Skype at the Summit on Tuesday, 7 May. This makes it possible for students to participate in the competition in person while attending the conference or from a distance.
