Two weeks ago, STC held a Technical Editing Virtual Conference, three days of online sessions covering various aspects of technical editing. We asked one of the attendees (and a copresenter), Li-At Ruttenberg, to give us her thoughts on the conference. Below, find what she had to say. And mark your calendar for our next virtual conference, on content strategy, from 4-6 December. Watch the STC website for full details soon.
I befriended two colleagues, set up a future presentation collaboration, got a refresher in “cutting the fluff” from documents (Leah Guren), reviewed editing types and levels (Oestreich and Corbin), and learned about the limited research historically conducted in our field (Shaffer et al.)—and that was just in the first two hours! And because I was a co-presenter working in a new environment, I learned new webinar technology and practiced some old PowerPoint skills.
The STC Virtual Conference is a great addition to the Society’s educational arm. The format is approachable (it’s a one-day conference chunked down across three days, which means it’s easier to set aside time in the work schedule and the content is more easily retained), the conference is accessible (on any nearby computer or mobile device), and the information is vital and relevant to the declared theme. This is precisely what we need more of!