Letter from the editor Archives

Welcome to the Q1 2020 edition of IDeaL: Design for Learning!

The past few months have been disruptive for all of us. I have been working at home for the past two weeks and likely will for the foreseeable future. I’m sure many of you are in the same boat.

In addition, the STC itself is moving into uncharted waters with the Summit moving from in-person to virtual. Phylise Banner has asked for the help of the IDL SIG to make this virtual conference the best ever! If you’d like to volunteer to help, please contact her.

This will be my last issue as managing editor. Next quarter, I will hand the reins over to Paul Scott. Paul has been a technical writer for over 20 years. He works as a freelance writer and consultant in Silicon Valley, working with tech and biotech clients.

It has been a pleasure editing your newsletter and I hope I have left it in better shape than I found it. I will be working with Paul as needed over the next three months as we get Q2 shaped up. Please help him out by submitting articles to newsletter@stcidlsig.org.

As a reminder, we welcome any of the following topics:

IDL practice
IDL theory
Reflexivity in IDL
The value of IDL to society and or industry
Career paths and progression in the field of IDL
Emerging technologies in IDL
Promotion of the IDL SIG

We have a short issue this quarter with just three articles.

Marcia Shannon has given us the SIG Manager’s report and Lori Meyer has provided the Membership Manager’s Report. Our new editor, Paul Scott, has provided an article entitled 5 Rules to Help You When Working from Home.

Take care of yourselves and each other!

Kelly

Kelly Smith has been Managing Editor of the IDeaL newsletter since May 2018. She also serves as membership manager for her local chapter – STC Southeast Michigan. Kelly works as Senior Technical Writer at Dart Container in mid-Michigan and has been active in the STC since 2015. In her free time, Kelly is a quilter who enjoys quilt retreats and buying fabric.

By Kelly Smith

Welcome to the last issue of IDeaL: Design for Learning for 2019!

A lot has happened this year in your SIG! Your volunteer leaders have brought you webinars, events, and great articles throughout the year, and I would like to thank them for all their hard work in organizing, promoting, and recording these events to share with all of us.

Speaking of articles, if you’d like to contribute to the newsletter, please email me! The deadline for the March issue is March 3, 2020. I am always looking for more book reviews, articles about how you use instructional design in your work, and biographies of new members. If everyone contributes, we’ll have a stronger newsletter, and a stronger body of knowledge on our website.

Also, if you’d like to edit the newsletter, please let me know. I have been in this position for nearly two years now and would like to start training a backup with an eye toward transitioning it to a new editor. The ideal editor should be someone with a passion for instructional design, a good editing eye, and a commitment to staying on schedule. We use the AP Style guide and WordPress, so knowledge of one or both of those would definitely be a plus! (But never fear, we’re happy to teach you!) If that sounds like something you’d like to get involved in, drop me a line!

This is a relatively short edition of our newsletter, so take a few minutes out of your holiday week to check out what’s new in your SIG!

Our co-manager, Marcia Shannon, shares information about the student essay competition and asks for more SIG members to step up and volunteer for leadership positions in her co-manager’s column.
Jamye Sagan provides a year-end treasurer’s report.
Viqui Dill fills us in on upcoming programs about podcasting, networking, and adding value as a technical communicator.
And finally, we have the last of our 2019 student essay competition articles, this one by Nicole Wylie on the topic of storyboarding in instructional design.

I hope you are all having a happy and relaxing holiday season and I look forward to seeing you all at Summit in Bellevue in May! Happy Holidays!

Kelly