By Crista Mohammed

 

 

 

To make the most of any conference set your goals and plan ahead. My picks for this year are informed by three goals:

• Taking care of the professional me (coded blue)
• Finding out what’s new in my field (coded pink)
• Friending face-to-face (as opposed to virtually) (coded green)

See my plan below.

Monday 21st  May
10:30-11:20 AM  Celebration 1-2	Meet the Editors   Andrea Ames & Sam Dragga	The editors of Intercom magazine and Technical Communication will explain the missions of their publications, editorial processes, recent submission trends, and other topics of interest to scholars and practitioners. Participants will have the opportunity to comment and ask questions.
11:30 AM-1:00 PM Location: TBD	Hosted by the IDL SIG	IDL SIG will be meeting at a local eatery. They are providing lunch. Attendees will hear more about what the SIG has on offer, what they have accomplished, and how you can get involved. Please confirm attendance: manager@stcidlsig.org
1:00-1:50 PM Celebration 9-10	Trends in Tech Comm: Tales from the Trenches   Sarah O’Keefe, Dawn Stevens, & Val Swisher	Three industry-leading consultants explore what’s hot; what’s not; where the industry is going; what is needed to succeed in today’s tech comm environment.
2:10-3:00 PM Celebration 5	What’s New in IDL? Learning Environment Modeling Language (LEM): The New Language of Instructional Design   Phylise Banner	This session will introduce an easy-to-use and powerful visual learning design method called Learning Environment Modeling (LEM) — a unique visual language for enhancing communication and collaboration between instructional design professionals and diverse stakeholders.
Pub Crawl 7:30-10:30 PM Orlando Restaurants	Florida Chapter	A fun night of networking, relaxing, and socializing with other 2018 STC Summit. Stay tuned for more information!! Facebook Event
Tuesday  22nd  May
65th Anniversary Town Hall 10:10-11:00 AM  Celebration 1-2	Rhyne Armstrong & Julie Dwyer	It’s the Summit’s 65th anniversary! This town hall session is an opportunity to tell tales, ask questions, and share ideas. The focus will be on how can individual members contribute to the future of STC and how can we innovate for the future.
1:00-1:50 PM Celebration 5	Lessons Learned: What Harry Potter’s Professors Teach us about Instructional Design   Jamye Sagan	Education plays a crucial role in the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. Each of these professors – whether terrible or terrific –has important lessons to share regarding effective instructional design and training delivery. The presentation will profile various Hogwarts professors, and analyze the effectiveness of their lesson delivery, sharing practical tips for tackling common training issues.
2:10-3:00 PM  Celebration 1-2	Certified Professional Technical Communicator Session Q & A   Craig Baehr & Liz Pohland	CPTC trainers talk about the program and becoming professionally certified. These experts will answer questions on everything including study strategies, resources, continuing education, and other aspects of the program.
4:00-4:50 PM  Celebration 1-2	Women in Tech Comm Panel   Moderator: Liz Herman Panelists: Nicky Bleiel, Alyssa Fox, Lisa Meloncon, & Tavia Record	Panelists at varying stages of their careers provide thoughtful insights around current events pertaining to women in technology and technical communication.
5:30-6:30 PM Windermere Ballroom	STC’s Annual Business Meeting	Click here to view the rules for the meeting.
7:30-10:30 PM Orlando Restaurants	Diner Meetup Florida Chapter	A fun event for socializing, and networking with other 2018 STC Summit attendees in a relaxing environment while enjoying some amazing Orlando cuisine.   If you are interested in knowing more about this event, please mark “Interested” to follow this event page and receive updates. The Florida Chapter looks forward to seeing you there! Facebook Event
Wednesday  23rd  May
9:00-9:50 AM  Celebration 5	Can you hear me now? Podcasting as Teaching Tool   Jennifer Goode	Podcasting is one of the fastest growing areas of content production. This session will demonstrate how students can develop technical skills, increase content knowledge and understanding, and refine communication skills as they create podcasts for their course projects. It will also introduce the tools and technology necessary to set up a course podcasting project.
11:15 AM-1:00 PM Windermere Ballroom	Honors Event   Keynote Speaker Andy Hines	The Honors Event is the last event of the Summit. Brunch will be served. Andy Hines will wrap up what you learned about “the future of how we work, where we work, and you at work” at the Summit.

 

See you there. Safe travels everyone!!!

From the Editor

By Crista Mohammed

Hello SIG members! Here’s another exciting issue of IDeaL: Design for Learning.

In this issue, we present a wide range of articles. One “cluster” (if you will) touches on hot topics in the ID field, and the second cluster treats with critical “housekeeping” ( if you will again, please pretty please) . So what’s on offer, specifically? You asked, so here’s our answer:

Viqui Dill uses an apt sports analogy to describe the trainer’s role. She convincingly argues that trainers are not coaches (aka “drill sergeants”), but cheerleaders. This article is bewitching: It is easy to read, yet treats with a complex issue in IDL–the training persona. How does the trainer locate him or herself in relation to participants? How does the trainer construct an identity that is supportive of learning? Read more…

Phil Havlik reduces his training evaluation to four critical questions. This is quite an achievement, let me tell you, as sometimes the evaluation form is harder to complete than the training! In devising our evaluations, Phil advises us to bear in mind that participants want to complete their evaluations quickly and that trainers need detailed feedback: These seemingly competing demands can be met with a few, well-placed questions. Read more…

David Dick tackles a problem that is endemic to all modern enterprise: If your business uses ICTs, then legacy systems are a huge problem (and headache). David’s article prompts us to carefully think through and plan for technology migrations. For example, is there need for training of newer staff in legacy systems so that there is continuity? Read more…

Allie Proff chronicles her personal journey from never having attended a conference to becoming a regular presenter at the STC Summit. Allie’s sharing of her personal doubts is courageous and frank. She ends with sensible advice on how to overcome that anxiety. Her most powerful argument? We all can bring value to our community through presenting our work: What stands in the way is our self-doubt. But you can conquer those fears, like Allie, and when you do, you will find the experience affirming. Read more…

Marcia Shannon encourages us to become Certified Professional Technical Communicators. This is another courageous bit of sharing. Examining her decision to seek certification, Marcia reveals that the decision was both deeply personal and professional. Marcia provides solid advice on how you too can earn your Professional Technical Communicator certification. Congratulations to Marcia on becoming a CPTC. Read more…

Viqui Dill in her co-manager’s column reports on the the last quarter. Lot’s have been going on and the SIG will be delivering lot’s more in the final quarter (can you believe it?) of 2017. Don’t miss out. Read more…

Lori Meyer recently renewed her STC membership for the 33rd time. We join Lori in celebrating this AMAZING milestone. In her co-manager’s column, it is clear why Lori has been a member for so long: She finds great value in her membership. She has built a network of STC friends that has been supportive of her career and you can too. Read more…

Marcia Shannon in her Secretary’s column continues where Lori left off. She adds to the long list of benefits that STC and IDL SIG members reap. For additional, compelling reasons to join or stay with us, read more…

Sylvia Miller issues another call for student essays. Yep, our first student outreach essay competition was a resounding success! We attracted and published several student articles, and our SIG earned the STC 2017 Pacesetter for this initiative!  Read more…

 

About IDeaL: Design for Learning

From the Editor

By Crista Mohammed

Hello, Readers! Super happy to be delivering our Q2 2017 newsletter. As you know, this is post-Summit. As with all successful conferences, attendees leave re-charged and rearing to go. This positive energy radiates in most of what you will read in this issue, as our contributors are eager to share their summit lessons and experiences.

But, before we get there I must share our good news: We are continuing to reap the rewards of our student outreach competition. In this issue, we share two student essays earning the judges’ nod.

• Whitney Lewis, reading for a Master’s in Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences, explores the value of rapid prototyping in the instructional design process. Read Rapid Prototyping.

• Jessica Lynn Campbell, Alex Gurtis and Gabriel Latorre discuss the value that Technical Communicators can bring to Instructional System Design. Read Technical Communicators’ Empowered with the User-centered Approach to ISD.

• Viqui Dill, in her co-manager’s column, reflects on Summit 2017. She records the achievements of the IDL SIG over the past year and, waxing warm and grateful like only Viqui could, she thanks those who volunteer for the SIG. Read more.

• Marcia Shannon uses her Secretary’s Column to share her Summit 2017 experience. She focusses on how the Summit is helping in her re-visioning of her career. Read More.

 

• Jamye Sagan reviews eight summit sessions for us, touching on sessions ranging from how to complement written work with video to tips for professional success. Presenting cliff notes of topical sessions, Jamye gives us many great take aways: Useful to those who want to recall the session and particularly useful to those who could not be there. Read more.

 

• Sylvia Miller presents a very careful account of a summit session on Responsive Design. Reviewing Dr. Lanier’s presentation, entitled ““How to Fix the Credibility Problem When Using Responsive Design”, Sylvia has extracted for us the characteristics of a credible website: Characteristics worth remembering as increasingly more content gets accessed from devices with vastly differing screen sizes. Read More.

 

• Viqui Dill puts us in touch with what is happening. She reviews some sessions at the STC Philadelphia Metro Chapter Annual Regional Conference. Clearly, they had a blast while learning and sharing! Read more.

Finally, we salute and send out heartiest congratulations to:

• IDL SIG colleagues who now serve on the STC Board. Read more.
• The Chicago eLearning & Technology Showcase. It’s their 10^th Anniversary. Read more.

 

Read the full newsletter as pdf here: stc-idl-sig-Q2 2017_Newsletter

 

About IDeaL: Design for Learning