2011 Virtual Conference
The first STC Virtual Conference is complete. For an attendee's review of the conference, please visit STC's Notebook. STC plans two more virtual conferences in 2012; watch this page for more information when it's available. The description for the November 2011 conference remains below.
STC introduces a virtual conference this November!
Applying Research in Practice
9 November 2011
10:30 AM-4:00 PM EST (GMT-5)
This unique, day-long online event will present recent research in areas that are of interest to technical communicators. Conference topics will include research in three areas:
- Social Media and Technical Communication
- Impact of New Technologies on the Technical Communication Processes
- Issues on Communicating Online
The host/moderator for the conference will be
Saul Carliner, PhD
Director, Education Doctoral Program and Associate Professor
Concordia University
Registration:
STC Members: $195
Student Members: $125
Not Yet Members: $495
Preliminary Program
There are ten sessions, with one introductory session and then three sessions in each of the three tracks, below.
- Social Media and Technical Communication
- Impact of New Technologies on the Technical Communication Processes
- Issues on Communicating Online
Full schedule with times for each session will be available soon.
Applying Research in Practice
About the Link Between Research and Practice, Saul Carliner, Concordia University
10:30-10:50 AM
Saul Carliner is an associate professor of educational technology at Concordia University in Montreal, where his teaching and research focus on the management of workplace communication and learning groups, and communication for the workplace and related management and evaluation issues. Also an industry consultant, he provides strategic planning services to organizations like Alltel Wireless, Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre, IBM, and several government agencies. Among his publications are the best-selling Training Design Basics, Designing e–Learning, Advanced Web–Based Training (with Margaret Driscoll), and articles which won the Frank R. Smith Outstanding Article Competition in 2000 and 2001. He is a board member of the Canadian Society for Training and Development, past Research Fellow of the American Society for Training and Development, and a Fellow and past international president of STC.
Social Media and Technical Communication
Social Media and Sustaining Technical Communication, Brad Mehlenbacher, North Carolina State University
10:50-11:20 AM
This presentation briefly outlines the history of social media, describes the audiences it's captured, and then connects social media's utility to technical communication and the complexities of our work. Social media is a complex communication space and its strengths and weaknesses are outlined (e.g., privacy issues). A call for further research is issued around emerging social media environments, the sustainable potentials of social media, and the development of social media strategies for technical communicators. Finally, relational (that is, sustainable) goals for social media use are described.
Brad Mehlenbacher is associate professor of distance learning (leadership, policy, and adult and higher education), primary area faculty member with human factors and ergonomics (psychology), affiliated faculty member with communication, rhetoric, and digital media (English and communication), and affiliated faculty member with the digital games research center (computer science) at North Carolina State University. Mehlenbacher is author of Instruction and Technology: Designs for Everyday Learning (MIT Press, 2010), co-author of Online Help: Design and Evaluation (Ablex, 1993), and has chapters in The Human-Computer Interaction Handbook (Lawrence Erlbaum), The Computer Science and Engineering Handbook (CRC), and the 1998 NCTE award-winning Computers and Technical Communication (Ablex). He earned his BA and MA at the University of Waterloo (focusing on computer-assisted learning and computational text analysis) and his PhD in rhetoric at Carnegie Mellon University (focusing on online information design and human-computer interaction). Mehlenbacher is president elect of ACM SIGDOC. He has consulted for the Computer Science Department, Engineering Design Research Center, and Communications Design Center at Carnegie Mellon; the Centre for Professional Writing at the University of Waterloo; Apple Computer; SAS Institute; the American Cancer Society; IBM-Toronto and IBM-RTP. He lives in Cary, North Carolina, and has two extraordinary daughters, Eleanor and Frances.
Medical Writing in Social Media, Aimee Kendall Roundtree, University of Houston, Downtown
11:20-11:50 AM
This presentation will discuss how social media has remediated the practices, genres, and discourse of medical writing. Social media for health communication is comprised of an allied field of professionals from assorted disciplines (including communications, information technology, health education, and community relations) who are tasked to (1) defend the media’s return on investment to chief officers in management; (2) initiate, design and maintain these social media campaigns; and (3) build and grow communities of influence using the media. The presentation draws from cases and findings from Roundtree’s research—including a content analysis of Twitter chats and listserv discussions between these professionals, a content analysis of how hospitals use the media, and a literature review on the subject, a review of social media policies in the industry, among others—to share a few take-home lessons and best practices in this emerging subfield. It will also touch upon how these implications bear upon our understanding of patient-provider communication, patient engagement, and health behavior.
Aimee Kendall Roundtree is an associate professor in the professional writing program at the University of Houston-Downtown, where she teaches courses in medical and science writing, social media, hypermedia and technology, Web publishing and accessibility, visual design, and technical communication. She also serves as a medical writer and qualitative researcher in the Texas Medical Center, including on teams at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, and the Houston Center for Quality of Care and Utilization Studies. She has served as a scientific investigator for the Houston Center for Education and Research on Therapeutics (CERT). She has also covered medical issues and health news as a communications specialist for the Texas Medical Foundation and an assistant editor at Ladies’ Home Journal magazine. Her research and publications examine scientific discursive practices, the impact of new media on communication, patient attitudes on health utilization and health-related quality of life, the rhetoric of visual design and information technology, and reviews of medical literature. She is currently working on manuscripts and projects about the rhetorical nature of computer simulations and health-related applications of Facebook, Twitter, and blogs.
What the Research Says about Use of Social Media by Younger People (It Might Surprise You), Wendy Freeman, Ryerson University
11:50 AM-12:20 PM
As digital natives, today’s undergraduate students are considered to be inherently technologically literate. With this label comes the assumption that growing up with the Internet and spending long hours communicating with friends through social networking sites makes them critical and sophisticated consumers and producers of digital media. In this presentation, Freeman report research that suggests that while undergraduate students are comfortable using Web-based tools for basic communication, they are far from uniform in their technological understanding.
Wendy Freeman is an assistant professor in the School of Professional Communication at Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in both professional communication and social media. Prior to joining the School of Professional Communication, Wendy worked as an instructional designer in both higher education and nonprofit organizations. In her research, she investigates how social media use promotes professional knowledge generation and community formation. She is currently working on a study that examines how social media can be used both pedagogically and in the everyday lives of post-secondary students to bridge academic and professional learning.
Break, 12:20-12:30 PM
Impact of New Technologies on the Technical Communication Processes
Effect of Content Management on Processes in TC Groups, Rebekkah Andersen, University of California, Davis
12:30-1:00 PM
Why are so many content management system (CMS) implementations plagued with problems? Why, despite the growing number of available best practices resources and training opportunities, are so many information developers struggling to plan for and carry out CMS implementations? Surely, insufficient training, resources, and readiness come to mind; however, research suggests that culture and communication play a much bigger role than we tend to think.
In this session, the presenter will highlight some key findings of an extensive case study of one organization’s attempt to evaluate and adopt a CMS. These findings shed light on how culture mediates perceptions and understandings and how, without appropriate communication channels in place, people come to understand technologies, processes, goals, expectations, and terms differently. Different understandings of meaning result in communication breakdowns, which can impede progress toward achieving desired outcomes.
Rebekka Andersen is an assistant professor in the University Writing Program at the University of California, Davis. Her research focuses on the diffusion of content management technologies in information-development teams. Most recently, she is studying how managers, technology developers, and information developers plan for and attempt to carry out the activity of technology transfer. Rebekka has worked as a technical writer and editor and process documentation specialist. She has authored numerous articles in both best practices and peer-reviewed publications.
Effects of e-Books on Changing Publication Processes, Ann Rockley, The Rockley Group
1:00-1:30 PM
For many years the scope of publishing consisted of print and help. In recent years, some companies have moved to publishing content on wikis. Now there is an explosion of demand for content on smartphones and tablets in eBook, enhanced eBook and eBook app format. This session looks at the changing trends and what it means to technical communicators.
Ann Rockley is president of The Rockley Group, Inc. She has an international reputation for developing XML-based content strategies. She has been instrumental in establishing the field in eContent, content reuse, intelligent content strategies for multi-platform delivery, eBooks, and content management best practices. Known as the “mother” of content strategy, she introduced the concept of content strategy in 2003 with her best-selling book, Managing Enterprise Content: A Unified Content Strategy. Ann was ranked among the top five most influential content strategists in 2010. Ann is a Fellow of the Society for Technical Communication and has a Master of Information Science from the University of Toronto. She is the primary author of DITA 101: Fundamentals of DITA for Authors and Managers, and eBooks 101.
Copyright Law and Professional Online Communication, Martine Courant Rife, Lansing Community College
1:30-2:00 PM
Are you wondering how and if copyright law impacts your work in the online-professional writing environment? Do you feel adequately knowledgeable about copyright law? Have you ever had questions about the legality of using someone else's materials in an online text? Are you interested in protecting your own work with copyright law? During this presentation, these questions and more will be explored in an interactive session. Participants will also have the opportunity to see how copyright law is impacting their work compared to other professional writers.
Martine Courant Rife teaches composition, argumentation, technical writing, and business writing. She is admitted to practice law in Michigan. Her 2008 PhD from Michigan State University is in rhetoric and writing with a concentration in intellectual property and technical communication. Rife’s research is at the intersection of intellectual property law and rhetorical invention. Rife is the 2007 recipient of the Frank R. Smith Outstanding Journal Article Award from the Society for Technical Communication.
Break, 2:00-2:15 PM
Issues on Communicating Online
iPads and Technical Communication, Stuart Selber, Penn State University
2:15-2:45 PM
In this presentation, Selber will report on uses of the Apple iPad in a technical writing class for science and engineering students. He will discuss student experiences with reading and writing technical documents and with developing a workflow for tablet computers, being sure to relate his findings to contexts for the non-academic workplace.
Stuart Selber is an associate professor of English and affiliate associate professor of information sciences and technology at Penn State, where he directs an undergraduate minor in technical writing and a graduate certificate in teaching with technology. Selber has worked as a technical communicator or consultant for The Du Pont Company, Lotus Development Corporation, Beyond Incorporated, Enstrom Helicopter Corporation, Micron Technology, Transition Systems, West One Bankcorp, and Editorial Services of New England.
QuikScan for Better Reading, David Farkas, University of Washington; Quan Zhou, University of Wisconsin-Stout
2:45-3:15 PM
QuikScan is an innovative way to format print and on-screen documents. The main idea behind QuikScan is the use of summaries throughout the document, most often after a heading. Multiple studies have shown that QuikScan improves comprehension, enables readers to more easily find information within a document, and is well received by readers. The QuikScan can be used with a wide range of document formats (different heading structures, multiple columns, etc.). Although QuikScanning a document takes extra work and some skill, there is a big pay-off. QuikScan is in the public domain. You can use it and modify it as you wish.
David Farkas is a professor in the Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering at the University of Washington. His areas of interest are technical communication and information design. He is an STC Fellow and a recipient of the Jay Gould Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Quan Zhou is an assistant professor of technical communication in the department of English and philosophy at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. QuikScan was the topic of Quan’s 2008 doctoral dissertation at the University of Washington (with Farkas serving as advisor). Quan has recently adapted to serve as a pedagogical tool to improve student writing.
Search Engine Optimization, John Killoran, Long Island University
3:15-3:45 PM
This presentation reports on research into search engine optimization by practitioners and academics. Distilling the results of such research, the presentation reviews techniques to achieve higher rankings from Google and other search engines, focusing in particular on writing, editing, and design techniques that technical communicators can apply to their work. The presentation then turns to one study of the business websites maintained by a sample of 240 independent contractors, consultants, and small companies to market their technical communication services. The presentation describes some search engine optimization techniques practiced by these technical communicators and the outcomes they received.
John Killoran is an assistant professor in the English Department of Long Island University, Brooklyn campus. He researches Web communication and has published in such journals as the Journal of Business and Technical Communication and the Journal of Technical Writing and Communication. He has recently published research about search engine optimization in particular in Technical Communication and IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication. He is a senior member of the STC.