News & Views Archives - STC-Phila. Metro Chapter

Working with Remote Teams – STC Florida September Chapter Meeting

September 19, 2018 by Madison Hughes

Todd DeLuca will be providing a live webinar on Working on Remote Teams. All you need is your phone or PC! We will also be meeting at the Riptide Software to join the virtual meeting for those who want to network face-to-face.

Event Timing: September 20, 6:30-8:30pm (Presentation begins at 7:00pm)
Event Address: Online through Google Meet or Riptide Software, 200 E. Palm Valley Drive, Suite 2000, Oviedo, FL 32765
Virtual Access: Details to be sent to attendees who RSVP and send payment

The definition and the makeup of workplace teams has changed significantly due to technology and the ubiquity of the internet. In fact, odds are good that you are part of a group or team with members that are not physically located in a local office. There may even be people you work with that you’ve never seen or met in person. Basically, if you use email, IM, online meetings, or discussion boards, you’re part of a virtual team.

How would you rate your virtual team experience? The dynamics of being part of a team in this new landscape are different and most organizations don’t manage or support virtual teams as effectively as they could. Often the tried-and-true methodologies from the past don’t meet the needs of a more distributed, diverse, and international workforce. There’s a lot of room for improvement. Don’t worry, that’s why we’re here and joining together virtually to share suggestions on making virtual teams work better.

Join us for an honest look at virtual teams and come away with helpful ideas and useful suggestions on how to be a star member of your own virtual group. And don’t be surprised if some of the solutions center around communication.

RSVP

You can RSVP now on Meetup for face-to-face attendance or on our website for virtual access. We will also be sharing this presentation online through Google Meet for remote attendees. Please refer to the Payment Details below for the rates for this meeting. If you have any questions, please contact president@stc-orlando.org.

Reminder: STC 2019 Summit Call for Proposals Open Till October 4th!

September 18, 2018 by Madison Hughes

The STC 2019 Summit Call for proposals is open https://summit.stc.org/call-for-proposals. Please spread the word among your tech comm coworkers and colleagues — and on social media.

The tracks are:

– Content Design and Delivery

– Tools and Technologies

– Training Development and Delivery

– Project Management, Leadership, and Career Development.

The track descriptions and lists of topic ideas can be found at: https://summit.stc.org/call-for-proposals/summit-topics-and-ideas/

The Summit will be held May 5-9, 2019 in Denver, CO.

Michael Apotheker wins STC-PMC 2018 Scholarship

September 14, 2018 by Jen Heller Meservey

This year, the STC-PMC scholarship award went to Michael Apotheker, an undergraduate student majoring in media communications at the University of Delaware. Each year, the $500 scholarship is awarded to a local student working toward a bachelor’s degree with an interest in the technical communication field.

Michael said that he developed an interest in technical communication after taking a course taught by Professor Luttrell, a member of STC-PMC. “I had been thinking about possible paths I could take, and one of them was scientific communication,” he said. “I learned about the scholarship and decided to apply, hoping to learn more about this field.”

Michael added that he was “surprised but excited” when he heard that he had won the award. “This scholarship reminds me of how much potential I have and how many paths are open to me, and that encouragement is driving me forward to continue exploring directions that interest me.” He plans to use the scholarship money to finish his degree. “I am thankful to have the extra help it gives me financially,” he said.

As for his future plans, Michael said that he has three important goals: “In whatever career I decide to follow, my goals are to excel, foster equality, and leave a lasting positive legacy for future generations.”

Society for Technical Communication (STC) Interchange Conference – New England Chapter

September 8, 2018 by Madison Hughes

Below is a message from STC- New England about their annual conference, InterChange. Be sure to check it out, as our own President, Danielle Villegas, will be their keynote speaker!

Friday, October 26 and Saturday, October 27 from 8:30 – 4:30 PM; the UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center at the University of Massachusetts Lowell

Join the New England chapter of the STC for education and networking at InterChange, our annual two-day conference for technical communication professionals. Each day features sessions chosen to sharpen your technical skills, stay current with new technology and its impact on our field, and enhance your career with a variety of professional development topics. Throughout the event, network with other tech comm professionals to build your personal network and share ideas.

Our keynote speaker, Danielle Villegas, is best known as blogger “TechCommGeekMom.” She has given presentations at the STC Summit, CONDUIT, the IEEE-ProComm, and Drexel University. She has also taught technical communications at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Danielle has been active with the STC Philadelphia Metro Chapter (STC-PMC), doing publicity, sponsorship, acting as the CONDUIT co-chair, serving as Vice-President, and is currently President of the chapter.

Come to the STC InterChange conference to hear the latest in technical documentation techniques and share ideas with other documentation professionals. The conference is a great place to network, and give you extra insight into current trends of technical communications. It may even result in job leads! You are welcome to present at the conference, especially as it relates to our theme of “Engineering Experience.” Click this link here for more information. This is a great opportunity for professional development, allowing you to enhance your skillset for your job.

InterChange is held at UMass Lowell, approximately 30 miles northwest of Boston. The conference is accessible by car (Route 495 and the Lowell Connector), and by train (the Lowell Stop of the MBTA commuter Rail). In addition, Lowell is only 30 miles from Boston’s Logan Airport (BOS) and 35 miles to Manchester Airport (MHT).

Registration includes breakfast, lunch, entry in a raffle, free wifi, and free parking.

For questions, please email interchange@stcnewengland.org.

For details and registration, please visit: http://stcnewengland.org/interchange.

We hope to see you there!

Welcome to the 2018-2019 program year at STC-PMC!

August 8, 2018 by Danielle Villegas

View of Old Town Philadelphia Hi everyone!

Welcome to the 2018-2019 program year for STC-PMC! As the incoming new president of the chapter, I look forward to moving our chapter forward. Our past president, Tim Esposito, has left a strong legacy from his past two years, and I hope to lead based on his example. Our new council members have already been hard at work this summer to develop some great activities for this next year!

First, I’d like to start by inviting everyone who reads this to a chapter event this year. One of the reasons that we were named 2018 STC Chapter of the Year was because we work really hard on providing great activities for our members and other tech comm professionals in our activities. We have a little bit of something for everyone–chapter meetings and webinars with top-notch speakers, as well as some fun events and networking events! Our new vice-president, Karen Levine, has already put together some stellar events for the first half of the year. You’ll be seeing the invitation to the first event in a couple of weeks! Make sure you attend at least one event this year–and see what you’ve been missing!

Second, I’d like to appeal to you. Our chapter is a success because of our volunteers. We really have had some awesome teams in the past few years, and we want to keep the awesomeness up! Some of our volunteers have “retired” from positions, so we need more help! It requires about an hour once a month for a monthly meeting (so you know what’s going on in the chapter before everyone else!), and any other time you can put into a position.

We have openings in

Community Outreach
Academic Outreach
Competition, and
Conference.

We especially need help with Academic Outreach and Competition right now!

If you are interested in participating a little or a lot in any of these activities–or you have a special skill that you think would help the STC-PMC that I haven’t listed, let us know by emailing me at president@stcpmc.org. Volunteering for the chapter is the best way to have a voice in the direction of the chapter. Whether you are a new member or a veteran member (or even a veteran council member), let us know how you’d like to help!

Franklin Institute statue Lastly, we have a big change happening for our annual regional conference, CONDUIT. We’ve been evolving in the past few years from the “STC-PMC Mid-Atlantic Technical Communication Conference” to CONDUIT, our own special brand of conference. This coming year, we are taking things up a notch to reflect the superior conference that we’ve always offered and grown. We are moving to a new location! Instead of being in the suburbs, we are bringing CONDUIT to the city–specifically to Center City Philadelphia itself.

Make sure you save the dates of April 5th and 6th, 2019 as CONDUIT will be taking place at the Franklin Institute! The Franklin Institute has been a leader in the sciences and technology since 1824, and opened at its current location in Philadelphia’s Museum district in 1934. With that in mind, we are hoping you are as excited as we are about this move, and will come join us this spring! We are looking forward to seeing new faces and old friends of CONDUIT joining us.

We are truly a dedicated group, and I’m looking forward to seeing this incredible team continue to provide the chapter with excellent experiences this year!

If you have any questions about the STC-PMC program this year, or any of our activities, please feel free to contact me or any of our council members.

Danielle M. Villegas
STC-PMC President