Newsletter of the East Bay Chapter of STC
March/April 2003

Educational News

by Jacquelyn Lee
EBSTC Education Manager

Prepare for the Future
Content Management Strategies Conference
XML for Writers

Prepare for the Future

In the past year many of us have faced tough and challenging times. This year we continue to face similar challenges. As Education Manager, I believe through faith, hope, and determination—and a bit of knowledge—we can overcome tough times. Besides faith, we can begin to take steps to position ourselves in today’s market. Learning new and marketable skills is a key strategy to fight back, and places us in a good position for today’s employers.

This month we are offering a beginner’s Dreamweaver web-design course for a small fee to STC members. The course will cover basic web design commands and features. Dreamweaver is a great skill to gain since it is a requirement for employment for some of the major corporations, as well as a fun application to learn. Not only will you learn web design, but training development skills and other graphical Internet technologies.

The course will be offered on a first come, first served basis. Look for more information about this offer in the coming weeks online. Remember that the future belongs to those who prepare for it!

Content Management Strategies Conference
April 28–29, 2003
Washington, DC

JoAnn Hackos and the Center for Information-Development Management announce the Content Management Strategies Conference. The conference will focus on content management and single sourcing.

Speakers include industry expert consultants, tools developers, and people working on content-management and single-sourcing projects. Attendees will learn about providing usable information, developing the information model, planning for dynamic delivery and personalization, implementing industry standards, collaborating for reuse, and ROI (return on investment) measuring. In addition, they will hear case studies from companies that have successfully implemented content management or single sourcing.

A post-conference workshop will be held on April 30, 2003, where attendees can learn the steps to take in implementing their own single-source solution. Dr. JoAnn Hackos, an internationally recognized expert and consultant, will present the workshop.

Exhibitors include leading content management vendors, such as Documentum, Arbortext, Progressive Information Technologies, X.Systems, and Software AG.

Find more information at the conference web site.

XML for Writers
March 20–21, 2003
Reno, NV
Instructor: Tina Hedlund

Learn basic concepts that you, as a technical writer, need to understand in order to write documentation using XML.

In this newest of the JoAnn Hackos seminar series, learn how XML editors work within the context of a well-thought-out information design, which includes an information model (information categorization framework), information types (subject matter–related categories of information, like procedures), and content units (the most basic building blocks of information types, like paragraphs).

With a clear understanding of the information design and an understanding of how the structure of the information design is applied in XML, technical writers will be well on their way to creating well-structured XML (and maybe enjoying it!).

More information is available at XML for Writers.

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