6:30 – 8:15

RSVP – Yes only

Time: 6:30 (Food, Announcements, Networking)

7:00 – 8:15 Program

Location: Knowledge Development Centers

7000 Central Parkway, Suite 1250

Atlanta, GA 30328

Cost: free (members), $10 (non-members)

The application of technical communication skills to the development of software user assistance has grown immensely in the past twenty years. This specialization is very fulfilling and challenging and technical communicators are finding their role in the software development process to be increasingly valued. User assistance is much more than “Help.” It encompasses a wide range of skills and technologies that are combined to improve the software user’s experience. We contribute through wizards, tutorials, and web-based training. We develop and populate knowledge bases and content management systems. Printed manuals and their PDF equivalents are still an important element of our documentation sets.

Many of us are now embedding helpful content directly into the user interface. We are involved with usability testing, localization, testing, quality assurance, and branding. This presentation provides a cutting-edge overview of the latest trends in software user assistance, defines the key terminology, highlights the most important technologies, and offers predictions on future directions of our field. The seventy-five minute session should be of interest to technical communicators of all backgrounds and experience levels.

Joe Welinske is the president of WritersUA. WritersUA is a company devoted to providing training and information for user assistance professionals. The WritersUA/WinWriters Conference draws hundreds of attendees each year from around the world to share the latest in user assistance design and implementation. The free content on the WritersUA web site attracts over 20,000 visitors each month. Joe has been involved with software documentation development since 1984. Together with Scott Boggan and David Farkas, Joe authored two editions of the popular and pioneering book Developing Online Help for Windows. He has also taught online Help courses at the University of Washington, UC Santa Cruz, and Bellevue Community College. Joe received a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Illinois in 1981, and a M.S. in Adult Instructional

RSVP – Yes only

Time: 6:30 (Food, Announcements, Networking)

7:00 – 8:00 Program

Location: Knowledge Development Centers

7000 Central Parkway, Suite 1250

Atlanta, GA 30328

Cost: free (members), $10 (non-members)

Saul Carliner is the Director of the Education Doctoral Program and an Associate Professor at Concordia University in Montreal, and the author of 8 books and over 140 articles on various aspects of technical communication and instructional design. He is a member of the STC Certification Commission, an STC Fellow and a past international president.  He also chairs the Certification Steering Committee for the Canadian Society for Training and Development, is editor-in-chief of the IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, and has received Best of Show Awards in the STC Atlanta Publications and Frank R. Smith Outstanding Article competitions.

RSVP – Yes only

Time: 6:30 (Food, Announcements, Networking)

7:00 – 8:00 Program

Location: Knowledge Development Centers

7000 Central Parkway, Suite 1250

Atlanta, GA 30328

Cost: free (members), $10 (non-members)

After having my son a year and a half ago, I fell back in love with Sesame Street but for a whole new set of reasons. As a child, it taught me the alphabet, numbers, and colors in both English and Spanish. Of course I never really thought of it as learning. It was fun. I looked forward to seeing Big Bird, Bert and Ernie, Oscar, and The Count everyday. As a mother, I was relieved to see my son sitting still long enough for me to get some house work done or sit down for a much needed break, but as an instructional designer I was simply amazed by their brilliant formula to educate young kids. If we all used Sesame Street as our guide to success, learning would be so much more effective and fun. Here are just a few lessons Sesame Street can teach us.

• Know your audience
• Live your mission
• Define the objectives
• Use repetition, repetition, repetition
• Re-use what works
• Keep it familiar but creative
• Have fun

Jen Collier is the Training and Documentation Manager at Horizon Software International, the current STC Atlanta Program Manager, and a former STC Atlanta President.