Upcoming Chapter Events

by Peter Szabo, Program Manager

Happy Belated New Year!

With 2005 already a month old, we start off February with our monthly General Meeting, featuring guest speaker Louis Beauregard, who's travelling all the way from Montreal to tell us about single-sourcing with e-learning materials. And he'll be giving away a free copy of software as a door prize, too. In response to your answers to our survey, we're offering this General Meeting on a Wednesday night to give those of you who are often busy on Tuesdays a chance to join in the chapter fun for a change.

We'll continue our very popular chapter-sponsored STC afternoon seminars with a close look at the features in the newest release of Adobe Acrobat, version 7.0. And that will take us closer to the Annual Wine and Cheese Networking Night on March 1 in the posh digs at the University Club.

WEDNESDAY, February 2, 2005: Single-Sourcing and E-Learning

When people say "single-sourcing" they usually mean creating a user guide and online help from a single document. But what about adding e-learning to the mix? Join Louis Beauregard as he describes ways to create compelling, media-rich, e-learning content—without breaking the bank. Louis will discuss the implications of e-learning as they relate to data modeling, instructional design, content creation, and production automation.

Time: 7:00 p.m., doors open at 6:30 p.m.

Location: University of Waterloo (U of W), Davis Centre, Room 1304 [map].

Cost: FREE for all

Wednesday, February 9, 2005: STC Remote Seminar

Topic: Adobe Acrobat 7.0

Host: Brian Wood

In this ninety-minute educational seminar, Brian Wood will provide a glimpse of several new features that are particularly useful to technical, business, and other professionals.

Time: 1:00-2:30 p.m. EDT (Doors open at 12:30)

Location: CheckFree i-Solutions, [455 Phillip Street, Waterloo].

Cost: FREE for members and $35 for non-members.

Tuesday, February 15, 2005: Council Meeting

Time: 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Location: CheckFree i-Solutions, [455 Phillip Street, Waterloo]

All members welcome—help your chapter by becoming a volunteer!

RSVP to Opal Gamble.

Thursday, February 17, 2005 and Friday, February 18, 2005:
Education Seminars

Hosted by: Southwestern Ontario Chapter STC

Location: Hilton Garden Inn, Cambridge, ON

February 17, 2005

• Developing a Style Guide, presented by Vivian Viitala and Katherine Estes
• Template Development: Best Practices, presented by Bernard Aschwaden

February 18, 2005

• Mapping the Content Ecosystem, presented by Rob Hanna
• Why You Need Structured FrameMaker, presented by Russ Ward

For details about any of these seminars, access the PDF file on our Web site at www.stc-soc.org

Hurray to register; time is running out!

Tuesday, March 1, 2005: Annual Wine and Cheese Networking Night

Time: 7:00-9:00 p.m.

Location: University Club, University of Waterloo Campus
200 University Ave. West, Waterloo, ON
Click here for a map of the University campus. The University Club is designated by the abbreviation 'UC.'

Cost: FREE for members and nonmembers.
Yes, there will be food! And one free drink for everyone.

For more details, keep checking the Calendar section of our Web site.

If you have any questions about upcoming chapter events, or if you have a suggestion for a meeting topic, feel free to e-mail Peter Szabo (Program Manager).

For details about our chapter's events for the rest of the year, as well as last minute updates or additions to the schedule, be sure to check our local STC chapter calendar.

About Peter Szabo

Peter has been a technical writer in one form or another for ten years. For the past five years, Peter has worked for CheckFree i-Solutions, a software firm in Waterloo, and is currently the Manager of Technical Publications.

Born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Peter moved to Guelph in 1997, where he currently lives with his wife, Irene, and six-year-old son, Taylor. He is working on his first feature-length screenplay.