Upcoming Chapter Meetings

February 7th, 2006
Making Software Accessible to the Blind and Disabled

The Digital Field Trip to the Rainforest was no ordinary software before, but now it has been customized with Adaptive Technology (AT) so that everyone can use it, including blind and disabled people—without any special equipment. With AT, no one misses out on the opportunity to learn because, in addition to the software’s standard mode, there is an AT mode, which has text-to-speech, keyboard accessibility, and closed captioning.

This great innovation gives everyone the same opportunity to learn. Don’t miss your own opportunity to learn; attend February’s general meeting to see if your software could be improved with this approach.

Celia Clark is President and CEO (Chief Editing Officer!) of Digital Frog International. She has many years experience as a primary schoolteacher, a training and documentation consultant, and an independent business woman. She specialized in instructional design and spent many years training software trainers.

Prior to helping found Digital Frog International, Inc. she worked in the software industry for seventeen years in course development, training delivery, documentation and user interface design.

Celia is an Associate Fellow of the Society for Technical Communication and a Rotarian.

March 7th, 2006
Annual Wine and Cheese Networking Event

You are cordially invited to the annual STC Southwestern Ontario Chapter Wine and Cheese soiree. Enjoy chatting with fellow communicators over complimentary drinks and hors d’oeuvres, or peruse the display of award winning technical publications from the STC International Competition.

April 11th, 2006*
Looking Forward—The Communicators of Tomorrow

The field of technical communications is changing quickly. Once focused primarily on writing, technical communication now increasingly includes the design and production of media (images, sound, video, hypertext). In response to these changes, the University of Waterloo is educating students in multimedia and interaction design. Over the next few years, these students will be looking for careers. The question is: will they see the STC as their first and preferred starting point for moving into their professions?

This session will include a panel of students from the Digital Arts Communication specialization and from the Rhetoric and Professional Writing Program (now the Rhetoric and Communication Design Program). The discussions will focus on questions such as: "What do students know about the STC? What might attract them to become members? What might they contribute to the STC as members?" Questions and discussion from the attending members will be encouraged.

David Goodwin is an Associate Professor and the Director of the Digital Arts Communication specialization within Arts and Business at the University of Waterloo. He also researches and teaches in the Rhetoric and Professional Writing program at UW. His research areas include: interaction design, visual communication and persuasion, and digital branding. For almost two years, David worked in the private sector for Quarry Integrated Communications. His main projects involved developing interaction design and marketing strategies for international companies such as FedEx in Memphis, Tennessee.

*Note: This meeting occurs on the SECOND Tuesday in April.