The STC/SM Programs Committee always welcomes volunteers, ideas for programs, leads to or contact from good speakers, and collaboration with other professional societies and businesses to provide educational and development opportunities for STC/SM Chapter Members and other technical communicators. We need multiple volunteers at events, including newsletter contributors (e.g. reporters and photographers), Program Greeters, and other positions to assist us with putting on quality events. If you are interested in volunteering, have any questions, or would like to make a comment, please contact the Programs Manager at < programs@stc-sm.org >.

The STC/SM chapter holds educational program meetings periodically throughout the year. Please feel free to visit the STC/SM Chapter Program Meeting page for more information about the current STC/SM Chapter Program.

The STC/SM 2008-2009 Program Season featured six STC/SM Program Meetings hosted by the STC/SM Chapter at locations across Mid-Michigan and Metro Detroit. Spanning from September 2008 - May 2009, we heard from a variety of speakers, including company presidents, managers, and other senior-level and specialized professionals. The programs featured networking opportunities, formal presentations, and discussions of subjects ranging from software and documentation development to professional job searching and networking.

Thank you to all the speakers, companies providing host venues, STC/SM volunteer staff, STC/SM Members, students, and other attendees. This participation and demonstration of commitment to professional development and the advancement of technical communication made the program season possible, enjoyable, and rewarding.

February 19: Please join us for our February Chapter Program: 3 Keys to Creating Unusually Usable Software and other Tales of High-Tech Anthropology®, presented by Richard B Sheridan, President & CEO, Menlo Innovations LLC. Mr. Sheridan will present his Taste of Success seminar from 11:30 AM - 1 PM on Thursday, February 19th, at the Menlo Innovations facility in Ann Arbor, MI. This 90-minute seminar explores the practices of the High-Tech Anthropologists® at Menlo Innovations' award-winning Menlo Software Factory, and provides the attendees with very practical ideas to greatly improve their odds of creating a successful software product or service.

Internet Security

December 11: Please join us for our December program on Thursday the 11th! Dr. Jose Nazario, a Senior Security Researcher at Arbor Networks, will provide an overview of some basic concepts and terminology of Internet security and will discuss the global affects of Internet threats for governments to the everyday user.

November 5: Please join us for our November program on Wednesday the 5th! Barb Hernandez, Josephine Scott, and Casey Wright of TechSmith Corporation will present a program focused on usability testing: learn what it takes to put together a test and make actionable recommendations.

Ready for Your Next Interview?

September 18: Please join us for our September program on Thursday the 18th! Al Pizzurro will share his knowledge about preparing for interviews and will discuss the different interview styles, common interview questions, and negotiation techniques.

Presentation by Mark Lockwood from March 2008 program: Adaptation of the Online Portfolio—Techniques for Technical Writers.

Presentation by Bill Hart-Davidson from September 2006 program: http://www.wide.msu.edu/stcweb2point0/view (PDF file: "Web 2.0: What Technical Communicators Need to Know as Users Become Content Creators").

Presentation by Mark Leibold from March 2006 program: Image Software, Printing, and Photoshop.

Presentation and paper from April 2005 program: Effective Project Management (presentation), XP for Effective Program Management (paper).

Presentation from November 2004 program: A Comparison of Tools to Create Flash Tutorials.

Presentation from September 2003 program: Project Management.