Southwestern Ontario Chapter Movie Night!

Everyone loves a movie night - especially a free one! To end the STC-SOC general meetings on a fun note (although you still can learn), they have decided to offer you the movie Helvetica.

Helvetica, a documentary film by Gary Hustwit, is about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface (which celebrated its 50th birthday in 2007) and how it and other types affect our lives. The film explores urban spaces in major cities and the type that inhabits them. It also contains discussions with renowned designers about their work, the creative process, and the choices and aesthetics behind their use of type.

• When: Tuesday, June 3 from 6:00 until 8:30 (movie starts at 7:00).
• Where: Princess Twin Cinema, King St., Waterloo
• Registration: Please register with Ted Edwins, STC-SOC Public Relations Manager, by May 30 at noon.
• Food: You can purchase food before the movie. Come early to make your purchases and to spend some time networking.

You can see more details about the movie and about registering to see it.

Questions?
Contact either Ted pr@stc-soc.org (STC-SOC Public Relations Manager) or Debbie Kerr president@stc-soc.org.

The council of the Southwestern Ontario Chapter looks forward to seeing you there!

Debbie Kerr
President
Southwestern Ontario Chapter STC

Simple & free screen-capture software

As a technical writer, I often have to take screen captures or "screen shots" to illustrate a software application or system. A convenient and perfectly adequate tool for the job is the freeware program ScreenHunter from WisdomSoft. It's currently up to version 5. If you're willing to pay, you can have a much more versatile version.

Thanks to STC member Ed Beliczynski of ExtendMedia, Inc., who originally recommended ScreenHunter to me and who is a fount of information on low-cost software tools.

Documenting Brenda Martin

Lessons from Ms. Martin's Mexican ordeal.

Learn about the power of podcasts on May 13

Podcasts are seen as a platform for reviews, opinions, and polemic. But they can do much more. This presentation helps you discover how valuable podcasts can be.

Podcasts are the next step beyond blogging. But they are also a powerful platform for training and user assistance. They are useful whether you're a technical writer explaining how an application works or a marketer expounding on product benefits.

Aaron Davis and Scott Nesbitt will examine how you can tap into the power of podcasts. First, they'll explain what podcasts are and how to create one.

You'll learn how podcasts

• Can help maintain an ongoing dialogue about a domain or topic


• Are a great way to disseminate new developments


• Serve the users's convenience by being available anytime, and anywhere


• Make supplementary material more interesting

Aaron and Scott will

• Outline the mechanics of podcasting


• Point out some of the popular training and educational podcasts on the Web


• Analyze why these podcasts are successful


• Tell how you can use the same techniques with your audio materials

About the presenters: Aaron Davis and Scott Nesbitt are partners in DMN Communications, a technical communications consultancy in Toronto. Since 2006, their podcast, Communications from DMN, has been entertaining, informing, and occasionally annoying a diverse global audience.

The meeting will be held in the Burgundy Room at the North York Memorial Hall, 5110 Yonge Street, concourse level, at 7:00 p.m. General Admission is $5; STC Members attend for free.
For directions, visit STC Toronto and click on "Meetings."

(This was based on the meeting announcement on the STC Toronto web site.)

Workshop on user experience design of web site information architectures

ToRCHI, the Toronto chapter of ACM SIGCHI, is organizing a one-day workshop on the topic of user experience (UX) design of web site information architectures (IA).

This workshop examines the design of web site organization and information architecture with a focus on user experience and usability considerations. Workshop activities will consist largely of analyzing and critiquing existing sites, discussing underlying design principles and guidelines, and completing design exercises and critiquing the results.

For complete information, view the workshop details.