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In this posting, look for the following ...

  * ANNOUNCE: JoAnn Hackos' "Developing a Single-Sourcing Strategy" (NEW)
  * ANNOUNCE: Usability Testing Offer at CU-Denver (NEW)
  * ANNOUNCE: Supporting TECHWR-L with Annual Sponsorships 
  * LUNCH AND LEARN:  "PRODUCING ONLINE HELP" 
  * TRAINING: FRAMEMAKER BOOT CAMP AND MORE ! 
  * JOB: Documentation Manager in Salt Lake City, UT 
  * ANNOUNCE: FRAMEMAKER-to-ACROBAT ADVANCED TECHNIQUES SEMINARS 
  * ANNOUNCE: SnagIt and Camtasia Free Trial Versions
  * ANNOUNCE: Call for stories on ethics in tech comm 
  * ANNOUNCE: Indexing Skills Workshop for Technical Communicators 

and at the end you'll find the concluding administrivia with 
information about these ads and how to place your own. 

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ANNOUNCE: JoAnn Hackos' "Developing a Single-Sourcing Strategy"

Is your organization searching for better ways to make
information accessible to customers and to staff? Are
you looking for ways to store information in a single
source and use it in many ways? Have you thought about
creating document databases from which information can
be published in many media, including the Web?

If so, plan to attend "Developing a Single-Sourcing Strategy,"
an exceptional two-day workshop conducted by JoAnn
Hackos. JoAnn is the past president of the Society for
Technical Communication and an internationally known
expert on information design and human productivity.

=====================Details=====================
Workshop Title: Developing a Single-Sourcing Strategy
Dates: January 9-10, 2001
Location: Champaign, IL
Fee: $650.00
Registration: Call or e-mail the workshop coordinator, 
Molly Sausaman, at (303) 234-0123 or 
molly -dot- sausaman -at- comtech-serv -dot- com, 
or register online at <http://www.usabledesign.com/>
=================================================

In this seminar, we'll examine the issues involved in
creating document databases and structured information.
We'll discuss the impact of single-sourcing on department
organization, project management, training, writing style,
document control, editing, and translation. We'll review
some of the tools available and look at both their strengths
and their shortcomings.
 
Workshops Coming up in 2000/2001:

?Developing a Single-Sourcing Strategy
 January 9-10, Champaign, IL
 February 1-2, Waltham, MA
 March 15-16, Emeryville, CA 
 April 17-18, Portland, OR
*Special Three Day Single-Sourcing Seminar
 December 6-8, Denver, CO 
?Developing Standards for E-Communication
 December 4-5, Malvern, PA
 March 8-9, Phoenix, AZ
 June 11-12, Chicago, IL
?User and Task Analysis
 November 2-3, Greenville, SC
?Downsizing your Documentation: Online and off
 February 26-27, Jacksonville, FL
?Managing your Documentation Projects
 January 23-24, Germantown, MD 
?Essentials of Online Structure: Recognizing, Taming, and Using Online
 Chaos to Help People Work
   
For more information, go to: http://www.usabledesign.com/ 

12/11/00-12/18/00
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ANNOUNCE: Usability Testing Offer at CU-Denver

Dear TECHWHIRLERS:

In late January, 2001, the M.S. in Technical Communication
Program at the University of Colorado at Denver will again offer
a semester-length course in Usability Testing (at the graduate
level).   In past courses we provided valuable usability testing
for diverse clients, including (among others) TargetSmart, Inc.
(specializing in marketing software), for the National Renewable
Energy Laboratories (NREL) Website, BioStar (manfacturers of
human virus detection equipment), and for J. D. Edwards Company,
specializing in accounting software, among others. One of the
areas we emphasize in our M.S. curriculum, and that we
particularly focus in this course, is the testing and improvement
of a broad range of online/interactive and hard copy
documentation and instructional material, including (but not
limited to) such things as:
 -- web sites
--software documentation (including interfaces & help systems),
tutorials & instructions
--documentation for consumer electronics, appliances (VCRs,
stereos, voice messaging answering machines, etc.)
--health hazard/risk disclosures and documentation, such as:
  *warnings on (or inside of) packaging
  *patient package inserts for pharmaceuticals and home care
health products, devices (e.g., syringe kits)
  *proper usage instructions for household appliances, tools,
etc.
--government & consumer legal documentation, such as:
  *tax documentation
  *real estate documentation/forms
  *securities prospecti
  *banking/loan transactions
  *insurance policies/forms

Here's the pitch: For the Spring 2001 course, we are again
inviting both public and private sector organizations to
participate.  We invite such organizations to provide actual
documents, software, and/or other technology for which they would
like user-testing and related comprehensibility evaluations to be
performed in our labs.  

All experimental participants that we recruit must sign
non-disclosure agreements as well as participation consent forms
for the university. Organizations who participate are also
required to sign a written letter of agreement with the
department and students at CU-Denver. Organizations must also
provide monetary support for securing and paying user-test
participants and for transcribing audio and/or video data.  There
is also a nominal participation contribution which helps support
upgrades in our lab facilities and scholarships for students
enrolled in the program in technical communication.   Note that
we are interested both in consumer-type documents as well as
documents for more specialized audiences/technicians.   We are
equally interested in online and traditional hard-copy documents,
and in electro-mechanical as well as computer technology
documentation.

If you or your organization think you might be interested in
temporarily supplying such documents/technology to our Program
and obtaining the written results of a highly competent user-test
evaluation--please contact me before December 31, 2000.
Be sure to reply to my personal email at
fsapienz -at- carbon -dot- cudenver -dot- edu, not to this list.

Sincerely,
Professor Filipp Sapienza
Technical Communication Program
University of Colorado at Denver
Plaza Building, Suite 102, Room P
Campus Box 176
Denver, Colorado 80217
Phone: 303-556-6209
Fax: 303-556-6018
http://www.cudenver.edu/public/techcomm/index.html

12/11/00-12/18/00
##############################################################

ANNOUNCE: Supporting TECHWR-L with Annual Sponsorships 

Do you or others in your company benefit from TECHWR-L
list discussions, and the articles, services, and original 
content published on the TECHWR-L Web site?
  - Do you look to TECHWR-L for quick answers to challenging
  problems, or just for a bit of relief from the stress of 
  the day?
  - Is authoritive information from an attorney who specializes
  in intellectual property and Internet law a worthwhile read?
  (http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/lawyer.html)
  - Are freely available, profession-specific job postings and 
  a free resume board a useful alternative to slogging through 2100
  or more jobs on Monster.com? 
  (http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/employment/)
  - Did you learn a bit, laugh a bit, or otherwise benefit
  from the many regular columns and feature articles published
  on the TECHWR-L site?
  (http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/) 

If you answered yes to any of these questions, or have otherwise
benefited from the resources that TECHWR-L provides to the 
community, take a few minutes to contact your boss, marketing
director, or company owner and let them know that sponsoring
TECHWR-L can both provide good PR and help ensure the continued
development of this resource. 

In developing TECHWR-L, we chose not to use paid
subscription or fee-based funding models but, instead, chose to 
develop the TECHWR-L list, Web site, and variety of services as 
free resources to the community as a whole. We would like to 
continue making TECHWR-L and its variety of services available 
at no cost to the technical writing community because we think 
they meet a significant information need. In short, we think 
providing these services for free is simply the right thing to do.

Your company's sponsorship will help us continue to maintain
and develop the TECHWR-L community, which includes acquiring new 
original content and developing new features, services, and 
materials that meet the changing needs of the technical writing 
community. 

Where to start?
First, for more information, see
http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/sponsorships.html
Second, tell your boss, supervisor, or company president just how
important TECHWR-L is to you, and suggest that their support would
be invaluable in helping further develop these resources. 
Finally, after your company has agreed, contact Eric 
(ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com) to set up the sponsorship and to arrange for 
your "Thank you" dinner.

12/10/00-12/17/00
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LUNCH AND LEARN:  "PRODUCING ONLINE HELP"

A Lunch and Learn on Thursday, February 15, 2001
Radisson Governors Inn (I-40 Davis Drive exit)
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina (USA)
Registration Fee is $49/person (if registered before January 15)

A joint production of Bright Path Solutions and Advanced Concepts

Attend with your co-workers and your manager to learn about online
help. Expert speakers present and demo the online help systems they
designed. This half-day event showcases two online help system case
studies using the following software tools:

- FrameMaker and RoboHELP
(expert speakers from Advanced Concepts)

- FrameMaker 6.0 and WebWorks Publisher Professional Edition
(expert speakers from Bright Path Solutions)

The presentations provide participants with overviews of online help
creation tools, descriptions of the creation processes, and time-cost
data on the case studies. Presentation content is designed to educate
managers (budget/deadline issues) and end users (software
capabilities).

This program is scheduled for the Radisson Governors Inn in Research
Triangle Park, North Carolina. Agenda kicks off at 10:30 a.m. and
adjourns by 1:00 p.m.

Details: http://www.travelthepath.com/HTML/events.shtml

Early registration is suggested. Cost for this program is $49 per
person until January 15th. After January 15, the fee is $59. At the
door February 15th the fee is $69 if space is available. The
registration fee includes handouts, lectures, demonstrations, and
lunch.

To register, contact Nancy Mallett at 919.547.0213. Please mention any
dietary restrictions.

12/8/00-12/15/00
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TRAINING: FRAMEMAKER BOOT CAMP AND MORE !
All listed courses are in the U.S.

FRAMEMAKER BOOT CAMP
**New for 2001 - revised agenda & expanded student workbooks**
- January 22-26: Research Triangle Park NC
- February 5-9: Columbus OH area
- March 5-9: Pittsburgh PA
- March 12-16: Research Triangle Park NC
- March 19-23: Washington DC area

OTHER TRAINING
Applied Indexing
- February 12-13: Research Triangle Park NC

Adobe FrameMaker+SGML (four classes)
- February 19-23: Research Triangle Park NC

WebWorks Publisher Professional Edition
- January 29-30: Research Triangle Park NC

WebWorks Publisher Standard Edition
- January 26: Research Triangle Park NC
- February 9: Columbus OH area
- March 9: Pittsburgh PA
- March 16: Research Triangle Park NC
- March 23: Washington DC area

See our complete schedule for additional courses on Photoshop,
graphics management, technical writing, courseware creation, and
markup languages.

For more information on any of the courses listed, please visit
http://www.travelthepath.com  and select "Training."  Contact us
directly to register, request client references, or discuss your
specific training needs.

Bright Path Solutions
an Adobe Solutions Sales Provider
1.919.547.0129
http://www.travelthepath.com
mailto:training -at- travelthepath -dot- com

12/7/00-12/14/00
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JOB: Documentation Manager in Salt Lake City, UT

The Utah Documentation Manager creates and maintains database and 
software documentation as required, ranging
from technical alerts and database field guides to system administration
manuals, user guides, and help systems.  In
addition, the Documentation Manager manages the Utah technical writing
group (a two-person group) and works closely and
cooperatively with the New York-based technical writing staff.  The Utah
Documentation Manager is a member of the
Technology group, and will be located in Ovid's Utah office.  

Required skills:  
Software documentation experience (2-5 years) 
Management experience (2+ years) 
Editorial experience (2+ years)  
Excellent oral and written communication skills 
UNIX, DOS, and Windows experience 
Experience developing HTML pages 
Experience with the Microsoft Office suite (particularly MS Word) 
Highly organized 
Comfortable with a fast-paced work environment
Strong team-building skills 

Desired skills: 
Experience with Adobe Framemaker 
Experience with simple graphic editing 
Experience in networked environments 
Experience managing or leading a software development team 
Experience with bibliographic/fulltext search software 
Library experience a plus 

Qualified candidates are required to submit writing samples.  If you or
someone you know is interested, please contact
Curtis Howe at 801-304-3412 or fax to 801-304-3002.  E-mail:
Curtis_Howe -at- ovid -dot- com

12/7/00-12/21/00
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ANNOUNCE: FRAMEMAKER-to-ACROBAT ADVANCED TECHNIQUES SEMINARS
   (Instructed by Shlomo Perets)

* Chelmsford, MA: January 29-30 - Contact Jim Camacho (978-742.4949
   mailto:frametrain -at- aol -dot- com), FrameWork Consulting

* San Francisco, CA: February 1-2 - Contact Michael Liberatore
   (415-552.5535.x107 mailto:mliberatore -at- caxton-inc -dot- com), Caxton

The two-day FrameMaker-to-Acrobat Advanced Techniques Seminar is
designed for FrameMaker and Acrobat users who want to create high-
quality, interactive PDF files. Attend and you will learn multitudes
of undocumented techniques, creative solutions, and tips for defining
Acrobat features within FrameMaker.

Course materials include a 400-page course workbook with step-by-step
procedures, reference materials, technique descriptions and exercises, and
the following software add-ons: FM-to-Acrobat TimeSavers (MicroType),
Ari's Link Checker (Dionis) & PageLabeler (Carmen Publishing).

See http://www.microtype.com for more info (and free resources).

12/3/00-12/17/00
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ANNOUNCE: SnagIt and Camtasia Free Trial Versions

Looking for a tool to help you with technical documentation?
TechSmith's SnagIt and Camtasia software give you the power to
simulate all desktop activity and present it to anyone, anywhere,
live! These tools help tech writers supplement and enhance print
materials and save precious production time.

Visit our web site to learn more and download FREE trial versions
of SnagIt and Camtasia.  http://www.techsmith.com/twr

12/1/00-12/31/00
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ANNOUNCE: Call for stories on ethics in tech comm

The editors of Writing a Professional Life  (see 
http://vig.abacon.com/product/0,2371,0205321062,00.html)
are looking for original stories about ethical dilemmas
faced by technical communicators on the job. You should 
thoroughly fictionalize names and other identifying 
details of persons and organizations. Consider stories 
about everyday ethical dilemmas; we're interested in 
situations that ordinary technical communicators might 
face.  These stories may be from 5 to 35 double-spaced 
pages in length. They should develop character, setting, 
and dialogue sufficiently so that the reader feels as 
though she has been brought into the world you create.
Send your proposals or stories either to Dale Sullivan, 
dsulliva -at- mtu -dot- edu, or Jerry Savage, gjsavag -at- ilstu -dot- edu,
or both.  They should be sent as email attachments in
rtf format.  Please do not zip or compress the attachments.
Deadline for proposals or stories: February 1, 2001. 

11/30/00-12/7/00
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ANNOUNCE: Indexing Skills Workshop for Technical Communicators
    presented by Lori Lathrop

Date:  Friday, January 19, 2001
Location:  Hyatt Regency Tampa, Two Tampa City Center, 
Tampa, FL  33602

"An index is as important to your documentation as your 
documentation is to the product." (Lori Lathrop)

This one-day workshop is for writers and editors who need 
to create usable indexes for either printed or online documents.

Continental breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snack are included 
with your registration fee.  Early-bird registration (prior to 12/28/99) 
 - $269.00 / Late registration - $299.00.

To request a brochure for this workshop or to find out about 
Lori's other upcoming workshops, contact LoriLathrop -at- compuserve -dot- com
(http://idt.net/~lathro19) or call 704-531-0021.

11/6/00-12/23/00
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About posting ads:
Announcements on the TECHWR-L Premium Announcement posting 
cost $50 to contact over 4900 TECHWR-L subscribers
directly each day for a week. 

In an effort to provide a free service that allows you to post 
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The TECHWR-L Daily Summary Mailing, a separate mailing list
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the Calendar, is now available and can further help get your 
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These resources are available at no cost to anyone, posters 
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For jobs, announcements, and events that you specifically 
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