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"[Course] was well done. Good information, and Mr. Aschwanden was an engaging speaker."
"Very knowledgeable and dynamic speaker."
"I enjoyed the demonstrations and the content – makes me want to import DITA topics into FrameMaker."
"Bernard took some of the mystery out of DITA by not spending a lot of time explaining the history and definitions, but instead showing how it is used in practice."
"What I learned in your course will definitely impact my ability to meet expectations in my new role at work."
"I learned a lot and came away with so many new ideas that I’m still in the process of trying to think through them all. Thanks so much for a great experience!”
"As a very new TC, it gave me confidence that this IS something I can do. Since I am a team of one, with no one to teach me, this [course] was a great guide to the basics and gave me the tools to do my job."
"Leah is the Queen of Analogies and Anecdotes. Her communication skills are incomparable. I was never bored throughout the entire [course]."
"I am so glad I came to Leah's [course]. I learned not only information that will help my company, but also things that will help me be a better technical communicator.
"I now feel much more prepared to meet the challenge of being a tech writer."
"Probably the most immediately relevant and accessible, in terms of information, sessions I've attended in years."
"This [course] provided the in-depth focus that I was looking for. Saul Carliner is an informative and effective instructor who is generous in the material he shares."
STC offers multiple online courses where participants can earn a certificate. The courses are divided into 90-minute sessions and presented live online over several weeks. Participants must log in for all sessions to earn the certificate.
STC certificate program let you explore a subject in-depth over the course of several weeks. In addition to the practical work skills that you will develop, participating in a certificate program provides you with a unique live opportunity to learn directly from an instructor and to also exchange ideas and tools virtually with the other participants in the program.
Teaching the courses will be some of STC´s finest and best known instructors.
Leah Guren
11 January–15 February
10:30 AM–Noon EST (GMT-5)
Presented by Leah Guren
This is a more advanced course that moves beyond the basic theory in TechComm 101. The focus is on soft skills, such as estimating and managing technical communication projects and working with SMEs; and technical skills, such as advanced editing, professional tool concepts, and Help Authoring concepts.
Participants must have successfully completed TechComm 101 or have at least three years of experience as a prerequisite for this course.
Leah Guren
13 January–3 March
10:30 AM–Noon EST (GMT-5)
Presented by Leah Guren
Technical communication is an exciting and challenging career that offers unlimited opportunity for professional development. But to succeed, it's not enough to learn a desktop publishing or Help authoring tool—you need to master the analysis process. This is a thinking person's dream career!
TechComm 101 is the fastest, most efficient way to jump-start your career in technical communication. It covers key theory that you can immediately apply to your work, as well as giving you the skills you need to continue to learn and grow.
Each element of theory is presented with hands-on exercises, real-world examples, and plenty of discussion. The course is sure to leave you feeling enthusiastic and well-prepared to get started in the field.
Sharon Burton
22 February–22 March
10:30 AM–Noon EST (GMT-5)
Presented by Sharon Burton
Even the most experienced technical communicators don’t always think about information design until they lay the words out in a paper or online document. By then, it’s too late. Information design is much more than using headings and white space in your documents. Real information design starts before you write a word.
This advanced five-week certificate course in information design first covers how people learn, think, and structure information in their minds, as well as the nature of reality, and perception. Then, we examine taxonomies, schemas, and shared feature analyses. This course uses group activities and hands-on exercises to help participants apply the theories and ideas presented.
Each week includes at least an hour lecture and as well as assignments and readings to do in your own time that support the lecture for that week. You’ll finish the course with a deeper understand of why we do some of what we do and how to better help your users.
Michelle Corbin
Linda Oestreich
17 March–28 April
11:00 AM–1:00 PM EDT (GMT-4)
Presented by Michelle Corbin and Linda Oestreich
This is a course in technical editing designed for beginning through advanced technical editing practitioners. It is a solid introduction for beginning technical editors and a great refresher for advanced technical editors. The course presents material on a different topic in each session and concludes with discussions and materials on a career in technical editing. It is interactive and includes exercises within the sessions and homework between sessions.
Prerequisites include a working knowledge of English grammar, punctuation, spelling, and style. This course does not teach those skills, but it helps you learn how to apply your knowledge responsibly as an editor. In addition, you need the desire to improve your technical editing and learn about the many skills it requires.
Sharon Burton
7 June–12 July
10:30 AM–Noon EDT (GMT-4)
Presented by Sharon Burton
Topic-based authoring is the next new thing in technical communication. It lets you create and reuse content, reduces project schedules, and improves your workflow. If you are looking to move to a structured writing environment such as DITA, it's the first set of steps towards that goal.
But how to get started? What's a topic? What to do with your legacy content? How exactly do you plan this new way of developing content? How long will it take to see reduced project schedules? What skills do you need to make this move? And how will this help your users?
This six-week certificate course will cover all this and more. You'll end the course fully armed to make this move as painlessly as possible in your workplace, armed with best practices regardless of the tools you use.
Saul Carliner
11 October–15 November
10:30 AM–Noon EDT (GMT-4)
Presented by Saul Carliner
Effectively managing a technical communication group involves a unique set of skills: clearly communicating expectations regarding a job, effectively evaluating performance, developing and communicating a strategic vision for your group, making a business case for proposed projects, and selling the services of your group. Technical Communication Manager helps you develop these skills.
This certificate program develops these skills through a combination of discovery exercises (which leverage your existing knowledge), formal presentations (which describe the "must knows"), and action planning segments, which give you a chance to consider how you'll apply what you learned back on the job.
Phylise Banner
TBA: October/November
10:30 AM–Noon EDT (GMT-4)
Presented by Phylise Banner
This certificate program will cover a combination of theory- and problem-based approaches to instructional design for e-learning. Participants will have the opportunity to learn and apply instructional concepts, principles, and strategies to the design and development of a collaborative instructional project.
Each course is offered separately and includes five to eight sessions. To obtain the certificate, participants must log in for each of the sessions. A discount is available for additional attendees from the same company. For these special prices please contact Lloyd Tucker.
The online web conferencing system that will be used is Genesys. This is the same system used with all STC live web seminars. It is not necessary for participants to download the software. Click on the link to view the system requirements. Login details will be sent via email 2-3 days before the scheduled session.
The course management system, Moodle, will be used for participants to access assignments and session materials.