The Technical Communication Association (TCA) of North Carolina State University is excited to announce its annual knowledge exchange gathering – SpeedCon. Started in 2011 by students and faculty of the MS in Technical Communication at NC State, SpeedCon brings together technical communication students and professionals from the Triangle area and beyond by providing a vibrant platform to share knowledge and build networks. To comply with state officials’ recommendations concerning large social gatherings and to keep everyone safe, this will be the second virtual SpeedCon!
TCA represents students of technical communication at NC State. We promote discussion about the latest trends in the field and achieve active collaboration between students and local industry. TCA is a registered non-profit organization under North Carolina state law. We welcome graduate and undergraduate students, as well as everyone interested in technical communication. Our members come from diverse backgrounds. They bring a variety of skill sets, international exposure, intercultural experience, and research interests to the organization. We have a strong network of alumni who are making their mark in technical communication across the USA and beyond.
Please follow SpeedCon updates and share your experience via the social media hashtag #SpeedCon2021.
Audience
SpeedCon’s primary audience includes graduate students of the MS in Technical Communication and professionals from the Triangle area. Students from various other disciplines are welcome to attend.
Event Format
There are two types of presentations: SpeedTalks and Workshops. Please note that the TCA cannot offer speaker fees.
1. SpeedTalks
SpeedTalks are no more than 10 minutes long, with an additional five minutes for Q&A. Topic ideas may include trends in the industry, tips that audience members can apply in their current job or field of study, or your recent research or projects.
2. Workshops
Workshops occur in blocks of 45 minutes. A formal slideshow is optional, but we’ll need to see a plan or timeline for your workshop in advance. Your workshop can be an intensive discussion on a topic or a hands-on session about how to accomplish a particular activity. Traditionally, SpeedCon workshops have a “how to” theme, but other ideas are welcome.
Areas of Focus
The following are broader areas covered in past conferences, though we will consider all topics related to technical communication and how communication evolved during the pandemic.
| Accessibility Augmented reality Content management Content strategy Data visualization Design thinking Digital marketing DITA, XML, HTML, CSS Grant writing Graphic design Help authoring tools Human-computer interaction | Information architecture Information design Instructional design Instructional writing Medical writing Project management Proposal writing Public relation campaigns Publishing your work QA documentation Rhetoric Science writing Systems design | Technical documentation Technical editing Textual analysis Translation and localization Usability testing User experience User interfaces User research Verbal data analysis Virtual reality Voice-user interface Workplace application |
Theme
This year’s conference focuses on communication during the pandemic – how has communication evolved to align with COVID-19 global emergency and the need to make company communications responsible and thoughtful. We encourage attendees to speak on adapting to remote work, their changing identities in relation to careers or personal experience, the increased importance of and shifts in dissemination of technical information such as information about COVID, or any combination of these and related topics. Consider speaking on the areas of focus mentioned above through the lens of communication during the pandemic.
Submissions
- A 150-300 word abstract for your presentation. If you are accepted as a workshop presenter, you will need to submit your workshop plan within 15 days from the notification of being accepted as a speaker. You can submit multiple abstracts (one each for a SpeedTalk or a workshop). The planning committee reserves the right to limit the number of presentations to one per speaker if there are too many submissions.
- A short bio of no more than 100 words to provide us with a high-level view of your career and your major accomplishments, which we will include in the conference program.
Your bio should include:
- Full name, current job title (if applicable) and organization’s name
- Description of your role in the organization and the products/services it provides
- Highlights from your career as it relates to your presentation
- Key civic activities and personal interests
- Degrees, certifications, awards, honors, and authored publications
- LinkedIn profile link (optional)
During the week preceding SpeedCon, the TCA will request submission of slide decks. You may use PowerPoint, Google Slides, or another presentation format. The presentations will occur via Zoom’s share screen function, but we will need a copy of your slides as a backup. Additionally, TCA would like to upload slides to http://www.speedcon.net for people unable to attend. The slide submission request will ask for your permission.
Registration
Please register and submit your abstracts and bio using this Google Form, which is also found on www.speedcon.net. Submissions to present will close on Friday, April 16th. The cutoff date provides us with adequate time to schedule speakers.
Contact
If you have questions about SpeedCon or troubles with registration, please contact contact-tca@ncsu.edu or Sayee Jadhav (TCA President) at sjadhav2@ncsu.edu. Please include “SpeedCon” in the subject line.
