Conference tnpubs::i-exchange

17.0. "Workshop Opportunity" by REGENT::WOODWARD (I'll put this moment...here) Wed Aug 09 1995 08:22

Hi everyone --

Our own Rose Johnston, who taught Information Mapping when she
was with Digital, now has her own company, CLARITY Associates.

Rose will be in our area Aug. 22 and 23 and can give us a 1/2
workshop on writing concept information.  And it's *not* just for mappers, 
nor is it  just for Digital employees (contractors can come, too)!  

The description is attached to this message.

The participant price depends on how many people we get.  With
20, price is only $75 each.  (And no travel expenses involved because
Rose will already be here on other business.)

If there's interest, then here's what we need to make this happen:

o a room for up to 20 people (4 hours on 8/22 or 8/23, a.m. or p.m.)

o confirmation to Rose by August 14th with a list of students

o a manager to push a P.O. through (yes, there is an approved vendor
   connection) *or* people who pay individually and then get reimbursed
   from their manager 

Rose's training is always top-notch.  She works you hard, you have fun, 
and you learn things that you can use right away.

Send me mail if you're interested.  REGENT::WOODWARD 

Thanks! Kathy Woodward
______________________________________________________________________
                                       COMMUNICATING CONCEPTS
                    
	                   Do they know it when they see it?
	
	A 1/2 day writing workshop by CLARITY Associates
                    

DESCRIPTION
============
What looks like and acts like a police officer but isn't?  When you order a
regular coffee in Colorado do you get the same result as when you order 
one in New Hampshire?  With a certain text publishing program, why is
a template not a style sheet?  What the heck is client/server?

And what do all of those questions have in common?  Answer:  concepts.

The word "concept" is often used loosely to mean any idea.  But in linguistics,
educational psychology, and training, concepts are something more precise.
They are the mental models we use to classify, generalize, and discriminate on
the vast array of words, things, events, relationships, and so on that make up 
our lives.  And these mental models often contribute to our success or failure
when we are trying to learn or communicate something new.

Technical, training, and certain types of business communications often refer to
new concepts, *and* they often fail to adequately explain those concepts (if at
all).  The result is that discussion learning, or decision-making is often
difficult or impossible to do.

TOPICS IN BRIEF
==============
o Understand conceptual understanding as a stage of learning
o Understand the semantic differences between concepts and other types of
  information
o Put boundaries on the concept you want to convey
o Present the concept with a definition, examples, non-examples, and analogies
o Present multiple, closely related concepts simultaneously
o Choose display and sequencing strategies
o For training, test for classification and discrimination skills

Format:  Lecture, demonstration, exercises, and discussions

Materials:  You'll receive a reference manual that includes an in-depth
checklist that you can use to edit your concept information for audience
clarity, understanding, and effectiveness.  Use the checklist to do your own
edits, and as a tool for clearing up confusion when trying to clarify concepts
with subject-matter  experts.

AUDIENCE
=========
This workshop is for anyone who produces information where conveying a new idea 
is helpful or even critical to the process of making a decision or completing a
task  successfully.  

The following are some examples of where concept information is often needed in 
business, technical, or training communications:

o Technical proposals
o Arcitecture, design or functional specifications
o User information such as primers, installation guides, and reference manuals
o Training documents
o Business, administrative, or technical policies and procedures  

Prerequistes:  Basic writing skills and a desire to make your writing more
effective.

Are you an Information Mapping graduate?   Then you'll find this workshop to be
a useful, in-depth refresher on what you learned in the IM class as well as some
new ideas and writing tools and tricks.   

TERMS 
This 1/2 day workshop is available only through CLARITY Associates.

For time and materials you pay just $1500 for up to 20 students, plus travel and
expenses, if any.  As with our other workshops, we offer flexible scheduling. 
And after the workshop we are always  available to answer participant questions.

To schedule a class or for more information, contact

	Rose Johnston at CLARITY Associates
	6547 N. Academy Blvd. Suite 404
	Colorado Springs, CO  80918

               Tel. 719/488-3372 or Fax 719/488-9375

               Email:  [email protected]
(for now, mail is routed to Stacy Goff,  an associate of CLARITY)

Sounds great, and it's perfect timing for me, because my current project
is full of inadequately defined concepts that I should clarify before 
our woods meetings on August 28-30.


Pilar.