WORKSHOP FAQs

What's the schedule for workshops in 2005-06?
Who are workshops open to?
What's the attendance fee?
Do I get NCRA and AZ CCR continuing education credits?
Do I need to RSVP?
What's the difference between Parts and Versions of the program?
Can newbies come to veteran workshops and veterans come to newbie workshops?

APPLICATION FAQs

How do I download and open MB (My Briefs) files?
What are the settings on the BE (Briefs Encountered) Main Screen for searches?
How should I size my Briefs Encountered program on my screen?
Do you have a remote keyboard recommendation?
What's the most efficient way to enter a brief into My Briefs for future searching and use with MDBW?
What's the “1 of 16 Rule” in constructing a brief?
I've attended Part 1 but not Part 2 yet. What do you recommend for memorizing new briefs?

 

 

 

 

 

What's the schedule for workshops in 2006?

Saturday, February 12, 2005 MDBW Part II – Version 1: The Immersion Method for Learning Briefs as a Second Language and Newbies Welcome

Saturday, May 14, 2005 MDBW Part I – Version 2:
An Introduction to Learning Briefs as a Second Language & Users Update

----------- NEXT  WORKSHOP  FEBRUARY 11, 2006----------
Saturday 2/11/06   MDBW Part II – Version 2:
The Immersion Method for Learning Briefs as a Second Language and Newbies Welcome
This workshop will be a 3-hour course, taking place on February 11, 2006, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon.

May 13, 2006 MDBW Part I – Version 3: An Introduction to Learning Briefs as a Second Language & Users Update

For all seminars:

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Who are workshops open to?

All workshops are open to all court reporters, court reporting students and teachers.

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What's the attendance fee?

There is no attendance fee. However, to be sure you get the full benefit of the workshop, visit course description and requirements for a list of needed materials.

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Do I get NCRA and AZ CCR continuing education credits?

All workshops have been submitted for NCRA CEUs. Our current workshops have been approved for .3 CEUS with NCRA.
2 hours of AZ CCR credit has also been applied to past workshops; forthcoming approval for changed format is expected.

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Do I need to RSVP?

It is very important to RSVP for workshop planning purposes. Please RSVP to Deanna C. Bakurza or Maureen Williams by email or by phone, at 602-258-1440.

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What is the difference between Parts and Versions of the program?

1)    We have changed our presentation format from four times per year to two workshops per year.

2)     The two-part program consists of:
        Part 1 = Introduction, and
        Part 2 = the Immersion Method

3)     Part 1, Introduction, gives a from-scratch, knowing nothing, informational approach to the concept of learning to think in briefs.
        Part 2, Immersion, adds practical information and application techniques, including sharing what the MDBW users have  experienced using these techniques on the job during the interim between workshops. First-timers attending Part 2 sessions can glean some understanding of the concepts and techniques, although they will not have the benefit of the introductory foundation from the Part 1 sessions.

4)    Each part will have its own Versions 1, 2 , 3, etc. Successive versions will continue to build upon the foundation established in previous versions. All workshops will include a Veterans Update for feedback from experienced users.

Fall 2004 = Part 1 Version 1
Winter 2005 = Part 2 Version 1
Spring 2005 = Part 1 Version 2
Fall 2005 = [cancelled]
Spring 2006 = Part 2 Version 2
Fall 2006 = Part 1 Version 3
Winter 2006 = Part 2 Version 3

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Can newbies come to veteran workshops and veterans come to newbie workshops?

Absolutely! That's exactly the way these workshops are designed.

Newbies (if you haven't attended a previous workshop): Please join us for a Part I session to learn about MDB. You're also invited to Part II sessions to become familiar with what the veterans are learning.

Veterans (current users): Part II is designed specifically for you, but you will also be an important part of Part 1 workshops, specifically in the “Construction of Briefs and Phrases” portion of the workshop.

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How do I download and open MB (My Briefs) files?

These files are only going to open in the Briefs Encountered program that you all have installed on your computers.

You will need to first save the file to a disk, floppy, or if you have the capability to burn it to a CD.

Now you can follow the handout you received at the workshop for restoring. If you lost the handout, here's the procedure:

 

 

 

 

 

What are the settings on the BE (Briefs Encountered) Main Screen for searches?

For basic English and steno searches, which are the basic searches you should be doing at this point, have your screen set up as we discussed and as was demonstrated at the workshop:

 

 

 

 

How should I size my Briefs Encountered program on my screen?

Size your Windows BE screen vertically as was demonstrated at the workshop, i.e.,

Now you can size your CAT program vertically to fill the rest of the space above the BE widow.

Reminder: Size your Cat program horizontally to show all the words on the line. You really don't have to see the page numbers or the audiosync notes or the time stamping. Your font and display settings will determine if you can see all the words. And you have to see all the words in the line. Be sure to write down any current settings before experimenting with your CAT screen other than windowing.

Horizontally, I size my BE program on the right-hand side to about the middle of the screen. There's usually nothing but white space on the horizontal view of the BE screen from the middle of the screen to the end of the screen on the right. My desktop background shows with a picture of the Drake University track where I hope to run a race someday. You'd be amazed at the similarities between writing shorthand and running! No kidding. If I'm getting blasted on the job, I'll drag my translation stats window down to that space and stare at it and try to make the numbers go down as competitive motivation. Those of you who write with 0.00 untranslates won't be able to do that.

Warning: On the job, don't run a third program in the space for a third window to the right of the BE window. When you go to toggle back and forth between your CAT program and BE (Ctrl + tab on your remote keyboard), it will toggle to that third program and you'll be all tied up in knots. Two programs on the job are plenty to deal with from my experience. Once you've become really adept at this stuff, you'll be tempted to run a Merriam-Websters window or Steadman's or some other third window on the job.. But again, it ends up for me being a “Doh!” moment when I can't figure out where the heck my cursor is.

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Do you have a remote keyboard recommendation?

My recommendation is the Gyration Ultra GT Compact Keyboard (don't get the full size!). I have found no drawbacks in a year and a half of using it. You will also want to buy the Compact Keyboard Cover that snaps on to protect the keys during storage and transport.

I bought my Gyration keyboard at either Office Max or Staples here in Phoenix. And I found the keyboard cover at the Gyration website but purchased it from some other company that came up in my Google search because the Gyration people were out of stock. So you can get these two products a lot of places. My keyboard came as part of their “suite” which included a remote mouse which has no relevance to MDBW. But it came with the remote keyboard and the USB RF receiver.

Here's the prices on the manufacturer's website, www.gyration.com : Ultra GT Compact Keyboard Suite = $119.95, Compact Keyboard Cover = $9.95.

Please don't fight using the remote keyboard. Once you've gained some confidence, your fingers will fly back and forth in the few inches between the two keyboards. No twisting of the body or reaching out to get to another keyboard: It's right there part of your steno machine. You'll love it.

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What's the most efficient way to enter a brief into My Briefs for future searching and use with MDBW?

When you add a brief to MB, annotate the English entry on the “Word or Phrase:” line with your initials in parentheses like I did on some of the entries you'll see in MB. For example, from the 11-13-04 Part I – Version 1 workshop you should have an English entry of “cocoon (DM)” with the accompanying steno entry of KAO*N for the one addition we did at that workshop into My Briefs. It will be important at future workshops for you to know Dave Minder gave you that brief. Trust me. There's going to be a vetting procedure in future workshops that requires the brief's author.

Amendment (11-21-04): Add the date in this format after the initials “cocoon (DM) 11-13-04” to give us the most comprehensive searching capabilities in future workshops. In the future, you'll be searching for your own My Briefs entries, hence the need to put in your initials, and the date of the entries for printout and discussion, hence the need to put in the date in that format after your initials in parentheses.

Summary of My Briefs entry steps:

1. Go to “Briefs Encountered – Main Screen.”
2. Under “Search In,” all three programs should be checked.
3. Click “Edit.”
4. On the “Word or Phrase:” line, enter using this format: “English word or phrase (your initials) month-day-two digit year.”
5. On the “Steno:” line, add your steno using steno that meets one or more of the 16 guidelines in Categorically Speaking, with one guideline being the minimum and the more guidelines of the 16 you meet for that steno the better a brief it is.
   

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What's the “1 of 16 Rule” in constructing a brief?

When you construct a brief to enter into My Briefs, you have to make sure it follows 1 or more of the 16 guidelines on the Part 1 workshop handout, also contained on pages 1-1 and 1-2 of Categorically Speaking. It is not a situation of having to make 16 guidelines fit one brief. But you do have to be sure your brief meets at least one of the guidelines. And, of course, the more guidelines that apply to your brief, the better a brief it becomes.

Don't construct briefs without consulting the guidelines, please. We're doing these babies to last a lifetime, folks.

The applicability of this rule is as follows: If, for example, at the Part II workshop Paul Grossman has a brief for a word that meets three of the guidelines and I have the same word using a brief that meets only 1 of the guidelines, we'll use Paul's. He'll have surpassed me on the quality-of-brief scale, 3 to 1.

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I've attended Part 1 but not Part 2 yet. What do you recommend for memorizing new briefs?

Good question. And the answer is MDBW Part 2, "The Immersion Method for Learning Briefs as a Second Language."

1. The way I've designed these workshops is to get you using the stuff at Part 1 and them teach you how to memorize them in Part 2. It's way too much information for one session. And each part is separated by three months, in which time you will gain experience from what you've learned so far and be able to contribute to the next workshop with your experience.

It wouldn't be good to give you Part 2 now, but just think about this:

Pretend you're stranded on an island that you assume is deserted. Besides life's essentials, you have all your Brief Encounters materials. And lo and behold, one day you happen upon another person on the island. This person doesn't speak any English. However, this person does have all the same Brief Encounter materials that you have.

How would you go about learning and communicating your common language, Brief Encounters, to each other? There's no way you would want to try to teach the other person English if he/she already knew the language of Brief Encounters. And conversely, you wouldn't want to learn the other person's language because you already have a head start on your common language of Brief Encounters.

What you would do is plunge into learning and communicating activities of daily living using BE, i.e., by thinking, writing, talking (give me the benefit of the doubt here), and visualizing briefs.

That's what we're going to cover in Part 2.

2. In the interim, memorize and practice/rehearse the most frequently occurring briefs that come up in your own reporting circumstances or in your own life. Don't go looking for words that aren't coming up in your own everyday world. There's thousands of high-frequency words and phrases that you can learn by just picking them out of what you're hearing at depos or thinking about during your own day.

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Let's have some fun!

 

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