[Workshops] FOSS4G2008 workshop and lab evaluations

[Jeff McKenna]

(forwarding to the main 2009 list also)

Thanks Burnie,  after the great work yourself and Graeme did last year 
for the workshops your input on 2009 is much appreciated.

I agree that the location of the workshops in relation to the main 
sessions is very important (we first hit this issue in 2004, and it 
comes back once in a while).  Not only does it affect the attendees 
(difficult to find the workshop), but as you mentioned, it stretches the 
resources of the workshop committee.

I'm also glad that you mentioned the workshop evaluations.  Actually, I 
remember Graeme and I talking last year after the event and we both 
FIRMLY agreed that the only way to do workshop/tutorial questionnaires 
at future events would be to do it through a web form.  Why not? Every 
attendee will be sitting at a computer, so why not point them to a 
website for them to go through some questions.  Big benefit: no more 
converting/compiling from paper responses to digital! (TylerM is a big 
fan of these online forms)

What do we think for 2009?  After 6 years in a row of paper workshop 
evaluations, I don't see ANY OTHER WAY to handle evaluations.

-jeff



burnie nawn wrote:
> Morning All
>  
> I think it is time to put more information to the table supplied. This 
> would then also serve to inform the new LOC on what can improve.
>  
> As you are well aware we actually ran workshops on 5 different locations 
> at one time. One of the venues was more then 5km's away. Logistically 
> this was a challenge and we were ensured that the new LOC will take this 
> in consideration.
>  
> We further ran a record number of workshops and labs. The human 
> resources available to do this was stretched beyond the limit in both 
> setting up and preparing but also in running it and ensuring all goes 
> well. Volunteers did help greatly in distributing the printed materials, 
> including the evaluation questionaire.
>  
> We have however found that at certain venues participants did not return 
> their questionaires as requested or did not fill them in. In certain 
> case one or two pages might have gotten entangled in another pile when 
> volunteers collected forms. As you would have seen under our planning 
> for FOSS4G2008 we used a generic template. The problem was that 
> participants did not fill in the workshop they attended and sometimes 
> only wrote Tuesday Lab on it. My guess is there are two ways to improve 
> this:
> 1. Print the questionaire with the workshop/lab title, which means you 
> need to know precisely how many is attending or do a maximum bulk print, 
> which is too costly.
> 2. Have a house keeping slide in every venue to remind participants to 
> write the workshop title on teh form as well and have that re-inforced 
> by presenters at the end of each workshop/lab.
>  
> So to get back to the comments thus far. Thank your for helping us out 
> and finding the one or two that was mis-filed. I will change the 
> settings this morning so you can at least see all the fields. I will 
> chat to Gavin and see how we can optimise participation and insight into 
> the feedback.
>  
> Looking forward to enhance everybody's experience at FOSS4G.
>  
> Kind regards,
> Burnie Nawn 
> Tel. No. (011) 773 1682
> Cell No. 072 134 5352
> Fax No. 086 613 2741
> E-mail: jbnawn at hotmail.com <mailto:jbnawn at hotmail.com>
> 


-- 
Jeff McKenna
FOSS4G Consulting and Training Services
http://www.gatewaygeomatics.com/