[Foss4g2008loc] workshops for FOSS4G2008

Fri Mar 7 07:11:07 EST 2008

Thanks Graeme

To answer your question, yes will everyone on the LOC list who wants to
discuss workshops please join the workshop list at
http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/conference-workshops and move
the discussions there.

thanks

Gavin 

________________________________

From: foss4g2008loc-bounces at lists.osgeo.org
[mailto:foss4g2008loc-bounces at lists.osgeo.org] On Behalf Of Graeme
McFerren
Sent: 07 March 2008 11:02 AM
To: FOSS4G2008 local organising committee
Subject: RE: [Foss4g2008loc] draft call for workshops for FOSS4G2008

>From my point of view, I agree with the sentiments that the committee be
established first - as I understand it, Burnie will head it up, and from
the LOC I will help. 

Kahlil Gibran can go, I am not bound to it at all. I was hoping to
humour the organising committee! 

I think the idea of workshops and labs will be taken aboard this year
again - I will try to make the distinctions clear on the website.
However, I would say that for purposes of management, they belong in the
same conference track. 

The emphasis on hands on workshops is important in the context of having
the conference in SA. The term workshop is widely used and does not
always imply "hands on". So lets chop away the "mostly" part and let
people get stuck in. 

The need for a workshop submission template is clear and we will
definitely need to learn as much as possible from 2007. This document
can be what is submitted to the conference workflow. Regarding the
latter, I guess part of the reasoning for using the OCS application was
that it can handle submissions for various tracks pretty well. A lot of
the comms are still done manually, but with OCS, a good record exists,
with submission docs in one place and so on. To use the submission
capability of OCS, a user needs to get an account with the website,
which is really a fairly minor matter. This is different from conference
registration, which only kicks in once someone has decided to attend. 

So, shall any future workshop discussions be moved to the
conference-workshops list? 

Graeme

>>> burnie nawn <jbnawn at hotmail.com> 03/07/08 7:07 AM >>>
Hi All

Please find my comments below marked upfront with ++

Kind regards,
Burnie Nawn 
0837785352

________________________________

> Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2008 07:59:46 -0800
> From: davep at confluence.org
> Subject: Re: [Foss4g2008loc] draft call for workshops for FOSS4G2008
> To: foss4g2008loc at lists.osgeo.org
>
> Gavin Fleming wrote:
> > Hi all, please review this draft by 16h00 SAST Thurs 6 Feb so we can
> > distribute the Call on Friday. Thanks to Graeme for putting this
> > together.
>
> A)
> As Jeff suggests, the Workshop Committee should preferably be
> established first, so they can review the call, etc.

++ I Agree. As agreed at our last LOC meeting I can take the lead, but
will need some assistance. This will especially be needed at the event
itself. I understand that currently the LOC will be largely involved in
the sifting process. I am sure we could use the current workshop mailing
list to get a wider audience to participate.

> B)
> Personally, I don't like the part about the Kahil Gibran
> quote - it sounds "cheesy" to me.

> C)
> FOSS4G2007 introduced "Labs" as the name for 90-minute
> 'Workshops'. If that same terminology is going to be used
> for 2008, it needs to be decided up front, and therefore
> the distinction made clear in all communications, and on
> the website. For example, someone may not be willing to
> submit a Workshop, if they can't be in Cape Town on the
> days that Workshops will run, however they may be willing
> to submit a Lab. On one hand it's a convenient way to
> distinguish the two classroom formats, but on the other
> hand it's sometimes not very clear, such as when a mailing
> list is for "workshops"(i.e. where's the list for "labs"?).

++I agree on the standardisation of name use. It does not reflect so in
teh current call for workshops.

> D)
> In my opinion, there shouldn't be room for 'non-hands-on'
> Workshops/Labs. For 2007, the feedback was clear that
> people expected hands on, and lots of it.
> E)
> The 'workshop submission template document' needs to be
> available at the same time as the Call is announced, and
> the Workshop Committee needs to revise the document used
> for 2007, to fix some deficiencies. That document, and
> possibly this Call, needs to clarify the 'free or half-
> price' registration details (e.g. # of people), that
> workshop materials will be published online after the
> conference, etc.
> F)
> Is the "three days prep per hour of classroom time"
> still a good guideline?

++ I believe so. We want to make sure the quality of work presented is
of the highst quality. Even if you are familiar with your own system it
takes a while to convey this information.

> G)
> I get the part about accepted presenters needing to
> register for the conference, but I question whether
> there is any need for people submitting workshop/lab
> proposals to "create an account" on the website. For
> 2007, submissions were done via email. Maybe only once
> people are accepted as Instructors should they need to
> create an account on the website?

++ I think they should only register once accepted to avoid any chaos.

> H)
> As I've said before, the mailing list used for the
> 'workshop discussions' should be "year-specific".
> Frank setup "conference-workshops at lists.osgeo.org"
> without mentioning the year, but in my opinion
> that is a mistake. It will be fine for now, but in
> the future you don't want an Instructor for the 2009
> conference doing a search of the list's archive for
> something, and finding postings that are for the
> 2008 conference. One list per FOSS4G conference is
> my suggestion.

++ I support you on the annual thing.

>
>
>
> My specific suggestions for changes in the draft's wording
> are inline below, bracketed with "#...#". "##" indicates
> a deletion.
> ======================================================================
>
> #FOSS4G 2008 Conference Call for Workshops#
>
> > The FOSS4G (Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial) conference
> > is pleased to announce the Call for Workshops for the 2008
> > conference, #which is# being held September 29-October 3 in Cape
Town,
> > South Africa.
> >
> > FOSS4G is the premier conference for the open source geospatial
> > community, providing a place for developers, users, and people new
to
> > open source geospatial to get a full-immersion experience in both
> > established and leading edge geospatial technologies.
> >
> > This year's FOSS4G #conference# is a bit different #than prior
FOSS4G
> > conferences#, #because# it incorporates GISSA
> > 2008, the main GIS Conference on the South African calender#. GISSA
is
> > primarily# attended
> > by people who are not yet too familiar with FOSS4G#, however,# the
> > South African Government has made a
> > strategic commitment to FOSS. This has created a certain amount of
> > clamour for more information about FOSS4G. The FOSS4G2008 Organising
> > Committee believe that immersive workshops could play a crucial role
> > in convincing people that FOSS4G is "An Option for Developing
> > Nations"#, working# alongside more well known proprietary tools. As
> > the famous wedding quote generator, Kahlil Gibran, once said, "Even
as
> > the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same
music".
> > Not to stretch the poetry too far, but FOSS4G 2008 offers an
> > opportunity to let people experience the FOSS and proprietary
> > software strings playing nicely together.
> >
> > Come to Cape Town to showcase your favorite application, integration
> > solution, or other topic#,# and get the excitement bubbling around
it.
> > You will use your superior classroom skills to lead a group of
> > attendees through your chosen topic in {either a half-day workshop
or
> > ninety minute lab}.
> >
> > No restrictions are placed on topics for workshops, but we expect
> > interest to be high for workshops on:
> >
> > * Practical Introduction to ___________ * Interoperability *
Exposure
> > to a Software Stack * Fitting FOSS4G into the enterprise * Using
> > FOSS4G to solve __________
> >
> > #In addition,# FOSS4G plays strongly in emerging spaces, so
workshops
> > with NeoGeography-like themes or on new directions will be welcome
> > and are likely to be fresh topics for many attendees.
> >
> > ##FOSS4G workshops are ##"hands on" events, with
> > participants seated in front of computers and able to follow along
> > with the instructor, working directly with the software and
> > applications under discussion.
> >
> > Workshops require considerable preparation. Past experience has
shown
> > that a high quality workshop requires about three days of
preparation
> > for each hour of presentation time. As part of this preparation you
> > will be expected to develop material for attendees to take away with
> > them, such as handouts, a 'workbook', CDROM, etc.
> >
> > In recognition of this effort, workshop presenters will receive a
> > reduction in the price of conference registration:
> >
> > * free registration for delivering a half-day workshop * half-price
> > registration for delivering a 90-minute workshop
> >
> > #If your topic can be delivered in either a half-day or 90-minute
> > format#, you may want to consider submitting two
> > versions of your topic, #because the number of Workshops and Labs
> > is limited. It is unlikely that your topic will be selected for
> > delivery in both formats. You are welcome to submit Workshop/
> > Lab proposals for more than one topic.#
> >
> > Please visit the Call for Papers page on our website to receive
> > instructions for submitting a workshop#/lab# proposal at
> > http://conference.osgeo.org/index.php/foss4g/2008/schedConf/cfp
> >
> >
> > The deadline for workshop proposal submissions is 15 April, 2008.
You
> > will hear whether your proposal has been accepted by 30 April, after
> > which you will be required to register for the conference to confirm
> > your attendance#,# as well as subscribe to the
> > conference-workshops at lists.osgeo.org mailing list, which will be the
> > forum for discussing your workshop development, progress and
> > logistics with the #Workshop Committee#, members of the OSGeo
> > community#,# and fellow presenters.
>
>
> --
> Dave Patton
>
> System Developer
> National Forest Inventory
> Pacific Forestry Centre
> Natural Resources Canada
>
> Degree Confluence Project:
> Canadian Coordinator
> Technical Coordinator
> http://www.confluence.org/
>
> OSGeo FOSS4G2007 conference:
> Workshop Committee Chair
> Conference Committee member
> http://www.foss4g2007.org/
>
> Personal website:
> Maps, GPS, etc.
> http://members.shaw.ca/davepatton/
> _______________________________________________
> FOSS4G2008LOC mailing list
> FOSS4G2008LOC at lists.osgeo.org
> http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/foss4g2008loc

>

________________________________

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