[Fwd: Summary from FFTw workshop]
Leslie Southern
leslie at osc.edu
Tue Apr 25 14:33:39 CDT 2000
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Summary from FFTw workshop
Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2000 12:14:43 -0400
From: Leslie Southern <leslie at osc.edu>
Organization: OSC
To: pacs at ncsa.uiuc.edu, pacs-trn at osc.edu, ag-tech at osc.edu,
gbma at ahpcc.unm.edu,Sirpa Saarinen <sirpa at ncsa.uiuc.edu>,"Alsing, Paul"
<alsing at ahpcc.unm.edu>, troy <troy at osc.edu>,griddeploy at osc.edu
Hi all,
Apologies for redundancies...
Here is a summary of the notes from April 18th FFTw workshop. All in
all it went well. Users from OSC were excited about the use of
technology and would happily take another workshop over the AG
given that the subject was of interest to them.
I combined the notes from several folks and tried to categorize them
according to materials, instructor, and operator/producer issues. Some
items were repeated in the different categories. If I left anything out,
please let us know. Hopefully, from our experiences, we can generate
some sort of procedural documentation.
-Leslie
Wish list -- shared desktops, shared web browsers, shared whiteboards
and/or chat.
Materials
* need ppt files at least 2 hours (24 hours) before presentation,
so hardcopies for students can be prepared.
* A central website that included supplemental information was
very helpful. PowerPoint slides in HTML a plus for students
with access to terminals. Would have been nice to have all
presentation materials available at same location in same
formats.
* need to know the order of presentations and materials required
for each presentation in advance. If all the slides were in one
file or at one location in the appropriate order, confusion
would be minimized.
* separate evaluations at local sites may be helpful (users
polled at OSC liked the technology and would attend another
workshop over the AG given content was of interest to them).
* use different colors, fonts, bold or italicize various items
on slides, when describing items refer to their visual
distinctions, so audience can easily follow. (or share
pointer)
Instructor
* keep mic a constant distance from the instructor -- use a
wireless mic.
* instructor should face audiences, and remain fairly still
* improve visibility of instructor -- have the instructor in the
light, face the audience if possible. At UNM, the slide was
very bright and the instructor stood off to the side of the
projection in the dark.
* repeat questions before answering
* cite slide numbers occasionally (at OSC, users were also
following along on the web at their local workstations)
* use different colors, fonts, bold or italicize various items
on slides, when describing items refer to their visual
distinctions, so audience can easily follow. (or share
pointer)
* Assume more time to cover fewer slides. Technology and
interactions between remote audiences requires some time. Need
to be more explicit verbally (i.e., no shared pointers)
Operator/Producer
* varying preferences on windows, their sizes and locations.
Visual quality of medium size is better than large. Fewer may
be better. Audience typically interested in other audiences
and not necessarily their own. Unless the instructor is
pointing to display screens, there wasn't much point in seeing
the display screens of others.
* point camera at audience before they get there; smaller groups
seem more sensitive to camera adjustments
* make sure speaker knows to look at the camera and stand still,
and where to stand (use tape if you have to). Or control your
speaker's environment to make them look at the camera and stay
still (i.e., use a podium or have them sit in a chair, find a
way to avoid putting slides on the wall behind them to prevent
them from being tempted to turn their back on the audience) all
the while considering local audience needs.
* BE ON THE MUD
* need backup (phone call) for audio difficulties. Have a
conference call backup available. It's preferable to have two
of them, actually: one for backchannel and one for audio backup.
* have a rehearsal, especially if your speaker has never talked
over the AG. Have a rehearsal even if they have, though,
especially to test audio.
* you need at least two people to support node, so one can stay at
controls while other adjusts cameras, delviers mics, goes to the
bathroom. But bring some reading or email to catch up on,
because if things are going well it will be boring (this is the
desired outcome). You also might want a third person as producer
and resource person for your local audience, depending on the
size of the audience and complexity of the event.
* have all your equipment ready, including whatever you need for
your gentner to switch to telco.
* balance audio according to speaker
* need to know the order of presentations and materials required
for each presentation in advance. If all the slides were in one
file or at one location in the appropriate order, confusion
would be minimized.
* provide/allow 15 minutes at each location for a brief overview
of AG
* Determine procedure for questions from remote sites. For
small groups and if viewable, raising hands may work.
Questions should be noted on the MUD. When students ask a
question, have them announce location (name may help improve
interaction). Audience questions have to be monitored more
closely, speak up and watch mud.
* would rather not watch folks eating lunch
* have backup in case of problems, be flexible, perhaps change
order of remote presentations in the event one remote site
is having technical difficulties.
* ensure appropriate people at each participating site know about
the event as early as possible
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