Notes from TOW Teachers dinner, May 3, 2007
Notes by D. Behrend

Notes are in order of teacher remarks, as we went around the
table. Relevant comments are indicated by rectangular brackets.


Individual Remarks
==================

Dan Smythe, Mark 5B Operations:
All went very well. There was a glitch with the projectors [when
Lincoln Lab removed a borrowed projector for one session]. It
would be helpful to have the dinners inlcuded in the overall
class schedule.

Ed Himwich, Pointing, FS Coding, various lectures:
The workshop and classes went pretty well. The FS topics class
was not intended as an outlet for people with FS issues. It may
be worthwhile to organize it as a general discussion next time.
A "VLBI block diagram talk" would be beneficial for beginners
to learn more basics (easier level).

Alan Whitney, Mark 5 System Overview:
A mapping table between the class titles and the abbreviations
would be helpful. I had the impression that some non-native
English speakers had difficulties to follow talks or conversations.
[Kerry: video taping might help.] [Alastair: Maybe a professional
translator will do.] For the older folks it would be nice to have
larger lettering on the name badges.

Mike Titus, Correlator Operations:
We split the correlator class into Theory and Operations classes
to have more feedback and interaction with the operators in the
operations class. Still, only seven operators attended the three
operations classes. It may be useful to make correlator operations
a required class for station operators. [Cormac: EVN uses a Web
form for feedback.] [Ed: IVS uses the stop message.] Another option
would be a mandatory correlator feedback session for station
operations; the theory class could continue to be voluntary. A
cohesive presentation between theory and operations was difficult
due to a high work load prior to the TOW. It would have been nice
to polish the class by having a dry run before the workshop.

Kerry Kingham, Correlator Theory:
Bonn and Washington should help Mike more in preparing the 
correlator operations class making it a stronger team work effort.
The Koreans do not have an operational antenna yet. Is it worth-
while for them to come? Or should they come after the hardware
is installed? There may be future parallels with the Australians
and New Zealanders.

Heidi Johnson, local coordinator:
We need to start earlier with the projector planning. The wording
on the Web page should be made stronger to avoid late bookings.
Last minute actions are error-prone and a logistical nightmare.

Don Sousa, Disk Module Testing and Shipment:
I had station and correlator people at my class. It went quite
well, with people exchanging tape memories. There was a good
level of interaction.

Mike Poirier, Pre-checks and operations, rack maintenance:
The classes went very well. We emphasized items that affect
correlators. Taking out the tape drive part gave some room,
but there is still a lot of material to cover.

Jonathan Quick, Linux Intro and System Administration:
The usefulness of the Linux classes is unclear. The Intro class
had a very small attendance and can probably be dropped next
time. The Administration class is difficult to taylor to the
needs of the participants. Maybe a tutorial is a better way
of presenting it; also a list of questions and requests from
people may be helpful.

Dirk Behrend, IVS lecture, Web site:
We should probably start earlier with the preparation and sort
out the projector issue. The downtime of the IVS Web in the
week before the TOW caused confusion. A backup version should
be ready at hand, either at Goddard or at Haystack.

Alastair Gunn, Pointing, amplitude calibration, antenna gain:
There still is the language issue; we need to avoid to waste
the teachers and/or the students time. A class prior to my
class overran its time allotment significantly. [Dan: the
class length sould be specially announced on the Web page.]

Cormac Reynolds, ANTABFS, antenna gain:
I had two classes and both worked fairly well. One class had
mostly astronomers as students. Maybe we should have more EVN
people. I enjoyed being a student in other classes.

Rich Strand, Pre-checks and operations, rack maintenance:
The classes went all pretty well. Station operators got most
out of it, but correlator people also benefited. The first
class was still a little "rough". One class was video taped,
and I talked more to the camera than to the group. First time
that I taught the rack maintenance class. I am not sure if
that needs to be done in two years from now.

Arthur Niell, Science Overview:
I added VLBI2010 to my talk, as it was not covered in any
other class. For the next TOW, we need to include lots
about the DBEs and the Mark 5Bs. [Mike P.: Mark 5A was put
into pre-obs, maybe next time it will be Mark 5B.]

Chester Ruszczyk, New OS for Mark 5 System, e-VLBI overview:
This was my first TOW experience. I think it went okay.