Notes from TOW Teachers dinner, April 30, 2009
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
==================

Dirk Behrend, IVS lecture, Web site:
In spite of the short preparation time, this TOW was very
successful. A wrap-up event is needed to properly round out
the workshop.

Rich Strand, Pre-checks and operations, Hardware maintenance:
This TOW was very, very successful; there were a lot of new
people and new interest. The class structure is very useful.
The description of the Hardware Maintenance class needs some
updating. It is important to have access to Westford as an
actual moving telescope. 10 people is the maximum for the
classes there. We compete with Ed and Alastair for Westford
time slots. [Mike P.: There is nothing at the Haystack antenna].
Heidi's American lunch was excellent and very well received.
The time from 9:00-17:00 is the maximum for classes. We do
need the General Feedback session. People have the chance to
say something. Alan's and Arthur's lectures were just right
for the new system. Dan MacMillan's lecture (on Science) was
pretty good. Kerry's VLBI Basics lecture was very good; I
can reuse slides of that talk. I agree that a wrap-up session
is needed. The icebreaker gives the opportunity to introduce
all individual people.

Mike Poirier, Pre-checks and operations, Hardware maintenance:
Before the TOW I felt that it is not needed anymore. After the
TOW week I changed my mind. The personal connection with every
single one is very important. The next TOW will see the transition
to the VLBI2010 hardware, which may enter into the operational
type level. The first class is always the most difficult to
teach; it does not matter if it is for native or non-native
English speakers. I very much Ed's FS class that had a lot of
discussion in it. The veggie meals (for Alastair) were  often
late.

Rick Hambly, Timing systems:
I defer comments about the classes to Tom. With a series of
special needs, I was very well accommodated. Thanks to all.
Some classes that I attended were not the best.

Alan Whitney, DBE and Mark 5 System Overview:
I only contributed two small talks to the TOW. I received feedback
through questions and individual conversations in the corridor.

Mike Titus, Correlator Operations:
The correlator operations class worked out very well. I shared the
teaching load with Alessandra (for the first time), which helped
that the class worked much better than in previous TOWs. The class
is mostly geared towards station operators. [Tom: I had the feeling
that not all station operators knew who the VLBI friend at their
station was. Maybe, when registering, it would be helpful to gather
information on their major interests. This can help in identifying
the appropriate person for the correlator class.]

Dan Smythe, Mark 5 Advanced Topics, Troubleshooting w/o decoder:
I was on vacation the three weeks before the TOW. So, the preparation
was not the best and the course description and notes can be
improved. The two classes could be merged theoretically. The class
quality depended much on the attendants.

Tom Clark, Timing Systems:
Kerry's introductory lecture and the joint correlation class
were especially good. Thanks to Rick for coming. There were many
other meetings directly preceding the TOW [FRFF Workshop and V2C
meeting in Wettzell, EVGA and IVS 10th anniversary in Bordeaux,
EGU in Vienna] making a proper preparation difficult. The timing
classes went pretty well, the last class only had a small number
of attendants. At the next TOW we need to stress what is really
new and throw out old stuff; we need to recognize the VLBI2010
revolution.

Alexander Neidhardt, FS Remote Interface Demonstration:
When selecting courses as student, it was difficult to see what
level the classes will be taught at. I suggest some level info
in the sign-up sheet. It would be good to have pictures of the
people with their names. All-in-all it was a real workshop
and not a series of lectures only. [Arthur: Participants'
photos should be made available before the meeting, internally
at least.]  [Tom: Posters on the status of the stations would
be helpful as well.]

Kerry Kingham, VLBI Basics:
It is important to remember who (and from where) the audience
is. Station personnel may feel forgotten. Hence, it is important
to find a way to convey that the Coordinating Center, stations
and correlators are all in this together. At the next TOW some
stations will have VLBI2010 equipment. We need to expect a very
large TOW next time. Maybe we should rename the correlator class:
"Where do the data go" or similar. [Mike P., Arthur: It may also
be worthwhile to elaborate on Coordinating Center activities, how
the master observing plan is done, and maybe how the OPC functions.]

Mamoru Sekido, K5 Introduction, Software Correlation:
This is my first time at a TOW. I am glad to have learnt many things
at this TOW. Face-to-face interaction is very important for good
results. We do not have a comparable meeting in Japan. For instance,
there was no coming together of NICT and NAOJ staff. Heidi-san's
work was great.

Ed Himwich, Pointing, FS Coding, various lectures:
The logistics was excellent. Maybe we can have some non-sweet bread
for breakfast. The class assignments were better this time. Dirk
prepared them by hand. Kerry's talk set a good tone. Also Mike T.
and Alessandra's class was very good. This TOW was very enjoyable
for me. There were, for instance, much better questions this time
than in the past. Maybe a "facilitator" is needed. The station
feedback session is very valuable, as it encourages people to
communicate. I also had some free time for classes to attend.

Alessandra Bertarini, Correlator Operations:
This was my first TOW as teacher. I enjoyed to prepare and give
the lessons. We also had the Korean and Chinese correlator people
in the correlator class. I received positive feedback from the
participants. The class notes were not printed correctly for the
notebook (e.g., black background swallowed all). It would be
nice to have a pre-TOW common activity for icebreaking. [Ed:
We could have a scripted activity for the Tuesday.] Due to 
strong equipment noise it would be useful to have a mike also
in Conference B.

Alastair Gunn, Pointing, amplitude calibration, antenna gain:
I surprisingly realized that I participated in all TOWs. There
are only a few astronomers participating. I took over the teaching
of the ANTAB class from Cormac Reynolds. In a future TOW the
theory class could be dropped, as people can read the theory.
[Ed: works as long as we have the notes.] People pick up more
in practical activity. I always wonder if people are actually
applying what I am teaching. If not, it may be a waste on both
the teachers' and students' side.

Arthur Niell, Progess in VLBI2010:
A mapping between class names and abbreviations used would be
helpful. Special needs (such as the 5 MHz and 1 pps sources) 
should be handled earlier. In feedback form, we may add an entry
on the speed of teachers' speeches. [Mike P.: We can look into
recruiting bilingual MIT students to serve as translators.]
Some viewgraphs had too small print sizes (e.g., Sekido-san).
To increase socialization we may think of finding ways to break
up groups and create a greater mingling. The next TOW is in 
two years and needs to cover more VLBI2010 related topics; e.g.,
fiber maintenance, multiple bands (four band system), DiFX
correlator. It may even be indicated to have an interim education
event. [Kerry: We could set up a video conference for critical
courses to, say, a central site in Europe.] [Dan S.: Other
interim education opportunities could be a TOG meeting or a
miniTOW at the General Meeting.]