Guidelines for Tutorial Proposals

A tutorial's basic purpose is to give a deeper or more covering insight into its area than a conventional lecture would do. That is why it extends over a half day. This gives the speaker better possibilities to structure the tutorial in a proper manner.

• Any interesting middleware-related theme is welcome, from surveys to experience reports or specialized research topics. Topics welcomed include, but are not limited to, contemporary and emerging middleware approaches, and topics listed in the call for papers.
• Always keep in mind that a tutorial can be expected to attract a reasonable number of participants (at least 10 participants). This is most likely the case if the topic is new or relevant to a broad community.
• Experience has shown that tutorials on a very basic level are out. Surveys and advanced topics (including advanced topics on programming languages) are often much more successful.
• Middleware participants are usually quite experienced and come to a tutorial in order to get insight into some new area.

If you think that you are highly experienced in a certain middleware-related area and that others could benefit from sharing this experience with you, you should submit a proposal.

What should a proposal look like?

To make the evaluation process easier, please write your proposal according to the following scheme. Proposals adhering to this form will be truly preferred. We prefer to receive proposals in PDF-format submitted via electronic mail.

Title

• Select an expressive title that captures the contents of your tutorial well without being too long.
• Remember that the title must be attractive and should make a reader curious.
• In exceptional cases we may re-edit the title in order to make it consistent with other tutorial titles.

Speaker(s)

• Give the full name and address of the tutorial speaker.
• If there are multiple speakers, give this information for all of them but clearly specify who the contact person is.
• Don't forget to specify your electronic mail address.

Abstract

• Give a concise description of the contents and goals of your tutorial.
• The abstract will be used for the Advance Program.
• It should not be longer than 150 words.
• If it is longer, be prepared to have it cut or re-edited.

Outline

• This information will be used by the tutorial committee for reviewing the detailed tutorial contents.
• The outline should be a table of contents of the tutorial, with a few keywords for each section, and with a rough estimate of the time spent on each.

Duration

• All tutorials should be half-day.
• A half-day tutorial should last for 3.5 hours including a half an hour break.

Level

• The tutorial level can be introductory (requires almost no experience with the presented topic), intermediate (assumes knowledge of basic knowledge about middleware concepts but little or no experience with the tutorial's subject), or advanced (assumes several years of practical experience with middleware topics and preferably also some experience with the tutorial's subject).

Required experience

• Clearly state what knowledge you expect from your participants.
• This information will be included in the Advance Program.

Expected audience

• Who should attend this tutorial?
• How will the participants benefit from attending?

Speaker's profile

• Describe your affiliation, interests and experience.
• It should be clear from this text that you are the right person to give this tutorial.
• The information will be included in the Advance Program.
• It should not be longer than 40 words.

Tutorial resume

• Has this tutorial been given before?
• How many participants were there?
• If available, please specify the ratings that the participants gave to your tutorial.

Equipment

• Please specify the equipment you need, e.g., number of slide projectors, video projection facilities, paper boards, etc.

Presentations

• If the tutorial has been given before, please include at least the first 5 pages of your handouts.
• If the tutorial is new, it would still be useful to include a few sample slides that let the committee judge the expected quality of the presentation.

What should a tutorial look like?

If you never presented a tutorial before here are some suggestions that may help you in preparing your presentation.

Contents

• When preparing the tutorial, keep your audience in mind.
• People don't pay for a tutorial in order to hear things that they already know or that are irrelevant for their work.
• So don't be vague, don't waste time with lengthy introductions, but speak to the point.
• Don't try to impress the audience with the amount of your research, but convey practical knowledge and ideas that the participants will find useful for their own work.
• Whenever possible, use examples and case studies and avoid lengthy abstract passages.
• Also consider demonstrations on video or an overhead panel.
• In order to get an audience as homogeneous as possible, clearly state which knowledge you expect from the participants in the tutorial description.

Slides and notes

• You will have to prepare tutorial notes for the participants.
• These handouts usually contain copies of the slides that you show.
• Here are a few guidelines for preparing the slides and the handouts.

  • Use at least a 14 pt (or better an 18 pt) font on all of your slides.

  • A good slide should not just repeat everything you say but summarize your presentation.

  • Use short phrases and keywords instead of full sentences.

  • People cannot read as fast as you speak. Make heavy use of pictures and examples.

  • Consider also using the blackboard for short examples.

  • Use colors where they are helpful, but remember that they will not appear in the black and white handouts.

  • Don't put too much or too little material on a single slide.

  • A good rule of thumb is to spend 3 minutes per slide.

  • Don't include slides that you will skip in the presentation; people will find that annoying.

• You will have to deliver the tutorial notes in camera-ready form (please see the deadline in the call for proposals).
• To avoid wasting paper, copy two slides on a single page (reduced size). The printed area of such a page must not exceed 27 x 17cm (10.5 x 6.7 inch).
• In addition to the slide copies, also consider providing full-text handouts (papers, summaries, bibliography, etc.). Participants will appreciate that.
• The maximum length of the notes for a half-day tutorial should be 50 pages for slide copies and another 20 pages for full-text material.
• Try to achieve good printing quality.
• We will add an uniform cover page to all tutorial notes.

Presentation

• The participants expect that your presentation will be much easier to understand than a book about the same subject. Thus speak clearly and lively. Try to interact with your audience. Encourage them to ask questions.
• A presentation is much more lively if it also includes examples and demonstrations on the blackboard, on video or on an overhead panel.
• Tutorials should be split into sessions of 1.5 hours each with a 0.5 hour coffee break in between.
• Don't overrun your tutorial time. After the tutorial the participants will be asked to assess the tutorial with a questionnaire.
• A good rating will help you when applying for other tutorials in the future.

Compensation

Travel costs (airfare to Toronto plus 1 night of accommodation) will be covered by the conference. A small honorarium may also be paid, although this will be subject to the conference making a profit.

Additional information

The earlier a proposal arrives, the better the chances to get feedback in order to bring the proposal into a form that is likely to be accepted. For additional questions or clarification, or for your suggestions, please feel free to contact the Middleware 2004 Tutorials Chair Stefan Tai.