Fwd: TEI Training Proposal

[Merrilee Proffitt]

Up from me.

Merrilee

At 12:55 PM 12/2/2002 -0500, you wrote:
>Council members,
>
>Please read through the following and vote up or down on the proposed 
>training session.  Votes should be cast by the end of this week (Friday, 
>December 6th).
>
>John
>
>>X-Sender: grockwel at univmail.cis.mcmaster.ca (Unverified)
>>Date: Mon, 2 Dec 2002 12:38:29 -0500
>>To: John Unsworth <jmu2m at virginia.edu>
>>From: Geoffrey Rockwell <grockwel at mcmaster.ca>
>>Subject: TEI Training Proposal
>>Cc: TEI Training Group: ;
>>
>>Dear John,
>>
>>Below is a proposal from Julia Flanders that went to the TEI training 
>>committee for review. We decided (without Julia's participation - she 
>>recused herself) that this was a good proposal worthy of TEI approval. We 
>>are recommending to the TEI Council that they approve this as an official 
>>TEI training session to be held in conjunction with the ACH/ALLC. Julia 
>>is already in communication with Bill. My understanding is that the 
>>proposal needs to be circulated by you to the TEI Council for approval. 
>>It would help Julia and Bill if this could be done sooner rather than later.
>>
>>Yours,
>>
>>Geoffrey Rockwell on behalf of the TEI Training Committee (Sebastian and 
>>Perry)
>>_______________________
>>RATIONALE
>>This training session is aimed at people who are either in the process of 
>>designing an encoding system for a project engaged in capturing literary 
>>texts, or are already working on such a project. In designing this 
>>session, we assume that for such people, what is most urgently needed is 
>>the opportunity to focus on specific encoding problems they have 
>>encountered: while they can read TEI for themselves and get general 
>>advice from TEI-L, it is more difficult for them to get sustained 
>>attention and dynamic feedback. This session will provide a valuable 
>>opportunity to take a focused look at a particular problem or set of 
>>problems, in a group of knowledgeable peers guided by a TEI expert. 
>>Rather than providing training on a predetermined set of topics, this 
>>session will respond to the actual needs and interests of its 
>>participants, acting rather like an intensive consulting session.
>>
>>Participants in the first day are not expected to have familiarity with 
>>the TEI, although some basic and general understanding of how markup 
>>lanuages work will be helpful. Participants in the second day are 
>>expected to have some familiarity with the TEI, so as to be able to 
>>participate meaningfully in discussions of encoding strategies and to be 
>>able to understand and apply the advice they may receive. They are not 
>>expected to be experts, or to be widely familiar with the TEI; indeed, it 
>>is expected that they will have encountered an encoding challenge which 
>>they don't feel they can solve unassisted.
>>
>>DESCRIPTION
>>The proposed course would be organized as a two-part seminar. The first 
>>day would be an introductory session aimed at beginners, to introduce 
>>them to the TEI through document analysis and problem-solving. This first 
>>session would use case studies developed by the organizers which will 
>>give the participants the opportunity to address encoding problems in a 
>>real-world setting.
>>
>>The second day of the course would be aimed at an audience already 
>>familiar with the TEI (which could include participants from the first 
>>day, since the topics are conceptual rather than technical). It would 
>>focus on case studies brought to the session by the participants. Each 
>>participant will be asked to bring (and to submit in advance) a specific 
>>encoding problem or set of problems to the session. During the course of 
>>the session, each participant will receive focused attention from the 
>>instructor and the other session participants, with the goal of answering 
>>the participant's questions and resolving whatever problems they have to 
>>present. The session will also include time for a more general discussion 
>>of the shared problems and issues that the case studies illustrate, and 
>>for a comparison of the different projects and their goals. While 
>>participants are encouraged to submit a case study, those with a general 
>>interest and no specific problem may also attend.
>>
>>There will be four instructors for this course. For the first day, the 
>>course will be limited to a maximum of 18 participants. For the second 
>>day, the course will be limited to a maximum of 12 projects, with up to 
>>two participants from each project. On both days, the participants will 
>>be divided into two groups with two instructors leading each group.
>>
>>The course will have several pedagogical goals:
>>
>>To answer specific questions about how to encode literary texts using TEI
>>To expose participants to a broader range of materials from projects 
>>other than their own
>>To enable participants to practice problem-solving and document analysis 
>>skills by examining real-world encoding challenges, with guidance from experts
>>To help participants address encoding problems in the context of 
>>important constraints and considerations such as audience, available 
>>resources, need to repurpose the data, etc. (in other words, to 
>>contextualize the encoding decisions rather than presenting them as 
>>having a single right answer)
>>
>>LOGISTICS AND FACILITIES
>>Each day's session will begin at 9:30 pm and will last until 6:00 pm, 
>>with a one-hour break for lunch at 1:00 and two coffee breaks (at 11:30 
>>and 3:30).
>>
>>Each of the two groups will focus on each of its case studies in turn, 
>>spending about an hour on each project (more if there are fewer participants).
>>
>>Following the session, if there are any questions which for reasons of 
>>time have not been satisfactorily resolved, the instructors will follow 
>>up via email with the participants for a reasonable interval to attempt 
>>to come up with a solution.
>>
>>The participants can meet in two adjacent classrooms. No special 
>>facilities are needed for this session; the only equipment required is a 
>>whiteboard and a projector for a laptop in each room. The instructor will 
>>bring a computer on which examples can be tested for validity, and a copy 
>>of P4 for reference.
>>
>>RATES AND FINANCING
>>The fee to attend both days will be $225 per person for TEI members and 
>>$275 for non-members. The fee for attending only one day will be $150 per 
>>person for TEI members and $200 for non-members. 15% of the fees will be 
>>paid to the TEI Consortium and the remainder (after paying for room and 
>>food) will be divided among the instructors.
>>
>>OUTREACH
>>The session will be advertised through the TEI web site, through the 
>>publicity for the TEI members' meeting, and also in email sent to TEI-L, 
>>Humanist, AHDS-L, ninch-announce, and other relevant lists.
>>Applications will be sent by email to the instructors, who will accept 
>>them on a first-come, first-served basis. The only exception will be 
>>applications which are obviously inappropriate (for instance, projects 
>>whose needs are widely different from the scope of the session, such as 
>>scientific data, or applicants who have no experience with text 
>>encoding). In such cases the instructors will contact the applicant and 
>>discuss the application with him/her. Final decisions about the 
>>appropriateness of a given application will be made by the instructors.
>>
>>INSTRUCTORS
>>The instructors will be Julia Flanders, Terry Catapano, Syd Bauman, and 
>>Brett Barney.
>>
>>Julia Flanders is the Director of the Women Writers Project. She has 8 
>>years of experience working with TEI at the WWP, a project which 
>>practices intensive TEI encoding research on problems of encoding 
>>literary and historical documents and early printed books. She designed 
>>the WWP's training materials and documentation, and has trained the WWP's 
>>encoders for 6 years. She also consults as a TEI specialist and has 
>>conducted seminars on TEI encoding.
>>
>>Terry Catapano has several years experience working with TEI, and 
>>currently is a markup consultant with the Pierpont Morgan Library and The 
>>New York Botanical Garden. Previously he was Electronic Text Manager at 
>>the New York Public Library and has worked at the Center for Electronic 
>>Texts in the Humanities (CETH) and The Papers of Thomas A. Edison at 
>>Rutgers University. He also is using TEI to support study of late 17th 
>>century British and American printing, preparing TEI-based transcriptions 
>>of a number of works by Cotton Mather.
>>
>>Syd Bauman is the North American Editor of the TEI and also works at the 
>>Women Writers Project, where he has over 10 years of experience working 
>>with the TEI, training encoders, and solving encoding problems. He has 
>>also conducted TEI training sessions.
>>
>>Brett Barney is TEI Library Specialist at the University of 
>>Nebraska-Lincoln, where he designs markup practices, trains encoders, 
>>writes documentation, and conducts training sessions for several large 
>>encoding projects. In his work on the Walt Whitman Archive, the Letters 
>>of Henry James Project, the Willa Cather Electronic Archive, and the 
>>Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition Online he has several years' 
>>experience in applying the TEI to the electronic capture of a range of 
>>manuscript and print materials.
>