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Archiver > APG > 2009-07 > 1248788919


From: Drew Smith <>
Subject: Re: [APG] APG PMC (Little Rock) Syllabus?
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 2009 09:48:39 -0400
References: <mailman.783.1248678151.27520.apg@rootsweb.com> <14AE695929B345FE98DF7207A35D3FFC@JoansDell><002501ca0ec4$1d16e8e0$5744baa0$@com> <393ff0080907271927q34bf3e3bu21b8e360d894fb1b@mail.gmail.com> <012d01ca0f33$5fc894d0$1f59be70$@com><66968A228F154C07B671FFF6BA4009FF@acer511eba12df> <5e931bb30907280607n2fd96a45ke281c794e4be7735@mail.gmail.com> <77755EEAA5B54666B6D08F0B15B5EA88@acer511eba12df>
In-Reply-To: <77755EEAA5B54666B6D08F0B15B5EA88@acer511eba12df>


Again, as was previously pointed out, many handouts are not written as
"summaries". They are written to provide details (such as URLs or
bibliographies that otherwise might be mis-transcribed from a
PowerPoint slide) that the attendee can use later to obtain more
detailed information that builds upon the foundational information
presented during the session. Other handouts may include an outline
of the presentation, so that the attendee may understand the structure
of the presentation that they are hearing/seeing (and as such it even
serves to prevent unnecessary questions that are going to be answered
later in the presentation).

Another point (which I didn't make before but I will now) is that, as
a speaker, I'm not interested in doing things that are likely to
discourage others from actually attending the session. (When I want
to educate people about a topic in purely written form, I do so using
a fully-formed article or book, not just a few bullet points from a
handout.) I would not want anyone to go away with the idea that a
handout is an adequate substitute for attending the presentation
itself.

Is your view controversial? If others disagree with it, as I do, then
yes, I suppose it is. That's what "controversial" means.

In any event, if you think that a speaker is producing
standalone-quality handouts, you can always contact the speaker
directly before or after the conference and find out if they would
sell you a copy. After all, if a person isn't attending the
conference, then it doesn't really involve the society sponsoring the
conference, and you can eliminate the middleman. It's not a
conference (or society) issue.

Drew

On Tue, Jul 28, 2009 at 9:21 AM, LBoswell<> wrote:
> With respect, I didn't miss Elissa's point.  To my mind a summary is better
> than nothing.  It depends on who is writing the syllabus.  I've read some
> that are very informative.  And others that aren't.  If a speaker agreed to
> a wider distribution then the summary prepared would probably be adjusted to
> take that into account.  Note that I said "future".
>
> That said, if I was one of the spakers giving a presentation there I would
> gladly allow wider distribution of a summary, one that could stand on its
> own.  Not only would it benefit others who could not attend, a wider
> exposure to a summary of  the topic being presented would also benefit me.
>
> But that's just my take on it.  Surely this isn't a controversial view

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