For Attendees
Q. When are SC16 tutorials offered?
A. Traditionally, SC schedules tutorials for the Sunday and Monday of the conference week. For SC16, tutorials will be offered on Sunday, November 13 and Monday, November 14.
Q. What type of registration do I need to attend an SC16 tutorial?
A. You need to register for a Tutorial Passport – access to tutorials is not included in a standard Technical Program registration. We offer a One-Day Tutorial Passport (you must specify either Sunday or Monday access), and a Two-Day Tutorial Passport good for both Sunday and Monday. The Tutorial Passport fee includes lunch on the selected day(s) as an additional, informal opportunity to interact with tutorial presenters. It also includes access to the slides presented at all SC16 tutorials. (See below for details.)
Q. How can I get a copy of a tutorial’s slides?
A. If you register for tutorials (either day), you will be provided a username and password with your conference badge that you may use to download the slides for any of the SC16 tutorials. This username and password will be valid until October 31, 2017. People who register for the tutorial program may also purchase a USB stick containing slides from all SC16 tutorials from the SC16 conference store for a nominal cost of $5. People who do not register for the tutorial program may purchase the same USB stick from the conference store for a higher cost.
Q. What can I expect to do if I attend an SC16 tutorial?
A. It depends on the tutorial. Some are hands-on tutorials with opportunities to try things on your own laptop or a remote system under the guidance of tutorial presenters. Others are less hands-on. Regardless of the type of tutorial, you should expect the opportunity to learn from knowledgeable and experienced people about the tutorial’s topic.
Q. Do I have to do anything before attending an SC16 tutorial?
A. At a minimum, bring a willingness to learn and your questions for the tutorial presenters. If you have one, it will probably be useful to bring a laptop or other network-capable device (e.g., tablet). You might also check the [SC16 Tutorials web page, http://sc16.supercomputing.org/conference-components/tutorials-sunmon/] to see if the tutorial presenters made a promotional video that describes other things they’d like you to do beforehand to get the most out of their tutorial.
Q. Can I switch between tutorials during a given day?
A. We hope it doesn’t happen, but if you start the day in one tutorial and decide that it just isn’t for you, you are welcome to switch to another tutorial on that day.
For Presenters
Q. What is expected of me at the conference?
A. If you are a tutorial primary or secondary presenter, you are expected to attend the Tutorial speaker’s breakfast on the day of your tutorial. At this breakfast we will give any last minute information and instructions. This breakfast is also the place where primary presenters pick up their honorarium and submit their tax form.
Q. What if I have a problem during the tutorial?
A. Sometimes things don’t go the way they were planned. In case of an emergency, find the nearest convention center or security person in the hallway outside your tutorial room. For audio/visual problems, each tutorial room should have information about how to reach SC16 A/V contractor personnel. SC16 student volunteers can also help contact the A/V contractor and the SC16 Tutorial Chairs. And any SC16 planning committee member with a two-way radio can contact the SC16 Tutorial Chairs.
Q. Do I have to register for the conference?
A. The conference provides complimentary Tutorial Program registrations for a limited number of presenters per tutorial. If you are expecting to help put on a tutorial but are not included in the SC16 Tutorial Chairs’ list of primary and secondary presenters for that tutorial, you will have to register for the Tutorial Program for the day of the tutorial using the conference’s registration system. And please note: a Tutorial Program registration for a particular day does not include access to other Technical Program sessions, nor access to tutorials on another tutorial day.
Q. May I make changes to the tutorial materials I submitted to be included on the Tutorials USB stick?
A. If you have late-breaking information or error corrections for your tutorial’s presentation materials, there will be an opportunity to modify your materials before and during the conference week. Of course the changes won’t be reflected on the Tutorials USB stick, but will be available to attendees via the SC16 tutorials program materials download site. No modifications will be allowed after the week of the conference. And although changes to your materials are possible, we recommend limiting those changes because attendee feedback from prior SC conferences suggests attendees may view such changes negatively, e.g., that the materials weren’t quite “done” for the tutorial.
Q. May I contact the attendees of my tutorial before the conference to give them instructions on things to do before my tutorial?
A. Not really, no. However, your promotional video can describe things that you would like attendees to do ahead of time, or direct them to a web page that you host that gives such a description. Please note that regardless of any instructions you give out ahead of time, you must be prepared for having attendees that did not complete or even know about your prerequisites.
Is your question not answered here? Please contact us at tutorials@info.supercomputing.org.
