TITLE: Chairing Tutorials for OOPSLA 2006 AUTHOR: Eugene Wallingford DATE: January 16, 2006 12:46 PM DESC: ----- BODY: OOPSLA 2006 Long Logo After chairing the OOPSLA Educators' Symposium in 2004 and 2005, I've been entrusted with chairing the tutorials track at OOPSLA 2006. While this may not seem to have the intellectual cachét of the Educators' Symposium, it carries the responsibility of a major financial effect on the conference. If I had screwed an educators' event, I would have made a few dozen people unhappy. If I screw up the tutorials track, I could cost the conference tens of thousands of dollars! The call for tutorial proposals is out, with a deadline of March 18. My committee and I will also be soliciting a few tutorials on topics we really want to see covered and from folks we especially want to present. We'd like to put together a tutorial track that does a great job of helping software practitioners and academics get a handle on the most important topics in software development these days, with an emphasis on OO and related technologies. In marketing terms, I think of it as exciting the folks who already know that OOPSLA is a must-attend conference and attracting new folks who should be attending. I'd love to hear what you think we should be thinking about. What are the hottest topics out there, the ones we should all be learning about? Is there something on the horizon that everyone will be talking about in October? I'm thinking not only of the buzzwords that define the industry these days, but also of topics that developers really need to take their work to another level. Who are the best presenters out there, the ones we should be inviting to present? I'm thinking not only of the Big Names but also of those folks who simply do an outstanding job teaching technical content to professionals. We've all probably attended tutorials where we left room thinking, "Wow, that was good. Who was that guy?" One idea we are considering this year is to offer tutorials that help people prepare for certifications in areas such as Java and MSCD. Do you think that folks could benefit from tutorials of this sort, or is it an example trying to do too much? Trying to keep a great conference fresh and exciting requires a mix of old ideas and new. It's a lot like revising a good course... only in front of many more eyes! -----