Workshop Overview

Organizer: John B. Lowe, with grateful acknowledgment of the assistance of STEDT staff.

To facilitate the use of the STEDT Database and to gather feedback on the web interface, an informal workshop, focused on "hands-on" practice with the database, will be offered at ICSTLL 45 in Singapore on October 25, 2012.

The database, one of the tools used in the production of the Sino-Tibetan Dictionary and Thesaurus, has now been online via a web interface for nearly a year (http://stedt.berkeley.edu/search). In that time, the database has grown and the software matured, but much remains to be done.

STEDT has solicited and welcomes feedback on the system and encourages researchers interested in the lexicons of S-T languages to make use of the data in their work.

The workshop will present the content and structure of the STEDT database, provide a tutorial on how to search the database, and teach users how to create their own cognate sets and to propose them for inclusion in the final dictionary/thesaurus. The format will be "hands-on" -- participants should bring their own laptops or tablets if possible (though some will be provided). No special software is required to access the database: just a relatively up-to-date web browser (Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer, etc.)

The workshop will:

* cover the content and structure of the STEDT database
* provide a tutorial on how to search the database
* teach users how to create their own cognate sets and to propose them for inclusion in the final dictionary/thesaurus.

Two sessions with the same content, (9:30am to 12:30pm and 2:00pm to 5:00pm, with breaks), will help make it possible participants who attend other workshops that day to take advantage of the opportunity.

The schedule of each session is:

* 9:30-10:30 Session 1: presentation by STEDT staff on technical and linguistic details.
* 10:30-11 tea
* 11-12:30 Session 2: tutorial and guided experimentation with the database, aided by STEDT staff. Feedback and wrap-up

* 12:30-2 lunch

* 2:00-3:30 repeat of Session 1
* 3:30-4:00 tea
* 4:00-5:00 repeat of Session 2

Participants should bring their own laptops or tablets if possible (though some computers will be provided). The software is "browser-based", so no special installation is required. A relatively up-to-date web browser (Firefox, Chrome, Explorer, etc.) is sufficient. Drop-ins during the workshop are welcome. Interested parties should feel free to try the site out in advance at the link shown above.