Online learning opportunity
With Roy's gracious permission, I am going to hijack TechEssence briefly to canvass its readership about a potential conference-related set of online-only tutorials and workshops. If you couldn't be more horrified by the idea, pray accept my apologies for disturbing you and go on to the next post.
I was just added to the planning committee for the code4lib 2007 conference. I would very much like to organize some online-only tutorials and workshops, combining asynchronous (email, blogs, wikis, bulletin boards, podcasts, vidcasts) and synchronous (chat, perhaps VOIP or webcasting) communication.
These would be short (no more than one week in length), focused, individual- rather than group-oriented workshops. Participants would leave each workshop with a new library-technology–related skill, competency, or understanding. Attendance at code4lib 2007 would not be required to participate, and participants would be welcome to take as many workshops as they please.
I hope to be able to offer them on a sliding fee scale, to attract participants who do not have travel or professional-development funds. Suggestions for a fair way to determine appropriate fee levels welcomed.
The major question is what topics potential participants feel could be profitably taught or workshopped in this format—and I invite answers both specific and general in the comments! I envision:
- installfests (social software, proxy software, institutional-repository software, etc.)
- guided experiments with configuring and using software
- "what is _____ anyway?" (please supply intriguing values of _____)
- intensive technology-planning work
- web-design tips and techniques, perhaps even "markovers"
- acronym demystification
- solving specific, limited programming problems
So now it's your turn. What that I mentioned sounds interesting? What sounds interesting that I didn't mention? If you would rather not comment here, feel free to get in touch with me by email at dorothea(at)textartisan(dot)com, or on AIM at DorotheaSalo.
A few months ago I taught two workshops that were both online and in person.
Basic Linux: There was a basic class on using the command-line interface to linux. This covered stuff like logging in to the remote server, navigating around, and redirects and the like.
Advanced Linux: We only had about two hours so we didn't get very far, but some of the topics covered were more on redirects (many didn't attend the basic session), reading a man page and using apropos, using find, using find along with xargs to issue multiple commands in one line. I was also hoping to cover some other tricks involving cron, sed, wget/lynx, and editing multiple files at once but we didn't get there.
There also was a lot of interest from people in teaching a workshop about Regular Expressions, but I didn't get the time towards the end of the semester to develop it.
Anybody who would be interested in those type of workshops?
Jon Gorman
Dorothea, I would be very interested in sessions on web-desgin tips and techniques along with the technology-planning piece. I find in my current job that this is one of the most dificult things to do effectively. We so often have money left over or an urgent request to implement something new without proper planning. I also really need better information about institutional-repository software. We are only beginning to see this issue on the horizon.
I had another idea along the lines of web design and similar stuff: using svg to create buttons. A lot of catalog software requires images for their interfaces. While we can use tools like Illustrator, Photoshop or GIMP to create buttons, there are advantages (as well as disadvantages) to using a markup language like SVG to create buttons.
Jon Gorman
One of the things that comes up a lot when libraries redesign web pages is choosing an Event Calendar. How about a session in which 2-4 decent web-based calendar products are compared? I'd love to see have some hands-on time with several different products ... in a supportive environment.
Lori
I'd love to teach one on regexes. That's a smashing idea. Thanks!
And I'm sure I can find a good soul or three to teach command-line-fu.
Wow, that's pretty hard-core. But I might well take it myself!
Okay, an IR-tech session would certainly be in-scope. Warning, though; it'll be hard to impossible to talk much about commercial offerings.
Web design is a big topic; I'm sure we'll find some small pieces of it to tackle.
Good idea. Do you know any libraries that have a good calendar product that they like? I'd have to look for someone who's done the search process already.
What is javascript/PHP/Perl/etc anway? And which should I learn?
I'm asking this for myself and, since I'm the techie at my library, I'm being asked that by other aspiring library techies.
Overview of web programming languages. Good topic.