On Tue, Jan 28, 2003 at 05:45:11PM -0500, Levi Bard wrote:
> > Now here's an idea,,, why doesn't SLUG sponsor training and use the
> > money to advertise Linux?
> >
> > We have plenty of experts on this list.
>
> Then we have to reconsider opening this can of worms: what qualifications
> does someone have to have to be an expert, how do we verify those
> qualifications, and how do we do this without hurting anybody's feelings?
> Additionally, there's the issue of accreditation. When a prospective
> employer reads, "Completed Suncoast LUG Linux training" on a resume,
> is s/he going to care?
Naturally, SLUG training would be of no "official" use to any employer.
However, you could design a training program that would get a person
through LPI exams, which are dirt cheap as these things go.
A weekly study group has been suggested. But geographically, I don't
think this is feasible. It's also worth considering that where you have
a group of people moving at the same pace through a study group, some
will be absolutely bored to tears, and others will struggle to grasp the
simplest concepts. Some will consider certain information completely
irrelevent to their needs ("I have one machine. Do I really need to know
Samba?"). And you still need a coordinated plan for _what_ to study, and
people there with sufficient expertise to teach it.
At one point, the original SLUG president, Henry White, was running a
Linux course online. I believe it was primarily based on the "Running
Linux" book (not, in my opinion, a great book for a newbie). Something
like this could be done, but perhaps better. I would envision a set of
chapters online, written by members of the group. Learners could ask
questions on the list, or another list could be set up just for this.
Frequently asked questions could cause us to alter the text to
accommodate them. Testing probably wouldn't be necessary. You can
probably get a sneak peek at sample LPI tests.
With this scheme, here are some things to consider:
1) An outline must be written to determine _what_ will be taught. The
outline has to take into account what kind of product you want at the
end-- do you want a power user, system administrator, what? You're
probably looking at a "stratified" series of courses, really. If I'm
trying to train someone to run a small home network, they probably don't
need to know all there is about RAID and LVNs. Samba and NFS would be
important, though. It also has to take into account what you're testing
toward. If it's the LPI test, then you'd better know what's on it. Those
who have taken the test could help to some extent. Sneak peeks at sample
LPI tests could help as well. You would also need to consider what your
minimum requirements for taking the course would be. Do you want to be
training someone who has to have the functions of a mouse explained to
them?
2) Someone(s) would have to volunteer to write "chapters". The advantage
here is that the work is spread among (hopefully) many people, instead
of just one or a few. Though I'm inclined to think this would eventually
all end up on the shoulders of a few. It usually does.
3) Someone would have to edit the material and format it for the web. I
can do this, as I do web work and I essentially do the editing for my
company. But "editorial control" is more than you might think. It also
involves telling authors that their prose is poor, their thinking is
muddled, or that they're trying to explain cooking eggs in terms of
calculus. It also means calling on people to come up with illustrations,
many of which are likely to be needed.
4) Timing is important. All the content has to be read at once, or you
_have_ to have new material ready each week. Students eager to learn
will not tolerate slack response time from those writing the text.
5) Meeting leaders could go over thorny issues at meetings, but should
be aware that if more than one person has the same question, it's
probably something where the text needs to be updated to reflect
common questions.
This approach has a drawback that some people require live communication
to learn things; reading text simply won't do for them. My experience in
college was that if you couldn't learn from reading, you were in
trouble; profs and TAs mostly didn't care that much about your struggles
with the material. The closest we could get to live communication in
this scheme would be questions about the material on the list.
Anyway, those are just some thoughts. This is quite an undertaking, if
you stop and consider what's really involved. I've just scratched the
surface. But it would be great to have such an online course.
Paul
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