Drupal Dojo education and training track
Now that the Dojo has it's very own 100-seat-capable DimDim account for online learning and collaboration (access info here), there should be all sorts of ways we can leverage the platform (and 1700+ members) to demonstrate the various uses of Drupal in educational settings and collaborate on tools and solutions.
One thought would be to start an ongoing Drupal education track similar to what we've started with media and arts. If not stand-alone, possibly Drupal in Education could be a subset of a larger Drupal learning and training track.
Any interest in such a thing?
I'm definitely interested
I'm definitely interested and will attend any sessions I can. I'm also up for helping in any way I can.
Mark W. Jarrell
Manager of Web Services
Jones Knowledge Integration Group, Inc.
http://jones.com
http://jonesdifference.com
http://jiu.edu
http://jonesknowledge.com
Twitter: attheshow
Count me in...
I'd be very interested in exploring this.
Excellent Idea!
I think it's a really great idea that you've suggested, if not lofty. Personally I'm new to Drupal, web development, and coding all at once. Outside of a cisco device, I don't know code. Teaching myself has been a really fun experience, and going through the dojo lessons and sessions as I can and they're very informative and have really helped me understand Drupal as software.
Having a set lesson plan/learning track that helps the new and experienced a like is a great goal and would only help bring more users into the Drupal community, which is a great one.
I can't help on the technical side yet but I've taught and developed lesson plans as a TA and wrote training materials for several companies, so I can help on that end if you ever need it.
Stay Crunchy!
Structured curriculum and lesson plans
A set lesson plan along with people to lead each track is pretty key to making this all work. Once there's structure, I think there will be no shortage of people getting involved to teach, mentor, and learn. So really, it's people who know how to develop the curriculum and lesson plans who can make a huge difference. Good thing is there are plenty of examples and complimentary initiatives in the wild. Here are a few:
Dojo Tracks and Session ideas - http://groups.drupal.org/node/2191/tracks
These are largely taken from tracks at DrupalCon and DrupalCamps; and there's a great deal for improvement here. Take a Drupal in education track - should that fit into a larger 'education and training track'? - and would that fit under the umbrella of 'growing Drupal?'
What's in a track? Is it a set of lessons and sessions, project oriented learning, or both? Is there a clear list of benefits for those thinking about being involved? How can we make it sustainable?
Roles - This amazing list of roles being defined for the SoC (http://groups.drupal.org/node/18127) might actually serve as a good template. If each track had a dedicated team, they could interface with SoC, KDI, sprints, and other project oriented initiatives within their particular track.
This wiki (http://groups.drupal.org/node/15975) contains some relevant topics/projects/resources and could probably be shaped into a more logical 'education and training track' by those a bit more qualified to do so. Think some structure will go a long, long way.
Gus Austin
PepperAlley Productions
Linux
People are saying that the screen-sharing of dimdim does not work on Linux and there would be plugin install required to perform the task. Is this true?
Life is a process
Desktop share
Desktop sharing is not available for Linux. Viewing a shared desktop is.
To share a desktop you need to be on Windows or Mac and there is a ~2M install.
Remote control is not available.
Linux screenshare is on their roadmap
Correct - they're still working on Linux support for screensharing. - http://help.dimdim.com/activekb/questions/147/What+are+the+supported+env...
The presenter does need to install a browser plugin. The size is less than 1 MB. Attendees (including Linux users) do not need to install anything.
Even without using the Dojo account, you can try it out for free - http://www.dimdim.com/
Gus Austin
PepperAlley Productions
Having done some research for work recently
Having done some research for work recently, I think DimDim is the best solution for online group presentation. It is open source, so you can feel good about that. Linux and remote control are features they need, so our use and encouragement will help! It is a big negative that Linux users can not share their desktops, but there are very few others that I found that have the rest of the package like DimDim. The few to many nature of presentations makes a Windows VM for presenters doable, just not pleasant. If anyone knows of others that compare (free, open, share, no attendee download) or have the linux share and/or remote control, please pass on the word.
Remote control is on the roadmap, but not scheduled.
Dimdim integration will be valuable for training and education
After a personalized demo and evaluation, we decided it was the best solution to facilitate online learning and collaboration. It's not perfect, but as a paying customer (thanks again to the Drupal community), our requests for improvements will not go unnoticed.
Aside from using it, integration of Dimdim would be a powerful feature for anyone using Drupal for virtual training, collaboration, and educational purposes. That, in turn, would make for an excellent hands on training project.
So really nothing holding us back on the technical side.
Gus Austin
PepperAlley Productions
Is 'Education and Training' a good catchall name?
I'm creating a group on the Drupal Kata site (our homegrown project learning program), but am unsure what a good catchall name would be for all the aspects of Drupal in Education, Drupal training, Curriculum development, and others listed here - http://groups.drupal.org/node/15975
Would 'Education and Training' make sense? Any other ideas?
Gus Austin
PepperAlley Productions