The conversation started in a BoF at San Francisco on "Learning Drupal". One of the most active discussions was around the idea of an open curriculum. We decided to meet online and continue the conversation and open it to the wider community.
Next Steps from Week Four
- Analysis of the survey results,
- development of the "starter taxonomy", and
- filling out of the learning areas indicated by that vocabulary
These are the beginnings of competencies and objectives in Drupal learning.
After 3 weeks, we wanted to discuss a plan for the group: What is inside and outside the scope of this working group?
Results of week 4 discussion
Set some benchmarks and goals with timeline.
What would you like to gain from participation?
(Answer below in a reply.)
How long can you commit to this?
(Answer below in a reply.)
Is a weekly meeting possible? for how long?
Many members of the group chimed in to support the idea of a weekly meeting. Add your thoughts on this in your reply.
What is inside our scope?
Develop a taxonomy based on survey results. From that, determine the necessary competencies and objectives.
This is an example showing how curriculum might traditionally be developed:
In week two we started to draw a line around our scope to help focus the discussion.
We are focusing on investigating what people really do with Drupal, and how these might be distilled into roles, to guide a learner.
Comments
feedback
Set some benchmarks and goals with timeline.
out of scope:
What would you like to gain from participation?
How long can you commit to this?
About 2hrs/wk, conservatively, including Monday IRC.
Is a weekly meeting possible? for how long?
Why don't we draw the outline of this fishtank around (a) drupalconCPH for one set of grouped tasks and (b) end of calendar year for the balance?
Answers
What would you like to gain from participation?
You get out what you put in. I plan on putting in!
Is a weekly meeting possible? for how long?
I am in for the long haul, as we progress our goals will change just as Drupal will evolve.
Is a weekly meeting possible? for how long?
Sure. Lets play it by ear.
Cindy's input
What would you like to gain from participation?
personally, insight from others in the community regarding competencies.
How long can you commit to this?
I would like to say as long as it takes. If the group makes progress, I am in. If people disappear ...
Is a weekly meeting possible? for how long?
If we want to show results and we don't want to be a this for a long time, I suggest an 1 - 1.5 hours a week. I suggest we need a specific agenda for each meeting that results in decision, resource, input to the next step, homework, whatever. If we have measurable goals and objectives, we can see our progress and motivation can potentially be maintained. ;-)
What is inside our scope?
"Develop a taxonomy based on survey results. From that, determine the necessary competencies and objectives."
agreed - IMHO, our scope:
- inside: defining a competency framework that the community can use to organize their learning goals and products. a framework that can grow and expand as more detailed objectives are mapped out.
- outside: selecting delivery learning delivery technologies and/or developing learning products that map to the competencies and objectives
Count me in
What would you like to gain from participation?
Help others learn and advance my own learning. After the initial high of using Drupal to create web sites and the fairly easy learning curve, you hit a wall when you need to get past the UI to do some more complex stuff. We really need a way to transition "site administrators/builders" to "developers". There's a big learning gap between these two roles.
How long can you commit to this?
2-3 hours per week
Is a weekly meeting possible? for how long?
I'd go for bi-weekly meetings, long term. Weekly meetings get old fast, particularly when members have limited time to contribute.
What is inside our scope?
Examining the various parts of Drupal within the context of the different roles - site builder/administrator, developer, marketer/seo, content manager, etc.
"Parts of Drupal" include the architecture overview, menu system, forms api, theming, permissions and access, etc.
Question
How does this group interface/interact with Drupal dojo, since that seems to be evolving into a central place for learning and growing.
Thanks for kicking this off!!
Drupal Dojo and Kata can help facilitate
As an active member in the Drupal Dojo and Drupal Kata (our homegrown project-based learning program), I can attest that we'll make sure these efforts are complimentary. Generally speaking, we should be able to 1) use Drupal Dojo/Webenabled GoToWebinar account; 2) house any learning materials produced by this group and others on DrupalDojo.com; 3) leverage the Drupal Kata website to facilitate group collaboration and production of learning materials; 4) engage the incredibly large, and diverse member base in this and the previously mentioned Drupal groups.
Much of this falls outside of the current scope of this working group, but we should be able to leverage these groups/platforms for the short and long term.
There's been great momentum building over the past few weeks and I think the best is yet to come.
Gus Austin
Transcript and upcoming webinars
Here is the transcript for our session on June 21 -
http://www.disobey.com/bot/log/drupal-dojo/2010-06-21#T3804957
Per our discussion we've decided to give GoToWebinar another go for the next few sessions. Anyone who would like to attend can do so here -
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/302341000
Gus Austin
July 14 transcript
Here's the transcript for our session on July 14 -
http://www.disobey.com/bot/log/drupal-dojo/2010-07-12#T3881252
We're shooting to provide an updated status report and agenda this week.
Gus Austin
Some vocabularies related to competencies
I poked around drupal after the last irc chat. Here's some vocabularies I thought were relevant to curriculum. Thanks for posting this weeks irc.
www.johnbarclay.com
New But Interested
I'm new to Drupal but am steeped in it at work so am learning as quickly as I can since I have no choice but to build 18 sites in it this month. As a former instructor, I might be able to bring to the table some insight from both ends (new learner / experienced instructor).
Is it too late to join in the discussion? If not, where do you recommend I best begin?
Thanks!
Tom
"There is nothing wrong. There is simply what is, and what you choose to make of it."
July 19, 2010 Curriculum Chat & Mapping Competencies / Taxonomy
The archive of this weeks chat is available at:
http://www.disobey.com/bot/log/drupal-dojo/2010-07-19#T3906205
Also if you are interested in helping us to map Drupal Learning Competencies please see
http://drupalkata.com/curriculum/node/717
This group continues to meet on Monday at 8pm GMT / 3pm ET / noon PT in the IRC #Drupal-dojo with occasional use of other meeting space such as gotomeeting.
Hi all - I wrote a while ago
Hi all - I wrote a while ago about open-sourcing Drupal training blissfully unaware of the huge effort you are all putting in already. I guess this is partly my fault and partly an issue of visibility of the group. In any case, have been trying to catch up with everything you are doing and it seems like there is a lot and it is spread between different areas. My feeling is that things are at the competency mapping stage with good progress done there and it seems people are interested in developing a module to handle some aspects of this - but not sure that is correct.
So I have two questions:
1. Is there a chance to get organised and have a BOF meeting at Copenhagen (I know Heather mentioned this)
2. What do people think of creating a page that is regularly updated that is brief, concise and give a state of affairs summary for people like me who have just found out and want to get involved (happy to create this page myself - probably after the BOF at Cph)
Thanks!
Focus back to a weekly discussion?
If experience so far can be an indicator, I'm thinking this ragtag working group will receive a post-DrupalCon jump in interest. That said, it would probably not take long for people to realize that other obligations (to things like their own training, projects or company) may prevent them from contributing to communal goals as much as they'd like to.
Based on this, I'd like to suggest we scale back our weekly get together to nothing more than a chat and call to action to projects, discussions, and activities in the Open Drupal curriculum space. We can/should still set specific agendas on discussions and projects we want to showcase, but I think it would be better use of community time not to 'work' on anything specific.
I think this would be a good way to retain and increase participation over time.
Do you?
Gus Austin
Gus, I am a fan of talk, as
Gus,
I am a fan of talk, as long as it doesn't get too "bikeshed"-y. Plus one to just talking.
I think there are some important artifacts that can be produced from community discussion, but they are much easier to create during drupalcon at a BoF or during a Code Sprint / Unconference / summit / whatever where we can all get on a whiteboard and hash things out spatially. I know that's hard for this dispersed community, but the "C" words some of us are aiming at are really going to be on a country-by-country or US-state-by-state level, so a broader discussion is going to be helpful.
Ryan Price
DrupalEasy Podcast
I think I agree
For one group coming from a relatively broad diversity of interests and goals, I think it has been difficult to focus on one specific project. Even if we can agree on a goal, getting us all on board for a long enough haul to see results (at least in the arena of learning and curricula) may be pushing it. But, the discussions are important and end up spinning off smaller more focused initiatives, discussions, one-off projects and collaborations. These may be more to the point than one overarching singular project and may produce the same or better result organically.
So, yeah, let's keep talking and perhaps lift the burden of a devising and sticking to a tight agenda. Although, loose, haphazard, aimless discussions can also be a drag...
Barry Madore
Triplo
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN