After a brief discussion on the docs list this has now moved to g.d.o at http://groups.drupal.org/node/42236. One way the project could work is for hardcore Drupal developers to do a little consulting on the course syllabuses for their area(s) of expertise. If this is something that might be of interest to you, please join the g.d.o discussion. Thanks!
2009/12/28 James Benstead <[email protected]> > I want there to be a set of free courses that people can work through to > learn about Drupal. Initially, at least, these "courses" would be a > reorganisation of existing material, kind of like the Drupal Cookbook. > > I suppose the skill/experience element here is going to be working out what > the syllabus needs to be for each course. The courses can then point at > existing documentation, whether that's text or videos or whatever. If there > are gaps, we can write new documentation - so organising things in this way > also helps us work out what documentation we need. > > I've posted to the Documentation list at > http://lists.drupal.org/mailman/listinfo/documentation - I guess that's > the best place to continue this discussion. Would be great if you could > help. > > 2009/12/28 marcia wilbur <[email protected]> > > I'm not sure which direction you are heading with this. >> >> Are you possibly considering video elements with the course design or text >> based courses? >> >> If you are talking about simply reorganizing, then it is just a matter of >> management of information, correct? >> If you are considering creating courseware or WBTs based on existing >> documentation that could take a little more time and talent. >> Either way, sounds like a good idea. I could help. >> >> On Mon, Dec 28, 2009 at 8:39 AM, James Benstead <[email protected] >> > wrote: >> >>> Thanks for the comments. >>> >>> Drupal Dojo is great, when it's running - but it does seem to me that it >>> lacks a little organisation. What I am suggesting doesn't necessarily need >>> to be new documentation, per se, but instead *the organisation of >>> existing documentation under a useful structure*. >>> >>> Perhaps calling it Drupal University is a bit misleading as I don't >>> forsee there being any formal assessment or accreditation, but there would >>> be structured courses to work through. For example, "Drupal 101: Beginning >>> Drupal" which could teach complete newbies how to set up a core installation >>> on a local or remote server; or "Drupal 201: Basic Theming" which could >>> explain how .tpl.php files worked and how CSS works in Drupal. >>> >>> The Packt books are great, but they are short and sweet and they don't >>> offer an overall structure. Pro Drupal Development is superb and offers a >>> great structure, but it has its limitations: in short, *it's a book*. >>> First off, you have to buy it, for real money. I have no problem with people >>> making money out of open source software (especially when their work is as >>> brilliant as in the case of PDD), but I do think there should be a free, >>> "open source" alternative. If for no other reason, the cover price of PDD is >>> huge for developers in 2nd or 3rd world countries (i.e., the majority of the >>> population of the planet) and they should have an alternative. Secondly, you >>> can't interact with a book: having a structured set of web resources would >>> mean people could comment on and discuss the resources, kind of like >>> students do on a real university campus. >>> >>> I suppose the resource that gets closest to what I'm thinking is the >>> Drupal Cookbook - this could be Drupal 101. It fits my proposal because it >>> doesn't provide new documentation, but just organises what's already out >>> there. But more importantly, it answers the question, "I am at stage X in >>> learning Drupal, what should I do next?". Granted, it answers the simplest >>> version of this question, and for more advanced developers the answer well >>> may be multi-faceted - "if you want to specialise in X, go and learn Y" - >>> but it does crystallise what I'm proposing. >>> >>> Again, anyone got any more thoughts on this? >>> -- >>> Google Talk/Windows Live Messenger/AIM: [email protected] >>> Yahoo! Messenger/Twitter/IRC (Freenode): jim0203 >>> Jabber: [email protected] // ICQ: 7088050 >>> Skype: jimbenstead >>> >>> >>> >>> 2009/12/28 Yani <[email protected]> >>> >>> http://www.drupalbook.com/ >>>> >>>> That looks like a good one. I'll make that my first D7 book. >>>> >>>> Yani >>>> >>>> -----Original Message----- >>>> From: [email protected] [mailto: >>>> [email protected]] >>>> On Behalf Of Andrew Schulman >>>> Sent: Monday, 28 December 2009 7:37 PM >>>> To: [email protected] >>>> Subject: Re: [development] Proposal: Drupal University >>>> >>>> > Shell out some cash on books by Matt Butcher / Packit Publishing. >>>> >>>> The Packit books are fine as far as they go, but are usually short and >>>> basic. >>>> For a detailed look at Drupal's big picture, I highly recommend Pro >>>> Drupal >>>> Development, 2nd ed. by John VanDyk. 2nd ed. is for D6, but I see that >>>> a >>>> 3rd >>>> edition for D7 is due out in April. >>>> >>>> >>> >> >
