Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
Hello! Sorry for leaving this for so long, but life has been excessively busy. However, after reading through all the feedback from the list, and having sat down and had a bit of a think, I'd like to attempt a training event at Oggcamp. I have two ideas I'd like bounce past people. The first is a practical Python for Nonprogrammers session. Bit of a bring a laptop and have a go type thing. The other idea is Supporting people over IRC. This would be more of a sit and be lectured at type session, possibly with a few over the acted out examples. Doing a session at Oggcamp could be a good way to pick up some momentum and get an idea of how to do this :) Ideas/Opinions? -Matt Daubney -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
Hi, Python for Nonprogrammers session. Bit of a bring a laptop and have a go type thing. Brilliant idea! I had lots of trouble trying to start programming and still struggle now. Most of the courses I have attended or guides I have read have been very much aimed at Computer Scientists with language and structure that they are familiar with. Coming from a non-CS background this was all gobbldy-gook until I had a go. I suggest that you come up with a simple task to complete though. Even something like count the works in a sentence or count the numbers of the in a paragraph this teaches some very basic stuff that is assumed knowledge in other tutorials. Good luck, Ciarán -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
Python for Nonprogrammers session - Excellent Idea Matt, I am a developer with experience in Python and I will be attending OGG camp, I'd be happy to lend a hand, say lead a small group or something, anythig really just happy to help. Ant Burton - _64k -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
The Python for Non-Programmers sounds like a great thing - I have no experience/knowledge regarding Python whatsoever, so I would quite enjoy to give you a had! Regards, --- Joe O'Dell Fedora Contributor (FreeMedia) http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/User:Ascenseur bedsLUG Co-Ordinator bedslug.co.cc DFEY Member (SouthEast) dfey.org Ubuntu-UK Group Member (ascenseur) https://wiki.ubuntu.com/JoeODell On 18 Feb 2010, at 14:35, Anthony Burton wrote: Python for Nonprogrammers session - Excellent Idea Matt, I am a developer with experience in Python and I will be attending OGG camp, I'd be happy to lend a hand, say lead a small group or something, anythig really just happy to help. Ant Burton - _64k -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/ -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
On 18/02/10 09:29, Matthew Daubney wrote: snip / I have two ideas I'd like bounce past people. The first is a practical Python for Nonprogrammers session. Bit of a bring a laptop and have a go type thing. That's *almost* enough to tempt me to go all the way to Liverpool! A thoroughly excellent idea Matt. It's doubtful I will be going to OggCamp but if you can stream it too then we can join in from anywhere! Cheers Al -- The Open Learning Centre http://www.theopenlearningcentre.com -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
I'm guessing it's down to WEEE, under which many companies are scared of their kit being found irresponsibly disposed of and being traced back to them. This is why I can't get any from college. There are numerous health and safety reasons why they can't give them away as well though. I will persist with asking though and see if they will give them to a charitable cause. Gadget3000 -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 On training something like this sounds good https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UserDays Thanks for Isabell Long for finding this :) Perhaps we can use the training materials. Paul - -- Paul Sutton www.zleap.net Ubuntu 9.10 is out : Visit www.ubuntu.com for details DCGLUG MEETINGS - Details on www.dcglug.org.uk/drupal6, - please click on Group meetings link on right hand side Aged 11 - 19 then dfey may be for you, please goto http://www.dfey.org for more details -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.4.9 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iEYEARECAAYFAktbW5YACgkQaggq1k2FJq0EKACfQllmn+hvW1NmphbRGqy4RYeZ 9ksAmwfogcmVHPu1iSfVbOst/e2zx1cl =sb1J -END PGP SIGNATURE- -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
On Sat, 23 Jan 2010 20:27:09 -, Paul Sutton zl...@zleap.net wrote: -BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 On training something like this sounds good https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UserDays Thanks for Isabell Long for finding this :) Perhaps we can use the training materials. I’ve been watching it, some of it is rather good and shows what can be covered in an hour and as most of the subjects will come up again and again with new starters I think the material would be very useful. -- Steve -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 Steve wrote: On Sat, 23 Jan 2010 20:27:09 -, Paul Sutton zl...@zleap.net wrote: -BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 On training something like this sounds good https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UserDays Thanks for Isabell Long for finding this :) Perhaps we can use the training materials. I’ve been watching it, some of it is rather good and shows what can be covered in an hour and as most of the subjects will come up again and again with new starters I think the material would be very useful. I take it its possible to produce all training materials in open format and perhaps package up a set of videos (ogv, sound ogg, presentations impress etc) in say tar.gz format. so they can be downloaded as 1 module say for example a module on using the desktop, or networking. as there is already a ubuntu training course (ubuntu desktop training), perhaps all this needs to cross reference with each other, and then also cover items that appear in LPI or similar. Armed with presentation materials, perhaps a download iso to make a boot disk (flash drive) with just the right bits for the course, user account with files in the home directory designed to be used with the course, so a large text file can be used with grep, wc for example. Paul - -- Paul Sutton www.zleap.net Ubuntu 9.10 is out : Visit www.ubuntu.com for details DCGLUG MEETINGS - Details on www.dcglug.org.uk/drupal6, - please click on Group meetings link on right hand side Aged 11 - 19 then dfey may be for you, please goto http://www.dfey.org for more details -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.4.9 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iEYEARECAAYFAktbbHYACgkQaggq1k2FJq35JwCfYo7EhVIEfZZdzBEeNOR2Vwu1 7wgAoI4g8iMdz6eHTj3wXJvGEXp2n6n0 =xFpA -END PGP SIGNATURE- -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
On Sat, 23 Jan 2010 21:39:09 -, Paul Sutton zl...@zleap.net wrote: -BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 Steve wrote: On Sat, 23 Jan 2010 20:27:09 -, Paul Sutton zl...@zleap.net wrote: -BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 On training something like this sounds good https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UserDays Thanks for Isabell Long for finding this :) Perhaps we can use the training materials. I’ve been watching it, some of it is rather good and shows what can be covered in an hour and as most of the subjects will come up again and again with new starters I think the material would be very useful. I take it its possible to produce all training materials in open format and perhaps package up a set of videos (ogv, sound ogg, presentations impress etc) in say tar.gz format. so they can be downloaded as 1 module say for example a module on using the desktop, or networking. as there is already a ubuntu training course (ubuntu desktop training), perhaps all this needs to cross reference with each other, and then also cover items that appear in LPI or similar. Armed with presentation materials, perhaps a download iso to make a boot disk (flash drive) with just the right bits for the course, user account with files in the home directory designed to be used with the course, so a large text file can be used with grep, wc for example. The stuff for the User Day is on a wiki with the log from the IRC channel so isn’t immediately available but, is still a rather useful resource. I’ve also been watching via Lernid, which looks very useful. -- Steve -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
Quoting alan c aecl...@candt.waitrose.com: Rob Beard wrote: A friend of mine has asked me to sort out 2 laptops, one is a P3 800 with 192MB Ram and the other is a P3 733 with 128MB Ram, as you probably already know, an increase in ram on this class of machine will make a vast difference in performance Yep, I just wish they were desktops, I would have dropped some more memory in them, but being laptops, well I haven't got any PC100/PC133 SDRAM SODIMMs kicking around and they don't want to spend any money on these laptops (I'm not even getting paid for it, I'm doing it for some free advertising). Rob -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
Joe O'Dell wrote: The not for giving away in the UK sounds a bit dubious to me, but it doesnt matter, as long as the PCs got a good home! I'm guessing it's down to WEEE, under which many companies are scared of their kit being found irresponsibly disposed of and being traced back to them. I've no idea what mechanisms are in place for this, but this is why we make people sign a disclaimer when we give old stuff away. -- Avi Greenbury http://aviswebsite.co.uk ;) -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
On Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:07:18 -, Avi Greenbury avismailinglistacco...@googlemail.com wrote: Joe O'Dell wrote: The not for giving away in the UK sounds a bit dubious to me, but it doesnt matter, as long as the PCs got a good home! I'm guessing it's down to WEEE, under which many companies are scared of their kit being found irresponsibly disposed of and being traced back to them. I've no idea what mechanisms are in place for this, but this is why we make people sign a disclaimer when we give old stuff away. This was the worry of a company a friend worked for when he tried to get a few machines off them for his village hall. In the end he ended up buying them off them for 1p each and filling out yards of paper work. Despite all their paranoia they didnt even wipe the drives. -- Steve -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 Bruno Girin wrote: On Sat, 2010-01-16 at 23:09 +, Matthew Daubney wrote: Hey All, This was discussed at the last meeting, but I'm slow and should have put this up sooner. One thing that was discussed was the idea of doing some real life training for people who are new to Ubuntu, through to those who consider themselves experts. I've put up an idea in the ideas pool[0], and started an etherpad[1]. Does anyone else have any experience of running these kind of things who would like to lend their expertise? What do people think would work best in this scenario? I've given technical training in the past and would be happy to help. The first question is what type of training are we aiming for? It may be easier to start with short sessions that can be done over a few hours, either in the evenings or at weekends, as it will require less commitment from trainers and trainees. The biggest hurdle will probably be to find locations and equipment to run the trainings. This can be simplified for training sessions that are done as part of a larger event, as we can piggy back on their organisation. On the other hand, talking to local community centres, it may be possible to get rooms and stuff for free, especially if we offer things like running sessions for their members (thus introducing them to Ubuntu at the same time). In terms of teachers, a single teacher who knows his subject and who has good course material should be enough. Assistants would only be necessary in larger groups. A simple way to help things out is to group trainees in pairs rather than let them all have their individual computer to play with: they can help each other out. Another trick is to ensure you have ample time for hands-on exercises, during which the teacher can come round and help the trainees with things they struggle with. In terms of material, I agree that there's no point in having a slide deck as trainees will promptly forget the content. Furthermore it requires a projector, which is more equipment to get hold of. On the other hand, it is essential to give comprehensive course material, including exercises, that they can take home and refer to at their leisure. This can take the form of a CD, the URL of a file to download, etc. One thing to consider as well is a printout of the core course material so that they can follow during the course and take notes. Computers will be essential. However, it may be difficult to convince whatever training centre we use to install Ubuntu on their computers so it could be worth having a number of live USB keys with a fresh install of Ubuntu and training material on them. Would anybody be interested in attending such a thing? Definitely! There are lots of things I'd like to learn about Ubuntu so I'd definitely be keen to attend as a trainee or as a trainer. This could be quite a large undertaking, so please get involved if you're in the least bit interested! True but it doesn't have to be huge on day 1. We can test drive the concept with small sessions in a coffee shop between interested people bringing their own laptops. Bruno Girin Will any course materials be released under a creative commons license ? It would really help other groups doing something similar and mean we then all teacher pretty much the same sort of thing. Paul - -- Paul Sutton www.zleap.net Ubuntu 9.10 is out : Visit www.ubuntu.com for details DCGLUG MEETINGS - Details on www.dcglug.org.uk/drupal6, - please click on Group meetings link on right hand side Aged 11 - 19 then dfey may be for you, please goto http://www.dfey.org for more details -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.4.9 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iEYEARECAAYFAktZ1FoACgkQaggq1k2FJq118gCfbStsJeWga+GY5Z5DvA0uxEXG 5moAn2srHGJd2LnbDQNcTnyH30cfpXFJ =8l6h -END PGP SIGNATURE- -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
On Fri, 2010-01-22 at 09:52 +, Rob Beard wrote: Quoting alan c aecl...@candt.waitrose.com: Rob Beard wrote: A friend of mine has asked me to sort out 2 laptops, one is a P3 800 with 192MB Ram and the other is a P3 733 with 128MB Ram, as you probably already know, an increase in ram on this class of machine will make a vast difference in performance Yep, I just wish they were desktops, I would have dropped some more memory in them, but being laptops, well I haven't got any PC100/PC133 SDRAM SODIMMs kicking around and they don't want to spend any money on these laptops (I'm not even getting paid for it, I'm doing it for some free advertising). Rob Rob, I have a Toshiba S1800 (P3 1 Gig 512 Ram) that was running Ubuntu until my son fried the CMOS chip, now it will not boot. I was going to try and sell it for spares as the screen and power supply are still working, but you are welcome to the ram chip, or chips as I'm not sure if it has one or two, if they are suitable for your machines. No cash required. Cheers, Barry -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
Barry Titterton wrote: Rob, I have a Toshiba S1800 (P3 1 Gig 512 Ram) that was running Ubuntu until my son fried the CMOS chip, now it will not boot. I was going to try and sell it for spares as the screen and power supply are still working, but you are welcome to the ram chip, or chips as I'm not sure if it has one or two, if they are suitable for your machines. No cash required. Cheers, Barry Hi Barry, That would be great, I'll e-mail you off list about it shortly. Rob -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
On Thu, 2010-01-21 at 10:08 +, Matthew Daubney wrote: [snip] Ok, last night I had a quite productive chat to the Learning team. They are in the process of creating some course ware, and have already created some bits and pieces. They seem to be more than happy for us to use this, and even create more if we pass it back up to them. If you have a look on their wiki pages (the link kindly provided by Mr Pope up there ^) they have some pages already laid out for different levels of student as well. Since so much work has gone into their stuff already, would everyone be happy following their proforma and their lead? If people are uncomfortable with using bzr then we can create stuff in etherpad/google docs/what ever and then someone (don't mind if it's me) can pass it back up into their bzr tree when it's ready. Agreed. No need to duplicate effort. However, looking at the wiki, I'm not sure I completely understand where all the material lives. Most of the course material in how to maintain seems to come from DoctorMo's web log and the other sections don't have any actual teaching material. Do we know how it's all supposed to work? Bruno -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
Quoting Matthew Daubney m...@daubers.co.uk: Ok, last night I had a quite productive chat to the Learning team. They are in the process of creating some course ware, and have already created some bits and pieces. They seem to be more than happy for us to use this, and even create more if we pass it back up to them. If you have a look on their wiki pages (the link kindly provided by Mr Pope up there ^) they have some pages already laid out for different levels of student as well. Since so much work has gone into their stuff already, would everyone be happy following their proforma and their lead? If people are uncomfortable with using bzr then we can create stuff in etherpad/google docs/what ever and then someone (don't mind if it's me) can pass it back up into their bzr tree when it's ready. Thoughts? I think it's a great idea. No point in re-inventing the wheel so to speak. I presume this material will be under some sort of CC license or maybe even the GNU FDL? I think it would be good for trainees to be trained from consistant material, plus I think it's probably easier to contribute to existing material than going creating your own from scratch. Rob -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
On Sun, 2010-01-17 at 09:04 +, Alan Bell wrote: Overall this is a great idea. I think we need to clarify who this is aimed at. Off the top of my head I can think of three broad categories: Individuals wanting to run a proper operating system at home People wanting to introduce Ubuntu into their workplace Students wanting to use it in their studies Another target group includes people who are still running XP, using an older machine. Their PC is working fine, so why should they buy a new one? Why should they upgrade from XP when it does what they want, but isn't supported with upgrades? That's why I switched in 2006, and I'm sure there are a lot of others still in that situation in 2010. Ubuntu saved me last year after a motherboard failure forced me to rely on a PC Designed for Win95! There is lots of good stuff online, but for a beginner it's no replacement for someone pointing at the screen and saying This is how to . Dianne -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
Quoting Matthew Daubney m...@daubers.co.uk: Beginners are not the easiest people to teach to. I would suggest starting with some moderately advanced topics like how to package an app for Ubuntu. I was hoping to avoid this if possible. There is a _lot_ of stuff on these already, and people who want to learn this know where to look and are generally happy with whats there. What I wanted to tackle was those people who are uncomfortable with IRC and following web tutorials and it's ilk. These people (I believe) will be the really basic beginners. I was hoping to tackle a little bit of converting people through education type stuff by running these events as well, but thats a secondary aim. I know it's more difficult, but I honestly believe this is the more worthwhile path to follow. Please feel free to argue at me the other way though :) The more views the better as far as I'm concerned. I'd say I like this idea, I think it would be good to have some beginner documentation for things like install days etc. I'd like to be able to install Ubuntu for someone, or talk them through installing Ubuntu themselves and then let them have some printed material to take away to refer back to. Rob -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
On Thu, Jan 21, 2010 at 04:08:31PM +, Dianne Reuby wrote: Another target group includes people who are still running XP, using an older machine. Their PC is working fine, so why should they buy a new one? Why should they upgrade from XP when it does what they want, but isn't supported with upgrades? That is true, I've lost count of how many really low spec PCs I've sorted out which wer running XP with no real hope of running Windows 7 without costly (often not so cost effective) upgrades. Whereas Ubuntu will run happily on a machine with low specifications, and if Ubuntu is too much for it then there is Xubuntu. That's why I switched in 2006, and I'm sure there are a lot of others still in that situation in 2010. Ubuntu saved me last year after a motherboard failure forced me to rely on a PC Designed for Win95! A friend of mine has asked me to sort out 2 laptops, one is a P3 800 with 192MB Ram and the other is a P3 733 with 128MB Ram, neither ran XP very well (10 minute boot times), at least with Linux they are bareable to use. Something else which might be worth mentioning, a friend of mine in our local LUG came up with an idea of doing a complete training course, for a small fee to cover room hire we were looking at providing a free PC running Ubuntu. We'd take the trainees through installing Ubuntu, using it (general use and administration) and then at the end of the course they could take the PC home and keep it. Granted this did require a donation of PCs, in this case my friend had been given a number of P3 and P4 PCs but it turned out that the catch was he wasn't alowed to give them away to anyone in the UK due to a potential comeback on the organisation who supplied the PCs. Still with all the new rules on electronics disposal, and the positive press, maybe some of us may be able to get donations of old PCs from businesses as they upgrade. Just a thought. There is lots of good stuff online, but for a beginner it's no replacement for someone pointing at the screen and saying This is how to . Very true, hence my suggestion above :-) (I would have cutt and pasted it better I'm using vi and I don't know the shortcuts to cut/copy and paste :-P Rob -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
snip Still with all the new rules on electronics disposal, and the positive press, maybe some of us may be able to get donations of old PCs from businesses as they upgrade. Just a thought. snip Rob snip Rob, that sounds a great idea The best place to ask would be local schools and businesses, as they have to pay for computer disposal/recycling - I managed to aquire quite a few from my last school as they just had to get rid of them - they are not high-spec, but they aint rubbish either. The not for giving away in the UK sounds a bit dubious to me, but it doesnt matter, as long as the PCs got a good home! My old school recently got 100+ new laptops, so the old ones may also be free to a good home - I shall email and see! Joe --- Joe O'Dell Ubuntu-UK Group Member (ascenseur) https://wiki.ubuntu.com/JoeODell DFEY Member (SouthEast) dfey.org bedsLUG Co-Ordinator bedslug.co.cc -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
Still with all the new rules on electronics disposal, and the positive press, maybe some of us may be able to get donations of old PCs from businesses as they upgrade. Just a thought. If needed, we have a load of old computers at college that are not being transferred to our new building for next year. I know they cannot give them to students so I can ask if they can give them to this cause. gadget3000 -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
On Thu, 2010-01-21 at 17:14 +, Dianne Reuby pramc...@yahoo.co.uk wrote: Another target group includes people who are still running XP, using an older machine. Their PC is working fine, so why should they buy a new one? Why should they upgrade from XP when it does what they want, but isn't supported with upgrades? That's why I switched in 2006, and I'm sure there are a lot of others still in that situation in 2010. Ubuntu saved me last year after a motherboard failure forced me to rely on a PC Designed for Win95! There is lots of good stuff online, but for a beginner it's no replacement for someone pointing at the screen and saying This is how to . Dianne I've got an old XP laptop on the shelf, and I've got live CDs for Ubuntu 8.04, 8.10 and 9.04, but I can't figure out how to set the BIOS to boot from CD on startup, because it's a Sony VAIO, and the bottom right hand part of the screen is broken, so I can't see which keys to use from the BIOS menu ;-) -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 On this, as mentioned before there is a manual availble from the ubuntu site https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Training its in pdf, Its also for 8.04 I assume (and hope) it will be updated for 10.04 as that is the next lts release. any comments on update welcome, but perhaps we can use this. Paul -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.4.9 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iEYEARECAAYFAktYlCoACgkQaggq1k2FJq04hACfXIqGOvxOLbEtS5a26cqCzt/q s/cAn2FaL0xirVTcmwMas77FmaPCnPdF =0uqd -END PGP SIGNATURE- -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
Joe O'Dell wrote: Still with all the new rules on electronics disposal, and the positive press, maybe some of us may be able to get donations of old PCs from businesses as they upgrade. Just a thought. snip Rob, that sounds a great idea The best place to ask would be local schools and businesses, as they have to pay for computer disposal/recycling - I managed to aquire quite a few from my last school as they just had to get rid of them - they are not high-spec, but they aint rubbish either. The not for giving away in the UK sounds a bit dubious to me, but it doesnt matter, as long as the PCs got a good home! That's what I thought, I don't want to mention where he got them in case there's any comeback against him, but I'd have thought that as long as whoever receives the PC is happy that they are taking them at their own risk then I don't see how there could be a problem. Maybe the kit could be PAT tested before being dished out. My old school recently got 100+ new laptops, so the old ones may also be free to a good home - I shall email and see! Sounds good. Laptops are even easier to dish out for things like this, as they are easier for folks who are reliant on public transport to get home. Rob -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
Rowan Berkeley wrote: I've got an old XP laptop on the shelf, and I've got live CDs for Ubuntu 8.04, 8.10 and 9.04, but I can't figure out how to set the BIOS to boot from CD on startup, because it's a Sony VAIO, and the bottom right hand part of the screen is broken, so I can't see which keys to use from the BIOS menu ;-) Could you not plug in an external monitor? Rob -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 My old school recently got 100+ new laptops, so the old ones may also be free to a good home - I shall email and see! Indeed, laptops are good for mobile training, :) are you looking at getting all 100+ laptops. Not that I need another one, but over in Toronto there is Linuxcaffe they use Linux on laptops there, its internet cafe, so when you pay for food / drinks, you can borrow a laptop to surf the net. Paul -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.4.9 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iEYEARECAAYFAktYoisACgkQaggq1k2FJq1ftACfY8zz14HRapz9CGMOVFQ4h/Yp yn4An2JsRXGdQl3j+gTbXkI5jtFL+T3C =TVFS -END PGP SIGNATURE- -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
On Thu, 2010-01-21 at 17:22 +, Rob Beard wrote: [snip] Something else which might be worth mentioning, a friend of mine in our local LUG came up with an idea of doing a complete training course, for a small fee to cover room hire we were looking at providing a free PC running Ubuntu. We'd take the trainees through installing Ubuntu, using it (general use and administration) and then at the end of the course they could take the PC home and keep it. Granted this did require a donation of PCs, in this case my friend had been given a number of P3 and P4 PCs but it turned out that the catch was he wasn't alowed to give them away to anyone in the UK due to a potential comeback on the organisation who supplied the PCs. Still with all the new rules on electronics disposal, and the positive press, maybe some of us may be able to get donations of old PCs from businesses as they upgrade. Just a thought. This sounds like what Free Geeks in the US do: http://www.freegeek.org/ And apparently the Blackpool LUG and computer club do something similar: http://www.pcrecycler.co.uk/club/node/73 Maybe it'd be worth asking those guys for advice to know what works and what doesn't? Bruno -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
Bruno Girin wrote: On Thu, 2010-01-21 at 17:22 +, Rob Beard wrote: [snip] Something else which might be worth mentioning, a friend of mine in our local LUG came up with an idea of doing a complete training course, for a small fee to cover room hire we were looking at providing a free PC running Ubuntu. We'd take the trainees through installing Ubuntu, using it (general use and administration) and then at the end of the course they could take the PC home and keep it. Granted this did require a donation of PCs, in this case my friend had been given a number of P3 and P4 PCs but it turned out that the catch was he wasn't alowed to give them away to anyone in the UK due to a potential comeback on the organisation who supplied the PCs. Still with all the new rules on electronics disposal, and the positive press, maybe some of us may be able to get donations of old PCs from businesses as they upgrade. Just a thought. This sounds like what Free Geeks in the US do: http://www.freegeek.org/ And apparently the Blackpool LUG and computer club do something similar: http://www.pcrecycler.co.uk/club/node/73 Maybe it'd be worth asking those guys for advice to know what works and what doesn't? Bruno Could be worth asking. I've been mulling over trying to setup something along the lines of Free Geek in my local area. My wife is currently doing voluntary work for a local 'social enterprise' who make soaps and things (bath bombs, moisturiser) from all natural ingredients. Being a social enterprise I gather they are not for profit and take on volunteers in the area who gain retail and business experience. I believe they were funded by an organisation called Groundworks, not sure if it's South West specific. I had a chat with the wife's boss and she thought it was a great idea. I figured it would be a good way of recycling old computers (I have done some of this by reusing old PCs in LTSP installations for a community centre in Exeter, and a new project we're working on in our local LUG for a charity music cafe in Paignton). Sods law though, after having hardly any work over the past couple of months, I've just started contracting, so I've had to put my plans on hold somewhat. Rob -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 Sods law though, after having hardly any work over the past couple of months, I've just started contracting, so I've had to put my plans on hold somewhat. Rob I am sure once we get this rolling though (when you are free) then we may get more support, and it's less pressure on you. Hopefully if we get reach out to Local young people that use Linux etc, they may want to get involve. I am hoping to do that with DFEY, so it brings more young people together who are interested in free software etc. Perhaps if you put together an info poster about what you want to do, proposals, aims, objectives etc, it can be circulated to places and we can see what support we can generate, either get people to join the lug or join #dfey (or both if age range permits) and take it from there. I have got heathwize to send me some of their flyers, in return I am sending them some on the lighthouse (poster) dfey, ubuntu, freesoftware adn the lug, to hand out to young people, I have also invited the lady I was e-mailing to the next lug meet in Feb. I think we need to reach out to the techie community, Hopefully something will come from all that. Paul -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.4.9 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iEYEARECAAYFAktY2voACgkQaggq1k2FJq2PngCdGinRJGGH82kGQ55Hx2arhDcg aQUAn0K3iVmVp+ce/280ETplC79p21Eh =Q5Lb -END PGP SIGNATURE- -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
Rob Beard wrote: A friend of mine has asked me to sort out 2 laptops, one is a P3 800 with 192MB Ram and the other is a P3 733 with 128MB Ram, as you probably already know, an increase in ram on this class of machine will make a vast difference in performance -- alan cocks Ubuntu user #10391 Linux user #360648 -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
On Wed, 2010-01-20 at 00:38 +, Bruno Girin wrote: On Tue, 2010-01-19 at 18:43 +, Matthew Daubney wrote: [snip] Beginners are not the easiest people to teach to. I would suggest starting with some moderately advanced topics like how to package an app for Ubuntu. I was hoping to avoid this if possible. There is a _lot_ of stuff on these already, and people who want to learn this know where to look and are generally happy with whats there. What I wanted to tackle was those people who are uncomfortable with IRC and following web tutorials and it's ilk. These people (I believe) will be the really basic beginners. I was hoping to tackle a little bit of converting people through education type stuff by running these events as well, but thats a secondary aim. That's exactly the point for a training trial run: choose a subject that is reasonably well documented so that we have material. On the other hand, people who are aware of IRC and online tutorials but are not comfortable with them could be a good target: they know about Ubuntu, want to use it but need a bit of help. What we need to do then is find a way to talk to these people. I'm happy for a R/L trial of something a bit more technical, but I can't shake the feeling that there will have to be a lot of stuff unlearnt when the focus moves to absolute beginners. Do you have any idea's on how we could contact these people? I'm happy to try and get a letter into the local newspaper or something if people believe this might help. I know it's more difficult, but I honestly believe this is the more worthwhile path to follow. Please feel free to argue at me the other way though :) The more views the better as far as I'm concerned. I agree with you, it's the most interesting and worthwhile path to follow but starting with something simpler doesn't preclude having this as the long-term plan. Hooray! A common point of agreement. Something that proves this is worth doing :) What I would really like to do eventually is basic programming workshops, a bit like the old computer clubs of when I was a child (at a time when the home computer was called Amstrad CPC or Commodore C64): it was a great way to get people (kids especially) interested in computers as you would show them how fun it could be when you knew the basics of programming. Other fun stuff we could do are themed workshops like how to create a 3D scene with Blender. This is why I'd absolutely love to do a full scale event based on this. With a large event we can run several tracks from absolute basics to super uber flashy wonderfulness. A basic programming workshop would fit into this well. I also have another project I want to look into at some point that you may be interested in, based on the way I learnt to program. I would like to (at some point in the future) generate a set of ebooks of basic programs people can build, like I got from St Michaels for my spectrum as a kid :) Many an hour I spent building space invader type games from those books. First things first though, how do you think is best to get hold of people who would like to try Ubuntu but aren't necessarily comfortable learning over t'internet? -Matt Daubney -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
2010/1/16 Matthew Daubney m...@daubers.co.uk: I've put up an idea in the ideas pool[0], and started an etherpad[1]. Does anyone else have any experience of running these kind of things who would like to lend their expertise? What do people think would work best in this scenario? Please consider getting in touch with the Ubuntu Learning team who do exactly this. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Learning #ubuntu-learning Cheers, Al. -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
On Wed, 2010-01-20 at 11:34 +, Alan Pope wrote: 2010/1/16 Matthew Daubney m...@daubers.co.uk: I've put up an idea in the ideas pool[0], and started an etherpad[1]. Does anyone else have any experience of running these kind of things who would like to lend their expertise? What do people think would work best in this scenario? Please consider getting in touch with the Ubuntu Learning team who do exactly this. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Learning #ubuntu-learning Gah, I meant to do that but got a bit too eager. Shall have a natter to them this afternoon after work. Apologies for that. -Matt Daubney -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
On 18/01/10 16:06, Bruno Girin wrote: On Sun, 2010-01-17 at 12:03 +, Matthew Daubney wrote: On 17/01/10 04:08, Bruno Girin wrote: [snip] In terms of material, I agree that there's no point in having a slide deck as trainees will promptly forget the content. Furthermore it requires a projector, which is more equipment to get hold of. On the other hand, it is essential to give comprehensive course material, including exercises, that they can take home and refer to at their leisure. This can take the form of a CD, the URL of a file to download, etc. One thing to consider as well is a printout of the core course material so that they can follow during the course and take notes. At one point there was a proposal to make a DVD from the screencasts, if we could create a set of screencasts with some kind of leaflet to go with it giving some exercises we could achieve two aims at once. I would add to that some training notes, exercises, answers, etc. in the form of a text or PDF file. Once people have had any sort of training, they will want to put it into practice but may not remember everything that was said so would want to refer back to some material. A screencast is good but is not always the most practical form when you want to quickly search for a particular aspect of the session and you can't copy / paste from a screencast. This material could also include things like code samples or command line history. [snip] True but it doesn't have to be huge on day 1. We can test drive the concept with small sessions in a coffee shop between interested people bringing their own laptops. Bruno Girin Indeed. It may be best then to create a syllabus for absolute beginners, and then work upwards. I'll be quite happy to run a session at Oggcamp (for those who are planning to attend) to run some real life discussion on this. Beginners are not the easiest people to teach to. I would suggest starting with some moderately advanced topics like how to package an app for Ubuntu. I was hoping to avoid this if possible. There is a _lot_ of stuff on these already, and people who want to learn this know where to look and are generally happy with whats there. What I wanted to tackle was those people who are uncomfortable with IRC and following web tutorials and it's ilk. These people (I believe) will be the really basic beginners. I was hoping to tackle a little bit of converting people through education type stuff by running these events as well, but thats a secondary aim. I know it's more difficult, but I honestly believe this is the more worthwhile path to follow. Please feel free to argue at me the other way though :) The more views the better as far as I'm concerned. -Matt Daubney -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
On Tue, 2010-01-19 at 18:43 +, Matthew Daubney wrote: [snip] Beginners are not the easiest people to teach to. I would suggest starting with some moderately advanced topics like how to package an app for Ubuntu. I was hoping to avoid this if possible. There is a _lot_ of stuff on these already, and people who want to learn this know where to look and are generally happy with whats there. What I wanted to tackle was those people who are uncomfortable with IRC and following web tutorials and it's ilk. These people (I believe) will be the really basic beginners. I was hoping to tackle a little bit of converting people through education type stuff by running these events as well, but thats a secondary aim. That's exactly the point for a training trial run: choose a subject that is reasonably well documented so that we have material. On the other hand, people who are aware of IRC and online tutorials but are not comfortable with them could be a good target: they know about Ubuntu, want to use it but need a bit of help. I know it's more difficult, but I honestly believe this is the more worthwhile path to follow. Please feel free to argue at me the other way though :) The more views the better as far as I'm concerned. I agree with you, it's the most interesting and worthwhile path to follow but starting with something simpler doesn't preclude having this as the long-term plan. What I would really like to do eventually is basic programming workshops, a bit like the old computer clubs of when I was a child (at a time when the home computer was called Amstrad CPC or Commodore C64): it was a great way to get people (kids especially) interested in computers as you would show them how fun it could be when you knew the basics of programming. Other fun stuff we could do are themed workshops like how to create a 3D scene with Blender. Bruno -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
On Sun, 2010-01-17 at 12:03 +, Matthew Daubney wrote: On 17/01/10 04:08, Bruno Girin wrote: [snip] In terms of material, I agree that there's no point in having a slide deck as trainees will promptly forget the content. Furthermore it requires a projector, which is more equipment to get hold of. On the other hand, it is essential to give comprehensive course material, including exercises, that they can take home and refer to at their leisure. This can take the form of a CD, the URL of a file to download, etc. One thing to consider as well is a printout of the core course material so that they can follow during the course and take notes. At one point there was a proposal to make a DVD from the screencasts, if we could create a set of screencasts with some kind of leaflet to go with it giving some exercises we could achieve two aims at once. I would add to that some training notes, exercises, answers, etc. in the form of a text or PDF file. Once people have had any sort of training, they will want to put it into practice but may not remember everything that was said so would want to refer back to some material. A screencast is good but is not always the most practical form when you want to quickly search for a particular aspect of the session and you can't copy / paste from a screencast. This material could also include things like code samples or command line history. [snip] True but it doesn't have to be huge on day 1. We can test drive the concept with small sessions in a coffee shop between interested people bringing their own laptops. Bruno Girin Indeed. It may be best then to create a syllabus for absolute beginners, and then work upwards. I'll be quite happy to run a session at Oggcamp (for those who are planning to attend) to run some real life discussion on this. Beginners are not the easiest people to teach to. I would suggest starting with some moderately advanced topics like how to package an app for Ubuntu. That would enable us to rehearse the process with trainees who already know the environment, know what they want to get out of the training and are more able to provide valuable feedback. It's also the sort of training that has simple success criteria, such as by the end of it every trainee should be able to package hello world, so you can easily verify that you've met said criteria. Bruno -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
On 18/01/2010 16:06, Bruno Girin wrote: Beginners are not the easiest people to teach to. I would suggest starting with some moderately advanced topics like how to package an app for Ubuntu. That would enable us to rehearse the process with trainees who already know the environment, know what they want to get out of the training and are more able to provide valuable feedback. It's also the sort of training that has simple success criteria, such as by the end of it every trainee should be able to package hello world, so you can easily verify that you've met said criteria. Targetting people who already have some experience sounds like a good idea. It should be easier to find people who are interested, through LUGs, etc. They may even have a ready made venue if you offered to go to their meetings and do training sessions there. Of course that doesn't help in terms of promoting Ubuntu to new people, but it's better to iron out any kinks in the training process with people who already have experience about the product, rather than scaring off newbies if things go wrong :) -- Lesley Harrison -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
Bruno Girin wrote: I've given technical training in the past and would be happy to help. I was impressed with the thoroughness of your summary, Bruno. Seems to me you noted most of the elements, and outlined the relevant options. Rather than us engaging in a long discussion, I wondered if it wouldn't be more useful for a few people just to run little local 'pilot' events, to see what the issues really are, and what seemed to work. The biggest hurdle will probably be to find locations and equipment to run the trainings. As you say, venue and kit may be the main problem. I wondered if an option to deal with this might be to offer a short series of evening class at the local high school (many of which run 'recreational' evening classes), or approach the University of the Third Age or the Workers Educational Association to offer a short course. Just a thought. mac -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
I have forwarded the e-mail to the uk-hackspaces mailing list, as there are several regional hackspaces across the UK (London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds) who may be able to help - in some cases with venue and in others with knowledge. Regards -- Jon The Nice Guy Spriggs LPIC-1 Certified This message was sent from my mobile device. Please excuse any top posting and typos that may occur as a result. On 17 Jan 2010 08:09, mac ammonius.grammati...@gmx.co.uk wrote: Bruno Girin wrote: I've given technical training in the past and would be happy to help. I was impressed with the thoroughness of your summary, Bruno. Seems to me you noted most of the elements, and outlined the relevant options. Rather than us engaging in a long discussion, I wondered if it wouldn't be more useful for a few people just to run little local 'pilot' events, to see what the issues really are, and what seemed to work. The biggest hurdle will probably be to find locations and equipment to run the trainings. As you say, venue and kit may be the main problem. I wondered if an option to deal with this might be to offer a short series of evening class at the local high school (many of which run 'recreational' evening classes), or approach the University of the Third Age or the Workers Educational Association to offer a short course. Just a thought. mac -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubu... -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
Overall this is a great idea. I think we need to clarify who this is aimed at. Off the top of my head I can think of three broad categories: Individuals wanting to run a proper operating system at home People wanting to introduce Ubuntu into their workplace Students wanting to use it in their studies This affects to some extent the style and content of the event, but more importantly it affects the amount of time, effort and money people will be willing to throw at it, and how it would need to be publicised. Alan. -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
I wondered if an option to deal with this might be to offer a short series of evening class at the local high school (many of which run 'recreational' evening classes), or approach the University of the Third Age or the Workers Educational Association to offer a short course. That sounds like a good plan. My local school (Bedfordshire - ~1600 pupils!) wouldn't have a problem at all with that, in fact, they actually hire out rooms to local groups. I'm sure if I sent an email to the facilities office and expalined the situation, that they would be more than happy to help. All the classrooms have projectors, and most have interactive whiteboards too. Would anybody be interested in attending such a thing? Yeah! Being a novice, I'd love to join in and learn a bit more about Linux/Ubuntu from people who know what they're talking about. :) However, it may be difficult to convince whatever training centre we use to install Ubuntu on their computers so it could be worth having a number of live USB keys with a fresh install of Ubuntu and training material on them. I agree, especially at my school, there would be no chance of installing ubuntu on the computers. However, perhaps it would be an idea to acquire, say, 20 usb thumbdrives and load Ubuntu onto them. Would a live or a persistent installation be preffered? This could be quite a large undertaking, so please get involved if you're in the least bit interested! I would have no problem whatsoever in giving a hand in this project. Although I'm not the most experienced user, I will give what I can to this project. One thing that has just popped into my head would be for me to spend a weekend preloading Ubuntu onto memory keys and then sending them onto whoever wants them. Individuals wanting to run a proper operating system at home People wanting to introduce Ubuntu into their workplace Students wanting to use it in their studies Although I'd class myself as the last category, I'd say that I would fit into all 3! However, I cant really see how each of the three groups would need different training. Surely just a crash course in ubuntu would be sufficient? I'm sure it isnt, but I was just thinking. Regards, Joe (ascenseur) Stephen Leacockhttp://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/s/stephen_leacock.html - I detest life-insurance agents: they always argue that I shall some day die, which is not so. -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
On 17/01/10 04:08, Bruno Girin wrote: snippy snip snip I've given technical training in the past and would be happy to help. The first question is what type of training are we aiming for? It may be easier to start with short sessions that can be done over a few hours, either in the evenings or at weekends, as it will require less commitment from trainers and trainees. This sounds like the best idea at first. I would _love_ to eventually do a large event, but starting small would be much easier logistically. The biggest hurdle will probably be to find locations and equipment to run the trainings. This can be simplified for training sessions that are done as part of a larger event, as we can piggy back on their organisation. On the other hand, talking to local community centres, it may be possible to get rooms and stuff for free, especially if we offer things like running sessions for their members (thus introducing them to Ubuntu at the same time). In terms of teachers, a single teacher who knows his subject and who has good course material should be enough. Assistants would only be necessary in larger groups. A simple way to help things out is to group trainees in pairs rather than let them all have their individual computer to play with: they can help each other out. Another trick is to ensure you have ample time for hands-on exercises, during which the teacher can come round and help the trainees with things they struggle with. Yes, my initial thought in all this was that people will learn more by acrtually doing something than by sitting and having someone talk to them. Most of the basic stuff can be taught this way (I believe, but please feel free to correct me as I've never really trained people before) but more advanced stuff may require a certain amount of being lectured too. In terms of material, I agree that there's no point in having a slide deck as trainees will promptly forget the content. Furthermore it requires a projector, which is more equipment to get hold of. On the other hand, it is essential to give comprehensive course material, including exercises, that they can take home and refer to at their leisure. This can take the form of a CD, the URL of a file to download, etc. One thing to consider as well is a printout of the core course material so that they can follow during the course and take notes. At one point there was a proposal to make a DVD from the screencasts, if we could create a set of screencasts with some kind of leaflet to go with it giving some exercises we could achieve two aims at once. Computers will be essential. However, it may be difficult to convince whatever training centre we use to install Ubuntu on their computers so it could be worth having a number of live USB keys with a fresh install of Ubuntu and training material on them. Yes, this is true. If it comes to it I may be able to borrow a pile of SATA HDD's from work which we could swap out the training centres ones with. This would require more work though, so I'm not convinced of it's worth. USB Keys may be the way forward, and if we use Live ones than we can just reboot machines to get a fresh environment between classes. Would anybody be interested in attending such a thing? Definitely! There are lots of things I'd like to learn about Ubuntu so I'd definitely be keen to attend as a trainee or as a trainer. Excellent! From the brief burst of discussion I'm quite taken aback at how much thought people have put into this! I'll attempt to distill most of this discussion into the wiki over the course of the day to make it easier to refer too. This could be quite a large undertaking, so please get involved if you're in the least bit interested! True but it doesn't have to be huge on day 1. We can test drive the concept with small sessions in a coffee shop between interested people bringing their own laptops. Bruno Girin Indeed. It may be best then to create a syllabus for absolute beginners, and then work upwards. I'll be quite happy to run a session at Oggcamp (for those who are planning to attend) to run some real life discussion on this. -Matt Daubney -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
Joe wrote: However, it may be difficult to convince whatever training centre we use to install Ubuntu on their computers so it could be worth having a number of live USB keys with a fresh install of Ubuntu and training material on them. I agree, especially at my school, there would be no chance of installing ubuntu on the computers. However, perhaps it would be an idea to acquire, say, 20 usb thumbdrives and load Ubuntu onto them. Would a live or a persistent installation be preffered? It is quite hard to arrange live cd or thumb drive to be sure to avoid any damage at all to the host PC. In experienced hands, ok, I would never open up a terminal and create havok, or use the partition editor wrongly.. but at a pubilic event it is hard to control attendees, and maybe some of them will have enough dangerous knowledge to upset the host hardware? -- alan ciocks Ubuntu user -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
On Sun, 17 Jan 2010 12:32:33 -, alan c aecl...@candt.waitrose.com wrote: Joe wrote: However, it may be difficult to convince whatever training centre we use to install Ubuntu on their computers so it could be worth having a number of live USB keys with a fresh install of Ubuntu and training material on them. I agree, especially at my school, there would be no chance of installing Ubuntu on the computers. However, perhaps it would be an idea to acquire, say, 20 USB thumb-drives and load Ubuntu onto them. Would a live or a persistent installation be preferred? It is quite hard to arrange live CD or thumb drive to be sure to avoid any damage at all to the host PC. In experienced hands, ok, I would never open up a terminal and create havoc, or use the partition editor wrongly.. but at a public event it is hard to control attendees, and maybe some of them will have enough dangerous knowledge to upset the host hardware? Is it not possible to create a password protected Live CD/Thumbdrive. -- Steve -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
Just a quick comment about the style of training. There are four styles of learning, which someone will naturally fall into. These, typically are put onto a cross-hairs style graph. Theory first Practical second Instructor Experimentation Lead. Driven Practical first Theory second. If you can ensure you cover off all four areas in your training, that'd be a good starting point. A few years back I ran training courses on Linux for helpdesk staff I was working with. Sadly, I've lost what I wrote at the time, but I'd be more than happy to help write some of the courseware. -- Jon The Nice Guy Spriggs LPIC-1 Certified This message was sent from my mobile device. Please excuse any top posting and typos that may occur as a result. On 17 Jan 2010 12:03, Matthew Daubney m...@daubers.co.uk wrote: On 17/01/10 04:08, Bruno Girin wrote: snippy snip snip I've given technical training in the past and would be happy to help. The first question is what... This sounds like the best idea at first. I would _love_ to eventually do a large event, but starting small would be much easier logistically. The biggest hurdle will probably be to find locations and equipment to run the trainings. This ... Yes, my initial thought in all this was that people will learn more by acrtually doing something than by sitting and having someone talk to them. Most of the basic stuff can be taught this way (I believe, but please feel free to correct me as I've never really trained people before) but more advanced stuff may require a certain amount of being lectured too. In terms of material, I agree that there's no point in having a slide deck as trainees will pro... At one point there was a proposal to make a DVD from the screencasts, if we could create a set of screencasts with some kind of leaflet to go with it giving some exercises we could achieve two aims at once. Computers will be essential. However, it may be difficult to convince whatever training centre ... Yes, this is true. If it comes to it I may be able to borrow a pile of SATA HDD's from work which we could swap out the training centres ones with. This would require more work though, so I'm not convinced of it's worth. USB Keys may be the way forward, and if we use Live ones than we can just reboot machines to get a fresh environment between classes. Would anybody be interested in attending such a thing? Definitely! There are lots of t... Excellent! From the brief burst of discussion I'm quite taken aback at how much thought people have put into this! I'll attempt to distill most of this discussion into the wiki over the course of the day to make it easier to refer too. This could be quite a large undertaking, so please get involved if you're in the least bit int... Indeed. It may be best then to create a syllabus for absolute beginners, and then work upwards. I'll be quite happy to run a session at Oggcamp (for those who are planning to attend) to run some real life discussion on this. -Matt Daubney -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubu... -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
2010/1/17 Steve yorvik.ubu...@googlemail.com: On Sun, 17 Jan 2010 12:32:33 -, alan c aecl...@candt.waitrose.com wrote: Joe wrote: However, it may be difficult to convince whatever training centre we use to install Ubuntu on their computers so it could be worth having a number of live USB keys with a fresh install of Ubuntu and training material on them. I agree, especially at my school, there would be no chance of installing Ubuntu on the computers. However, perhaps it would be an idea to acquire, say, 20 USB thumb-drives and load Ubuntu onto them. Would a live or a persistent installation be preferred? It is quite hard to arrange live CD or thumb drive to be sure to avoid any damage at all to the host PC. In experienced hands, ok, I would never open up a terminal and create havoc, or use the partition editor wrongly.. but at a public event it is hard to control attendees, and maybe some of them will have enough dangerous knowledge to upset the host hardware? Is it not possible to create a password protected Live CD/Thumbdrive. I think the problem is that of preventing the pupil accidentally or otherwise damaging existing data on the hard drive of the PC. On the other hand if the PCs were being used for a Windows training course one could say exactly the same thing. The fact that it is Ubuntu is arguably irrelevant. Colin -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
On 17/01/10 13:20, Colin Law wrote: 2010/1/17 Steveyorvik.ubu...@googlemail.com: On Sun, 17 Jan 2010 12:32:33 -, alan caecl...@candt.waitrose.com wrote: Joe wrote: However, it may be difficult to convince whatever training centre we use to install Ubuntu on their computers so it could be worth having a number of live USB keys with a fresh install of Ubuntu and training material on them. I agree, especially at my school, there would be no chance of installing Ubuntu on the computers. However, perhaps it would be an idea to acquire, say, 20 USB thumb-drives and load Ubuntu onto them. Would a live or a persistent installation be preferred? It is quite hard to arrange live CD or thumb drive to be sure to avoid any damage at all to the host PC. In experienced hands, ok, I would never open up a terminal and create havoc, or use the partition editor wrongly.. but at a public event it is hard to control attendees, and maybe some of them will have enough dangerous knowledge to upset the host hardware? Is it not possible to create a password protected Live CD/Thumbdrive. I think the problem is that of preventing the pupil accidentally or otherwise damaging existing data on the hard drive of the PC. On the other hand if the PCs were being used for a Windows training course one could say exactly the same thing. The fact that it is Ubuntu is arguably irrelevant. Colin This can be avoided by unplugging the HDD :) -Matt Daubney -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
On 17/01/10 13:20, Colin Law wrote: 2010/1/17 Steveyorvik.ubu...@googlemail.com: On Sun, 17 Jan 2010 12:32:33 -, alan caecl...@candt.waitrose.com wrote: Joe wrote: However, it may be difficult to convince whatever training centre we use to install Ubuntu on their computers so it could be worth having a number of live USB keys with a fresh install of Ubuntu and training material on them. I agree, especially at my school, there would be no chance of installing Ubuntu on the computers. However, perhaps it would be an idea to acquire, say, 20 USB thumb-drives and load Ubuntu onto them. Would a live or a persistent installation be preferred? It is quite hard to arrange live CD or thumb drive to be sure to avoid any damage at all to the host PC. In experienced hands, ok, I would never open up a terminal and create havoc, or use the partition editor wrongly.. but at a public event it is hard to control attendees, and maybe some of them will have enough dangerous knowledge to upset the host hardware? Is it not possible to create a password protected Live CD/Thumbdrive. I think the problem is that of preventing the pupil accidentally or otherwise damaging existing data on the hard drive of the PC. On the other hand if the PCs were being used for a Windows training course one could say exactly the same thing. The fact that it is Ubuntu is arguably irrelevant. Colin This can be avoided by unplugging the HDD :) Yes, it would. However, if you were to follow the after-school route, I dont think IT support would take kindly to you dismantling their PCs! (but, they wouldn't like it if you wiped their disks clean either - so it is a fair point). Isn't it possible to lock down a live-usb edition of ubuntu? that may be another solution, (if it can be done...) Joe -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
Matthew Daubney wrote: Hey All, This was discussed at the last meeting, but I'm slow and should have put this up sooner. One thing that was discussed was the idea of doing some real life training for people who are new to Ubuntu, through to those who consider themselves experts. I've put up an idea in the ideas pool[0], and started an etherpad[1]. Does anyone else have any experience of running these kind of things who would like to lend their expertise? What do people think would work best in this scenario? Would anybody be interested in attending such a thing? This could be quite a large undertaking, so please get involved if you're in the least bit interested! -Matt Daubney [0]https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/IdeasPool/Real_Life_Training [1]http://etherpad.com/woXx76yxpP Just remembered about the canonical training options (not to mention the on line support...) = http://www.ubuntu.com/support http://www.ubuntu.com/support/services * Desktop classroom training * Desktop e-learning and = Personal desktop support Personal support for everyone, from first time users, to experienced professionals. * Starter desktop service * Advanced desktop service * Professional desktop service = There is a file student.pdf, and an associated instructor.pdf created around 7.10 may need updating https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Training http://www.onlytorrents.com/torrent/student-7-10-pdf:9ca6a5e8bf209bb654ac3aeafcfbabfc3bf4370b http://www.onlytorrents.com/torrent/ubuntu-instructor-training-pdf:b12b671e39b5473e73c9660f37d10032d72ad7b0 = also a project recently exists : Ubuntu-manual https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-manual = and just seen http://www.pdf-word.net/index.php?q=ubuntu%20handbook%20pdf -- alan cocks Ubuntu user -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
On 17/01/2010 08:09, mac wrote: I wondered if an option to deal with this might be to offer a short series of evening class at the local high school (many of which run 'recreational' evening classes), or approach the University of the Third Age or the Workers Educational Association to offer a short course. When I investigated the possibility of running some classes at the local activity centre, they said that they required all teachers to have a qualification. I think it was the PTLLS (Preparing to teach in the lifelong learning sector). They wanted this even for Workshop type courses that didn't offer any formal qualification at the end. There are plenty of other venues to choose from, but it's a shame that the local council are being so funny about courses - from what little market research I did, it seems that the Adult Learning and Skills leaflets that the council insists of putting through our doors every few months are the main way that people in my area hear about free courses. -- Lesley Harrison -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] Possible Training Events
On Sat, 2010-01-16 at 23:09 +, Matthew Daubney wrote: Hey All, This was discussed at the last meeting, but I'm slow and should have put this up sooner. One thing that was discussed was the idea of doing some real life training for people who are new to Ubuntu, through to those who consider themselves experts. I've put up an idea in the ideas pool[0], and started an etherpad[1]. Does anyone else have any experience of running these kind of things who would like to lend their expertise? What do people think would work best in this scenario? I've given technical training in the past and would be happy to help. The first question is what type of training are we aiming for? It may be easier to start with short sessions that can be done over a few hours, either in the evenings or at weekends, as it will require less commitment from trainers and trainees. The biggest hurdle will probably be to find locations and equipment to run the trainings. This can be simplified for training sessions that are done as part of a larger event, as we can piggy back on their organisation. On the other hand, talking to local community centres, it may be possible to get rooms and stuff for free, especially if we offer things like running sessions for their members (thus introducing them to Ubuntu at the same time). In terms of teachers, a single teacher who knows his subject and who has good course material should be enough. Assistants would only be necessary in larger groups. A simple way to help things out is to group trainees in pairs rather than let them all have their individual computer to play with: they can help each other out. Another trick is to ensure you have ample time for hands-on exercises, during which the teacher can come round and help the trainees with things they struggle with. In terms of material, I agree that there's no point in having a slide deck as trainees will promptly forget the content. Furthermore it requires a projector, which is more equipment to get hold of. On the other hand, it is essential to give comprehensive course material, including exercises, that they can take home and refer to at their leisure. This can take the form of a CD, the URL of a file to download, etc. One thing to consider as well is a printout of the core course material so that they can follow during the course and take notes. Computers will be essential. However, it may be difficult to convince whatever training centre we use to install Ubuntu on their computers so it could be worth having a number of live USB keys with a fresh install of Ubuntu and training material on them. Would anybody be interested in attending such a thing? Definitely! There are lots of things I'd like to learn about Ubuntu so I'd definitely be keen to attend as a trainee or as a trainer. This could be quite a large undertaking, so please get involved if you're in the least bit interested! True but it doesn't have to be huge on day 1. We can test drive the concept with small sessions in a coffee shop between interested people bringing their own laptops. Bruno Girin -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
