I seem to have never received the original post to which you are referring. I would be interested in helping to run this session. I am pretty firmly of the opinion that doing a client-focused project is a good way to run a software engineering course ( other types of open source development may be appropriate for other courses, certainly). I think we need someone with the opposite opinion, though, as well.
Bonnie MacKellar -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Mel Chua Sent: Sunday, February 19, 2012 2:03 PM To: 'TOS List' Subject: Re: [TOS] TOS speaker on issue tracker > I think that the whole subject of students engaging in > client-centered open source projects -- challenges, pitfalls, etc -- > might be a good topic for discussion at the upcoming pre-SIGCSE > event. I agree. Added to http://teachingopensource.org/index.php/SIGCSE_2012/TOS_symposium#Proposed_Sessions. :) > the course. Major rewards are 1) students work regularly (weekly) > with a client as they develop, 2) students are full-fledged > committers from the get-go, and so they must contribute good code > throughout the semester, 3) students must work as a team (not just at > the fringes), and 4) at the end of the semester, students leave an > artifact that benefits the non-profit in a direct way. Thanks for this, Allen -- I hadn't thought deeply about the interplay between #2-3 before. #1 and #4 are very much compatible with working with a larger project -- customizing and deploying software for a client instead of writing it from scratch -- but there is a big difference between being a core contributor from the start, vs coming in as an apprentice to someone else's project. I can still see how that might be possible to do within the context of a large community -- for instance, developing a plugin, or taking stewardship of a forgotten piece of software like Heidi's students adopted the Caribou keyboard within GNOME -- but the choice between being peripheral contributors and central ones is an important one. Curious what folks say at SIGCSE. :) --Mel _______________________________________________ tos mailing list [email protected] http://lists.teachingopensource.org/mailman/listinfo/tos _______________________________________________ tos mailing list [email protected] http://lists.teachingopensource.org/mailman/listinfo/tos
