bascherz wrote:I believe Ian stated earlier in this thread that he is working on getting us access to the documentation Wiki. I am sure there are logistics involved to work that out.
Missed that, thanks!
bascherz wrote:I asked earlier in perhaps this thread or another about what format these "courses" would be presented. Will they be something on the order of slideshows, screencasts, webcasts, or just in-line textual Wiki examples?
I think "all of the above" should be anticipated. I know there are plugins for Wiki to embed video, etc., so, hopefully, that will not be a problem technically. As we get started, having the course outline with links and text would be the first step, IMO. I think this course will mature over time and I would like to set expectation up front that each time a class works through the material that they find some way to improve it.
bascherz wrote:Amy, one thing you listed in your tools list was SVN. But I don't see anything in the outline that explains why it is important when a team is working on a project together. Perhaps a bit more emphasis on this somewhere would be valuable? Just a thought. Maybe it's there, just in the noise.
You are right - I really did
not articulate my thinking on that and I appreciate you asking for clarity. In doing so, I think we might begin to build consensus on where this could potentially head.
tjay mentioned observing a collaborative development environment. I very much want to see that emerge. Again, as new developers come in, setting community expectation is another benefit beyond simply building technical skill.
In my thinking, there is real benefit to having third party developers hooked into the current Joomla! development in order to help test, provide patches and bug reports, and to keep their extensions current. So, helping new developers know how to access the SVN right away could encourage that. We might also want to explain how to report a bug. To be honest, I think current instructions are contradictory and confusing. On the dev site, the menu link "report a bug" goes to
JoomlaCode. I have no idea how to use that thing and I'd be scared to death that I'd do something wrong and get into trouble.
There's a
How to get involved link that has bug reporting, and more, but the links are outdated with v 1.0.x and v 1.5. I think it would be good to smooth that information out and include reference to it in the beginning curriculum.
I think having weekly training sessions where - at least once in awhile - developers swing by and exchange ideas - is another way to support that collaboration.
So, as you can see, I am not only thinking about skills but also about helping new developers get good information and connections so that they can become part of the community - to contribute. Maybe we need to add a section towards the end that addresses developer involvement in the project. At that time, the SVN, testing, bug reporting, patch submissions, etc., could be addressed.
bascherz wrote:I think by now it should be becoming apparent the amount of work we're signing up for here. And the level of attention to basic abilities that has been included in the outline may attract PHP developers in general, not just Joomla! developers.
Yes. Agreed on need to consider, again, personal commitment. I don't mind attracting PHP developers, provided they contribute to Joomla!, but I would be concerned that this became a "PHP resource." But, I don't see that happening.
I think it's important to make certain we include PHP, MySQL and OOP resources. We have many community members who understand Joomla! administration and/or template development very well, who want and are able to have deeper involvement with J! development. They need those resources and the confidence knowing it's okay to come in, even absent those skills.
Those with those skills should be able to either join in immediately and support learners, or catch the group at week 3 (or start a group that does not need the first two weeks.)
Having said that, I think it's just as important that we find
external resources, rather than create these resources for our learners. To be valuable for learning, it does not have to be "invented here." By using the external resources, we are not taking on more responsibility for curriculum but we can help those who want to "crossover" and the community can tap into what I believe is a group of people with very strong potential.
What is your thinking on these things? Good issues.
Amy
