> People does use text processors, spreadsheets and Dropbox and Co., and > is natural for them to wonder why they should replace them and learn yet > another tool.
This is just it. The "should" part. If I was trying to push something on people, then the burden would be on me to justify my position to them. Since I don't think there is a "should" about which tool to use, and I don't have an agenda for them to switch from Dropbox to Git, then why would it concern me if they don't immediately jump on the Git bandwagon? If they need to or want to know it, I'm here to help. If they don't, then I'm sure they've got better things to do than hang around in workshops for things that don't interest them. > Not having participated in any SCW yes (this will be solved in a few > weeks :-), I have given a couple of introductory git talks to people > really interested in the subject, and the Dropbox question always > arised, and I think that we should be ready to give a 30 sec., basic > answer to this. We use git instead of dropbox, don't we? so, why? Which > is the essential difference? I'm sure this kind of comments always > arises, if not in class, in the breaks and in post-workshop > conversations. I've given several Git talks and have attended several SWC bootcamps as a helper. I've never had the Dropbox question. Perhaps I should also add that I've never been rude to students, despite what my cantankerous attitude in email might suggest ;-) > You should know more than you teach, and knowing the tools available, at > least knowing that they exist and the rough differences between them, I > believe is part of it. I do not use Word except for administrative > paperwok, but I know when and why I should use LaTeX. Sorry, but I'm not going to invest time in learning tools that I don't have a use for, just in case someone wants to know how my workflow is different to theirs on some arbitrary point. If someone wants me to compare, say, Debian and Arch Linux, or C and C++, I can help them, because I've got experience with these; furthermore, such comparisons might be appropriate in workshops respectively on installing Linux or programming high performance applications. But if someone comes to a Git workshops wondering how it's different to Dropbox, well, they'll learn that as soon as they try Git for more than a few minutes, or as soon as they try to use Dropbox for writing software. For me, knowing more than I teach means knowing things about Git, bash, etc that don't get taught in the novice bootcamps. Knowing quite a lot about Git and bash is what gives me the authority to teach these topics, not knowing whatever is currently passing for popular software amongst non-computational people. ~ Tim _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.software-carpentry.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss_lists.software-carpentry.org
