I just want to echo Mike's point that if you provide the IT person with really clear instructions on what needs to be run, you actually have the opportunity to be super efficient because everything will be there and ready to go.
I've run a few undergraduate labs on hugely out of date computers (that couldn't run the most recent versions of websites for example!) and the easiest thing was for me to go a few days in advance and just sit with the techs as they installed whatever was needed on one machine. That way I could adjust the course as I realised what worked and what didn't (not being able to load a website was a huge surprise!) Once they've set up one machine it's easy for the techs to push settings to every other one, but they won't necessarily know what is or isn't "enough" for a typical install. I think you've probably already thought of this, but arranging for an hour at the end of the session (or over lunch maybe) where students can get support installing the tools on their own machines would be really useful. (I've certainly found the challenges of installing software to be a HUGE barrier to entry.) I'm imagining that this session would be optional but that it would be popular at the end of the course when you've highlighted just how awesome the tools you've demonstrated can be! tl;dr Have someone sit with the IT tech and get things set up. It's a pain but worth it. Kirstie Sent from my iPhone, please excuse any typos or excessive brevity > On 28 Mar 2016, at 19:59, sheila miguez <[email protected]> wrote: > > Check that they are not blocking any ports you need. > >> On Mon, Mar 28, 2016 at 1:53 PM, Andrea Zonca <[email protected]> wrote: >> With locked-down machines, the learners already loose the opportunity to >> have a working environment on their laptop at the end of the workshop. >> At this point, the easiest I believe is to just setup Jupyterhub on a server >> and then use the embedded shell (Terminado) to teach bash and git, and then >> the Notebook for Python or R. So they only need a browser on the local >> machines. >> >>> On Mon, Mar 28, 2016 at 10:23 AM Matt Davis <[email protected]> wrote: >>> You'll definitely need to work with the IT staff at the lab. A VM isn't >>> useful if you can't install get VirtualBox installed, for example, and >>> you'll want the VM pre-loaded so you don't have an entire lab trying to >>> download hundreds of MB on the day of the workshop. On the other hand, many >>> pieces of software work fine installed by a non-admin and it may not be an >>> issue. I would see about getting touch with the lab IT staff and seeing >>> what they think of the SWC installation instructions. >>> >>>> On Mon, Mar 28, 2016 at 9:44 AM Mike Smorul <[email protected]> wrote: >>>> A VM is one option. We've run workshops (not SWC/DC) based on VM's that >>>> have been pretty successful. You end up w/ a lot fewer setup issues, but >>>> there's less take-away for students unless you run them through EC2 or >>>> similar where they can walk away w/ a working VM/image. >>>> >>>> If it's a locked down lab you're teaching in, most sites tend to have some >>>> procedure for getting new software installed. Your host may have a better >>>> idea about this. Be prepared to hand them a complete set of instructions >>>> for installation and more importantly a set of tests they can run locally >>>> to ensure everything is installed (ie, open r studio, run x,y,z, or open >>>> this software, click click click and you should see x,y,z) >>>> >>>> -----Original Message----- >>>> From: Discuss [mailto:[email protected]] On >>>> Behalf Of Adam Obeng >>>> Sent: Monday, March 28, 2016 12:31 PM >>>> To: [email protected] >>>> Subject: [Discuss] Workshop with locked-down machines >>>> >>>> Dear colleagues, >>>> >>>> >>>> A workshop next month is using machines on which the users don't have >>>> admin access. As far as I can tell, that means that if there are any >>>> installation issues that we can't anticipate, they'll be stuck. >>>> >>>> Do you have any experience of similar circumstances, or any advice on how >>>> to proceed in this situation? Use a VM, perhaps? >>>> >>>> >>>> Cheers, >>>> >>>> Adam >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Discuss mailing list >>>> [email protected] >>>> http://lists.software-carpentry.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss_lists.software-carpentry.org >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Discuss mailing list >>>> [email protected] >>>> http://lists.software-carpentry.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss_lists.software-carpentry.org >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Discuss mailing list >>> [email protected] >>> http://lists.software-carpentry.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss_lists.software-carpentry.org >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Discuss mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://lists.software-carpentry.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss_lists.software-carpentry.org > > > > -- > [email protected] > _______________________________________________ > Discuss mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.software-carpentry.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss_lists.software-carpentry.org
_______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.software-carpentry.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss_lists.software-carpentry.org
