I wrote a blog post [1] a while back to give people because I wanted to give them instructions for installation and how to go through the swc/dc material. I wholeheartedly agree, the lessons are great starting places to lean a new topic. I've constantly referenced them when I have to write a new MAKEFILE. I mostly worry about people who do not have the opportunity to attend a workshop and getting started on the lessons on their own. I have no data on this (or any idea what the data would look like).
Do your graduate students get stuck on getting things installed? One concern of mine are people who want to learn X don't actually do it because they can't even get X installed/working... Other than saving a snapshot of a workshop template to get installation instructions, would moving installation instructions to the lessons be a good idea? [1] http://chendaniely.github.io/tutorials/2015/05/05/getting-started-with-data-science/ - Dan On Wed, Sep 28, 2016 at 12:54 PM, Kate Hertweck <k8hertw...@gmail.com> wrote: > Thanks for starting this conversation. In my opinion, our lessons have > three main purposes: > 1. remind instructors what to teach (before/during a workshop) > 2. remind students what they've learned (following a workshop) > 3. help folks who haven't attended a workshop learn some basics > > I think our lessons work pretty well as stand-alone learn-yourself > materials. In fact, I use them as a starting point for graduate students, > undergraduates, and even high school students get their feet wet with > computational work. The most success I've had is with the R for > reproducible science lessons, as well as the unix-shell lesson. Is working > through the lessons alone as effective as attending a workshop? Certainly > not. Usually, though, with a few one-on-one meetings with the student, I > can fill in the gaps by showing them how I operate as a scientist with > these tools, and then they're at least equipped to take code I've written > and modify it to suit their own project needs. I've had students work with > me and find success with our materials over those they've tried from other > sources. > > This is certainly anecdotal information, but something I think often about > as I'm faced with infrequent availability of workshops but a need to teach > limited numbers of students how to code. I'm hoping to build critical mass > within another year or so to start holding regular workshops at my > institution, but I need at least a few helpers first! > > > On Wed, Sep 28, 2016 at 10:52 AM, Daniel Chen <dch...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> Hi everyone: >> >> When people ask me about learning R/Python I tend to point them to the >> Software/Data carpentry lesson pages. I think the lessons are great, and >> I've used them myself to learn about concepts. >> I'm also biased in my answer because I use the SWC/DC material when I >> teach. >> >> It occurred to me the other day, that for students who attend a workshop, >> they might understand the material better because they've seen it before >> taught at a workshop. The lessons that we have essentially serve as a >> reminder to the workshop they attended. Hopefully, any big questions were >> asked in the workshop so they can continue with the lesson material on >> their own. >> >> However, what about people who stumble over our lessons without attending >> a workshop? >> Do we know how effective the lessons are for people who have not attended >> a workshop before? >> I imagine the lesson would be just as good, if not better than most of >> the material out there. >> >> Then again, I am extremely biased... >> >> >> - Dan >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Discuss mailing list >> Discuss@lists.software-carpentry.org >> http://lists.software-carpentry.org/listinfo/discuss >> > > > > -- > Kate L. Hertweck, Ph.D. > Assistant Professor, Department of Biology > The University of Texas at Tyler > 3900 University Blvd., Tyler, TX 75799 > Email: khertw...@uttyler.edu > Office: HPR 109, 903.565.5882 > https://www.uttyler.edu/biology/ >
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