I think the e-tutor is actually an e-mentor ... ???

On 11/10/09, Richard Clark <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Having had a real of the outline (none of the links seemed to work but
> I presume that stuff is still in-progress), I think one of the main
> things is that parts of the course are going to need extremely careful
> attention to detail and emphasis.
>
> Forms, validation, database design and access, session management -
> these are all things that are done very poorly in general, even more
> so if you're not using a framework which at least tries to prevent you
> from doing anything too crazy. Given the timelines, it is going to be
> very difficult to communicate the precise nature of the threats
> involved and you risk delivering yet more programmers into the work
> force (and open source space) who exist in blissful ignorance of the
> damage their code can produce.
>
> Most notably, the course appears to contain nothing of the wider
> defensive-programming concepts such as unit testing (or better, test-
> driven development), nor does it give students a practical course in
> breaking their code - which is almost the only way to convince most
> people of just how serious the situation is.
>
> Overall, it's not clear what the course is attempting to be - it seems
> like a "how to participate in open source" course, with some
> programming thrown in to appeal to beginners. I'm not certain you're
> doing yourself or the students a service by trying to combine the two.
>
> That said, the mentoring initiative is *excellent*. I cannot emphasize
> enough how much I believe mentoring can improve a programmers learning
> and habits.
>
> What is an e-tutor?
>
> Regards,
> Richard.
>
> On Nov 9, 5:08 pm, Richard Wyles <[email protected]> wrote:
>> Hi PHP Users Group,
>> I woulld like to draw your attention to a new training initiative for
>> open source practitioners. The project is not yet complete but I would
>> welcome feedback from members of the NZ PHP Users Group - in
>> particular because we have developed a PHP course so peer review from
>> subject matter experts is very important.
>>
>> The Eduforge Open Source Learning Laboratory is underpinned by a
>> mentoring model whereby senior programmers mentor junior programmers
>> under the guidance of online e-tutors. There are some parallels to
>> Google’s ‘Summer of Code’ but it's more within a structured course
>> environment. Trainees or students will be mentored while working on
>> real open source applications. Mentoring is designed to optimise the
>> impact on productive capability through advanced practice in ICT and
>> applied research.
>>
>> To date, we haven't developed many programming courses, we've started
>> with PHP but the intent is to develop a range of programming courses
>> that will subsequently underpin a NZ Diploma in Open Source
>> Technologies.
>>
>> The Open Source Learning Laboratory has the following attributes:
>> - Recognition of evidence of prior learning.
>> - Weighted towards a coaching and mentoring structure rather than
>> traditional teaching model.
>> - Potential for Internships – students may spend a specified amount of
>> time with real companies on real projects.
>> - Nurture entrepreneurship through the appropriate bundle of course
>> modules.
>> - Highly practical – students work on real open source applications
>>
>> If you would like to review and comment on our progress to date please
>> visit our staging area athttp://staging.eduforge.comand login as a
>> Guest - details on the homepage.  In particular I'd like your views as
>> to whether the PHP course includes activities that promote learning
>> and provide feedback to students on their understanding of PHP. You
>> may contact me directly with your thoughts at [email protected]
>>
>> Thank-you
>> Richard
>> Open Source Learning Lab.
>>
>> P.S We are also recruiting for part-time e-tutors. Please contact me
>> if you'd like further details.
>
> >
>


-- 
Regards,
Edwin ONG UY
Unit 4, 64 Grange Road
Mt Eden 1024
AUCKLAND
Email: [email protected]

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