

Giving back, the workshop way - dchs
http://www.kernelmag.com/scene/1495/giving-back-the-workshop-way/

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vitovito
I ran two-hour workshops for designers in 2010. Fifteen in all, free to
attend, with about 50% non-designer attendance.

<http://vi.to/workshop>

Workshops _are_ a lot of work -- I'd spend 8-16 hours prepping for a two-hour
one -- but they're one of the most asked-for types of local events in Austin:

    
    
      Presentations by my peers		95	92%
      Panel discussions by my peers		74	72%
      Hands-on workshops			73	71%
      Presentations by companies		60	58%
      "Field trips" to related industries	57	55%
      Happy hours				51	50%
      Social/networking lunches		42	41%
      Panel discussions by companies	42	41%
      Other					 2	 2%
    

I'm happy to answer questions based on the workshops I held, you can reply to
this or email me (contact information in my profile).

~~~
byrichardpowell
Hi vitovito,

Thats amazing you ran so many workshops for free. You have my ut most respect
as I know how much wok is involved in that!

I'd be interested in any information you could share on how you prepared for
all the workshops and what format they took. One thing thats being discussed
in Newcastle is weekly workshops, which sounds like _alot_ of work. Are there
any short cuts that dont sacrifice the quality of the workshop?

If you want to continue this discussion on twitter I am:

www.twitter.com/byrichardpowell

Of of course here is fine too:-)

Richard

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keithpeter
"What surprised me was how long it took to write the course material. I had
planned to spend two days doing this, but it took me closer to five."

Yes, good resources take a long time to produce (I'm a teacher by profession).
The article does not state the format of the workshop but I'm guessing one
working day, so a five to one ratio isn't so bad.

Anyone any feelings about swapping workshop materials? In the UK there are
some grassroots teacher websites where people upload materials and then share
in what else is there.

~~~
byrichardpowell
Hi Keith,

Yes, you are right, it was a one day workshop. Your comment re swapping
resources got me thinking. Prhaps an organisation could help advrtise and run
any workshops, then after x amount of time the workshop material becomes
public through the organisation.

That wasy the workshop runner gets to make the most of their material, but the
material is also spread as far and wide as possible.

Would you mind linking me to any websites for sharing teahing material?

If you wish to take this converstion onto twitter I can be found at:

www.twitter.com/byrichardpowell

richard

~~~
keithpeter
Hello Richard

I teach basic Maths in the UK. A lot of us use

<http://www.skillsworkshop.org/>

You upload a worksheet or game (granular level, something like 10 or 20
minutes of class time) and the moderator checks it over and classifies it by
the level/type. Then it appears as a pdf.

If you upload a lot, you can ask for access to the editable versions of other
files. This sort of addresses the 'free ride' problem.

At present, the site is a lot of work for one teacher, but she is recruiting
moderators to spread the QA load.

A more commercial example is that run by the Times Educational Supplement
(TES, trade paper of teachers over here).

<http://www.tes.co.uk/teaching-resources/>

Login required, reputation system in operation.

~~~
byrichardpowell
Thats really handy, thanks.

Makes me think there might be a similar format that would work to encourage
and make easier running workshops.

Really helpfull,

Thanks

------
loeschg
I like the article. I'm kind of at that point in my software development
career where I have gained enough confidence in my abilities using particular
technologies and frameworks that I feel perhaps it's time to start "giving
back." I always immediately turn to blog posts as the way to help... I never
think to run a workshop. I've enjoyed sharing my knowledge with the few
friends and family that have "tech" interests.

Hmm... any people in the DC area want to meet up and talk about Grails?

~~~
byrichardpowell
Hi loeschg.

Thanks so much for your comment. Actually, what your wrote perfectly sums up a
point I was trying to get across in the article. I too have reached the point
where I want to start giving my knowledge back.

Sharing knowledge is something that's immensely rewarding, whatever form that
takes: a chat in a bar, a blog post or a workshop. But, the workshop is by far
the most bit of "sharing knowledge" I've ever done.

I wish you good luck finding people to chat about Grails in DC. I'm based in
the UK, but if you ever wanna chat over twitter then please gimmie a shout :-)

<https://twitter.com/#!/byrichardpowell>

Richard

------
brianbreslin
In Miami via the group I run RefreshMiami we organize workshops like this
every so often. We as experienced techies forget that sometimes that initial
learning is hard for others or not as common sense as we think.

~~~
byrichardpowell
Hi brianbreslin,

When I first started this workshop adventure I was worried that there wouldn't
be enough demand for it. In fact quite the opposite. I guess, like you say,
I'd forgotten that initial learning is hard for others :-)

I'd be interested to know how you go about organising the workshops at
RefreshMiami. One thing I'm painfully aware of is the amount of effort I had
to put into the organise the workshop. So any tips on making that easier, and
on running semi-regular workshops would be massively apreciated.

Anytime you want to chat on twitter:

<https://twitter.com/#!/byrichardpowell>

:-)

Richard

