Steps to follow when OSU Carpentry team is hosting a self-organized workshop
-
Choose your dates, times, location and lessons. You should also have a good idea of who your audience will be.
- In the past, we've set our workshops to start 30 minutes ahead of when we actually begin teaching. This extra time gives any early birds the chance to make sure they've gotten their software set up for the workshop.
-
Choose your host. Who will be the primary contact for the workshop?
-
Who will be your lead instructor (must be SWC certified), other instructors, helpers?
-
Fill out the SWC Workshop Request Form
- Even if you're hosting a self-organized workshop
-
An SWC administrator will contact you to see if you need help setting up the Github workshop webpage, Eventbrite registration page, Etherpad page etc.
- The OSU Carpentry team will usually set up the workshop webpage (by importing the existing SWC workshop webpage template repo), the Eventbrite registration page and Etherpad page, but the SWC admin is there just in case.
- If the workshop is being offered as OSU Digital Badges credit, work with Victor Baeza ([email protected]) to get a link set up on the digital badges calendar where grad students can sign up.
- The SWC admin also makes sure the workshop is listed on the SWC workshops webpage and will create a pre-workshop survey for you to list on the workshop webpage.
-
When importing the SWC workshop webpage template repo into the OSU-SWC organization page, you can use the format YYYY-MM-DD-okstate for that specific workshop. Instructions for importing are on the README.md of the SWC template repo.
-
Once the Github workshop webpage and Eventbrite registration pages/Digital Badges calendar page are setup, you can begin promoting the workshop.
Leading up to Workshop
-
Schedule a meeting with instructors and helpers to review gameplan for the workshop - talk about things like "zone defense" strategy for helpers, how to address learners who fall behind, when to interrupt instructor to slow down, etc.
- You can set up a new etherpad during this time. Visit http://pad.software-carpentry.org/ and then finish the URL you want for the workshop (YYYY-MM-DD-okstate)
- The top information about Software Carpentry should remain - edit or add other information below (i.e. sign in area, any links you want to include, etc.)
-
It is encouraged to provide some type of access to beverages.
- At OSU, the library usually provides coffee and often breakfast (something easy like donuts - Food Pyramid sells Krispy Kreme donuts very cheap!!!), so plan ahead.
-
Stock up on green and red sticky notes!
-
A few days before the workshop, send a reminder email and encourage registered learners to fill out the pre-workshop survey.
During the Workshop
-
Use that extra 30 minutes before the workshop starts to also encourage anyone who hasn't taken the pre-workshop survey to do so.
-
Use the Etherpad and sticky notes.
-
Have fun!
-
Before workshop ends, mention the post-workshop survey.
- Encourage learners to go ahead and take it there since we usually have the room reserved for at least 30 minutes after, but they can also take it after they leave.
- Also mention ways to learn more (i.e. the SWC website, DC), how to follow up with questions, and how to become more involved with SWC if they're interested.
Post-Workshop
-
The SWC admin will contact you for an attendance list, report on how the workshop went, etc.
-
Encourage instructors to participate on a SWC discussion call (post-workshop): http://pad.software-carpentry.org/instructor-discussion
-
You or another instructor are encouraged to write a blog post (optional)! Instructions at this page under the development section: https://github.com/swcarpentry/website
For more information on workshops, visit the SWC Workshop Operations page.