Learning the Open Source Way Newbie Guide

Learning the Open Source way: the FLOSS approach “ Newbie” Guide

Table of Contents

Learning the open source way – the floss approach

Workspaces

Ubuntu wiki

Launchpad developer space

FLOSSCom community site

What to do

How to do it

Support & Communication

Workspaces

Learning the open source way – Workspaces

For the Learning the Open Source Way project we use different spaces:

http://wiki.ubuntu.com/flosscom

http://launchpad.net/flosscom

http://www.flosscom.net

3 rd Party services like Flashmeeting or slideshare

Ubuntu wiki

At the Ubuntu wiki you can add new content, or edit and change existing content. There are two main activities we are already working on:

A Set of Questions, that should be answered and completed

A toolkit, that should be developed

Launchpad

Launchpad is a developer platform that we currently use for:

Questions and Answers

Blueprints (kind of plans & roadmaps)

Mentoring

FLOSSCom site

The FLOSSCom site provides you with a range of communication tools and a community space, including:

Blogs

Chat

Event Calendar

Forums

My Space

Link area

Download area

Wiki

Ubuntu wiki

Learning the open source way – What to do?

Tell us your story, your experiences, or provide examples and case studies on learning in open source – just go ahead

Help us to complete the initial set of questions and to develop the toolkit

Just go straight ahead and add what you think is missing, or correct and improve what others suggest

Launchpad

Ask questions, or provide answers

Develop the roadmap of existing blueprints, or set up new blueprints

Apply for mentors, or offer mentoring

FLOSSCom site

Get in touch with others

Get your own blog, publish news, provide links, announce events, or upload documents

Flashmeetings and Talks

You can also ask your questions at our flashmeetings, or participate at talks

Or have your own meetings and talks – just let us know and we can organize it for you

Presentations

Improve and comment on our existing slides or add further value to them

You can set up your own slides on helping others understanding learning in FLOSS

You can find all slides at slideshare and the FLOSSCom download section

First: Register

Learning the open source way – How to do it? 1. If you want to contribute to the content at the Ubuntu wiki you need to register at http://wiki.ubuntu.com/UserPreferences 2. If you are also interested in using Launchpad, like for this Questions and Answers service, you might prefer to register at Launchpad ( http://launchpad.net/flosscom/+login ). By registering at Launchpad you are automatically able to edit this wiki too. 3. If you would like to use the services we have at the FLOSSCom website (e.g. to use the forum, have your blog, or to upload documents and links) you would need to register at: http://flosscom.net/index.php?option=com_comprofiler&task=registers So the maximum number of times you need to register is twice (as option 2 includes the registration of option 1).

Contribute at the Ubuntu wiki

Learning the open source way – How to do it?

Tell us about your experiences, or help us to complete the initial set of questions and to develop the toolkit

To work on the content just click “edit”

To be informed if other people modify a page you work on you can “subscribe” to a page

To see the page history, means what has changed at which day and by whom you just need to click “Show changes”

Contribute at Launchpad

Learning the open source way – How to do it? The easiest way to engage at Launchpad might be to see what others did and then to raise and answer questions In the case you feel a bit like experimenting you might also try the blueprint section: Note: Launchpad is made for software development and not for projects like our “Learning the Open Source Way” one. So if you don't like this space, just use its Question and Answer section and except this the Ubuntu wiki or FLOSSCom site – that's absolutely fine.

Engage at the FLOSSCom site

Learning the open source way – How to do it?

The FLOSSCom site provides you with tools like blogs, chat, forums and repositories.

The different ways at a glance:

Learning the open source way – Support & Communication There are different ways to get support, or to get in contact with others, as shown: Launchpad Questions and Answers You might want to ask it at Launchpad, or see what others have asked. You can find it here: http://answers.launchpad.net/flosscom FLOSSCom Site (with e.g. forums and chat) You might want to use the FLOSSCom site, like e.g. the forums to ask a question, or to browse what others asked. Find it here: http://www.flosscom.net Wiki (Ubuntu) This is not only the space where we are developing the "Learning the Open Source Way" toolkit, but you can also use the wiki to raise questions, or just to go straight ahead and insert what you feel is missing. In this case please go to: http://wiki.ubuntu.com/flosscom Meetings and talks over flashmeeting You might want to re-listen to one of our meetings and talks, or to organize one yourself. We are more than glad to assist you with this and to participate at any meeting and talk that you would like to set up. In this case just go here: http://wiki.ubuntu.com/flosscom/talks FLOSSCom Community Mail Service If you registered at the FLOSSCom side just go to the community user list and send out private mails to the ones you like to ask. Find this here: http://www.flosscom.net

Learning the open source way – the floss approach

Still feel like contributing?

Join in and contribute to the project and bring in first hand information.

Discuss, analyse and evaluate the differences between informal learning environments, like FLOSS communities and formal educational settings.

Assist us in examining the effectiveness of a FLOSS-like learning community in a formal educational setting.

Help us to identify ways of transferring some of the underlying FLOSS principles to formal education.

Point out existing examples in education and examine why these do not provide the types of constructivist learning environments observed in FLOSS communities.