BeginnersCurriculum

Status of this document: DRAFT, to be discussed at ctte mtg 9th May 2011

Overview

We're aiming for a roughly two-year cycle, ie 20 talks. In practice, we don't intend to keep to a fixed schedule, more that after two years, a talk will not count as "already given".

Rationale:

• to avoid inadvertently drifting into "intermediate".
• to remain relevant to new beginners.

Streams

In the interest of keeping balance, we should classify each talk roughly into the categories and keep the proportions close to the target percentages indicated.

use and enjoyment (50%)

• managing your photos
• making backups simple
• a tour of text editors
• internet relay chat, instant messaging and micro-blogging
• free software games

• Open Office
• Gimp
• Inkscape
• MythTV

setup and maintenance (25%)

• intro to command line
• buying a computer that's compatible with free software
• tips and tricks for installing GNU/Linux
• GNU/Linux maintenance
• reporting bugs
• Where to Get Help
• An Introduction to Hardware

programming (15%)

• what is programming
• intro to programming in Python
• version control systems

software freedom (10%)

• what is free software
• about the community