[IAEP] student guidelines _very_ rough draft

[Martin Langhoff]

FWIW, Helen Foster @ Moodle handles that -- according to Google's SoC
ppl -- is one of the best-run GSoCs. What I hear from students is that
the explicit 'expectations' document is very good guidance. All the
docs are -- I think -- interesting:

   http://docs.moodle.org/en/Category:GSOC

as a mentor, Helen is always there, and sends me brief kind emails in
advance of deadlines, calls on meta-mentors to help when I am bogged
down and not answering to my mentees in timely fashion, etc.

Her approach is really outstanding.

As a mentor for 3 runs now, I have so say that the best indicators of
success have been...

 - The time I spend on it -- not just direct irc time -- quality code
review takes a lot of time!

 - How hard the students work, and how skilled they are, *before* the
project starts. A student that can't get a checkout and a build going
and patch a bug or two without help is of no interest to me (in the
context of GSoC). Pretty damn high bar, but there are a lot of people
applying for GSoC -- get the best ones :-) -- and it will be valuable
dev time diverted from other work.

hth,


m

On Tue, Sep 8, 2009 at 12:45 AM, David Farning<dfarning at sugarlabs.org> wrote:
> This summer, Sugar Labs had 12 students working under various gsoc,
> intern, workstudy, and co-op programs.  Overall, the results have been
> promising.  There are a few things which we can do to improve the
> experience for everyone.
>
> Based on conversations with other opensource project the three keys to
> success for working with students are:
> 1. Clearly defined expectations for student, sponsor, and project.
> 2. Clearly project plan with implementation strategy.
> 3. Experienced mentor.
>
> Below is a very rough draft of a student guidelines document.  I would
> appreciate suggestions.
>
> david
>
> ====================
> Thank you for your interest in working, and learning, with Sugar Labs.
>
> Sugar Labs has a large number of smart and passionate student
> participants.  These student often go on to become Sugar Lab's most
> important contributors and project leaders.  One of the advantage of
> being a student is that  you can combine your learning experience at
> Sugar Labs with your official school activites through intern-ships,
> co-ops, work study programs, and privately sponsored contracts.
>
> The following guidelines are intended to insure that your Sugar Lab's
> experience is beneficial for you, your school, and Sugar Labs.
> Working with Sugar Lab's as an intern, co-op,  or work study student
> means that there is a contractual obligation between you, your school,
> and Sugar Lab's.  This document represents the thoughts and
> deliberations which have gone into making your experience at Sugar
> Labs beneficial for you, your school, and Sugar Labs.[REPEATED TEXT]
>
> == project description==
>
> Experience has shown than the most important factor in having a
> successful experience at Sugar Labs is your project plan.  The plan
> represents the vision of what you want to accomplish and provides
> roadmap for how to make that vision a reality.
>
> Exploration, collaboration, and reflection.  Plan provides boundaries
> so you can freely explore.
>
> First big project for many students.
>
> Done before starting program
>
> good plan implies investment by student->investment by student results
> in good mentor.
>
> Fail to plan -> Plan to fail.
>
> The plan should include:
> [CHECK LIST]
> *deliverable
> *learning objective
>
> ==mentor==
> The second most important piece to success is your mentor.
> link to community
> master -> apprentice
>
> ==General information==
> Below is general information for filling out your school's forms.
>
> ===Overview===
> Sugar Labs is organized as a member project of the Software Freedom
> Conservancy[1].  The SFC is an umbrella organization which handles the
> accounting work, financial management, and makes sure the activities
> of Sugar Labs fit within the scope of the non-profit status.
>
> ===Mission statement===
> The mission of Sugar Labs® is to produce, distribute, and support the
> use of the Sugar learning platform; it is a support base and gathering
> place for the community of educators and developers to create, extend,
> and teach with the Sugar learning platform.
>
> ===Funding===
> Sugar Labs is funded through donations from its contributing members.
>
> ===Agency Name===
> Sugar Labs (A member project of the Software Freedom Conservancy)
>
> ===Agency Contact===
> Bradley M. Kuhn
>
> ===Postal Address===
> Software Freedom Conservancy
> 1995 Broadway FL 17
> New York, NY 10023-5882
>
> ===Telephone===
> +1-212-461-3245 tel
> +1-212-580-0898 fax
>
> ===Email===
> conservancy at softwarefreedom.org
>
> ===Addition information===
> For additional information or forms please contact dfarning at sugarlabs.org.
> _______________________________________________
> IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!)
> IAEP at lists.sugarlabs.org
> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep



-- 
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 martin at laptop.org -- School Server Architect
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