Building a Comprehensive Linux Course - Need Your Help

[snoonan]

Hi Folks,

I am building a Linux course for people just getting started, and I'm looking for some input from the community. I'm not selling anything here.. I just want to get some feedback about what you'd like in an entry-level Linux course.

As someone who has been using Unix and Linux professionally for over a decade, I have a lot of technical and practical experience for getting things done in Linux. But, since I started so long ago, sometimes it can be tough knowing what first-time Linux users WANT to learn and HOW they prefer to receive the material.

If you have a minute, I'd really appreciate it if you could answer the short surveymonkey survey located here:

Linux Course Survey

Thanks!
-Shaun

BTW, I'm also going to be using this info to kick off a new blog and possibly a podcast for the courses and just general new-user issues. I didn't include any questions about that in the survey, but if you have any suggestions, free to follow this thread up or email me at the address in the survey. Thanks!

[fingal]

Done! Good luck with designing your course.

[snoonan]

Done! Good luck with designing your course.

Thanks! I know what I would like to teach, but it doesn't mean it will be what everyone would like to learn. This kind of feedback is gold... it will help out a lot of people.

Thanks,
-Shaun

[RobinVossen]

I did enter it.
I think if its not 100% Basics I might want to do it.. Since I still need all the Certificates.. :O

[Freston]

Yep, dunno if there are many regulars here interested in a discount on a basic course
Might be fun to test it once it's ready though...

Very good initiative. I filled in the survey.




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Funny people, new users... I installed a dual boot configuration yesterday. Manually editing fstab, lilo.conf, xorg.conf, .Xmodmap. chmod'ed all needed/unneeded /etc/rc.d/scripts for optimum performance. Solved some driver issues from the command line (graphics card, surround sound, TV-out) I was all ready to explain mounting, file system permissions, I/O redirection, basic file system navigation, but all my friend was interested in was how to change the desktop background...
I was thinking about that. If I were to design an introduction course on Gnu/Linux, I would not be focusing on things like desktop&icon themes, screensaver options, and such. But these are the first things people ask about once you got the system booted. Basic bash commands are lost on many people. Heheh. Yeah. I'm weird. But my entry in the survey is biased towards the technical side.

What's the audience you have in mind for this course?

[RobinVossen]

Yep, dunno if there are many regulars here interested in a discount on a basic course
Might be fun to test it once it's ready though...

Yea good idea the people with more then 4 posts a day and at least 200 posts can maybe test it.. And rate it