[Courses] please reply with what kind of courses are you interested in

[Lisa Wold Eriksen]

On 10/10/05, Dan <dan at cellectivity.com> wrote:
> > > It was unfortunate that there was little response to the Perl course.
> > > <snip>
> > > it must have been disheartening for the tutor
>
> It wasn't as disheartening as you might think. There was a little
> discussion in the beginning, so I knew people were out there.

I was, although I didn't participate in the discussions...
One of the reasons I like the linuxchix courses is that I get the
lessons sent to me one at a time. I don't have to follow the schedule
if I don't want to or don't have the time. But the arrival of the
e-mail reminds me that when I've got some spare time, learning
"this-and-that" (subject of the course) would be a good way to spend
that time.
That's the main reason why I didn't really make any noise on the
mailing list during the Perl course; I had a lot of other things to
do, so I kind of fell behind. Also, I was displaying what I've come to
think of as "typical girlish behaviour": I didn't want to ask too
stupid questions. I guess this is partly because I know I usually find
the answer to my question a few minutes after I've asked. Or, even
better, having to formulate the problem/question so that others will
understand what I'm saying actually makes me realize what the
solution/answer is.
A third reason for not participating was a lack of insight; it didn't
really occur to me that my silence might affect others (especially the
one leading the course). But now I know better. ;)

> > > and less interesting for the students.
>
> Yes, I think it is. In particular, nobody asked the list any questions,
> but I think everyone would have benefitted from some.
>
> But I know that many people follow courses passively, because that's
> what I do! We don't always have a lot of time to invest in learning a
> new skill, but we can still glean some knowledge by skimming it. It's
> not necessarily a lack of discipline: it may be the best use of our
> time.

As you might have guessed, I completely agree with this. :)

Lisa