Workshop instructor guidelines

Workshop Instructor Guidelines

• This guide is intended to help members create workshop style classes. It is suggestive only. Instructors are encouraged to use their own judgement while planning classes.

Goal of Hackrva Workshops

• Our workshops are intended to help remove the barrier to entry for maker skills. I.E. Makerbot, Sketchup, Blender, Basic Electronics
• They Should help newcomers begin to participate in the maker movement

General Guidelines

• Workshops should last 2 to 3 hours.
• They should be limited in scope. We can't expect to cover very much in such a short period of time
• We should try to make them fun. The point is to eliminate the fear starting on their own.
• They should be participatory. Focus should be more on interactive content than information transfer.
• Try to spend less time in a traditional lecture
• Have a project planned for people to work on

Sample Workshop Outline

• 15 minute introduction.
  • Hey I'm a guy who teaches stuff. I'm qualified because....(I spent a day researching this shit). What are all your names.
  • Go ahead and take the time to get everyone to introduce themselves
• 15 minutes lecture
  • introduce the material. Remember to limit the scope of the material
• 30 minutes -Get students to do something and answer questions as they come up.
  • Do something on the projector and have everyone else do it on their computer. Or project or whatever
• 15 minutes introduce individual/group project
  • Have a project people work on that is short, but allows them to make something of their own. Maybe a contest. Maybe small groups
• 1 hour - let them work
• 15 minutes Wrap-up
  • Tell students what to do to keep learning. Remember, the goal is to convince them to continue. To generate excitement and help others participate in the maker movement