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~+''' FLOSS / Open Source like learning checklist '''+~

<<TableOfContents>>

Let’s start here with the basics and let us provide a brief overview on the key characteristics of learning in FLOSS / Open Source. Just to make sure that we know what we are talking about. 

All of the characteristics below are taken from the information that is provided at the [[http://wiki.ubuntu.com/flosscom#head-4a6a0140fa1aff2e64ad25230456974b1bb7d210|set of questions]] and the various documents at the [[http://www.flosscom.net|FLOSSCom website]].

|| '''Level''' |||| '''Characteristics''' |||| '''Comments''' || '''Link to further information''' ||
|| Fundamentals |||| Freedom to access information from the commons |||| For a better understanding about the fundamentals please see also Tim O'Reilly's interview at the link section  || [[http://www.stevehargadon.com/2007/05/tim-oreilly-on-web-20-and-education.html|Tim O'Reilly's interview]]||
||     |||| Freedom to analyse and edit the information   ||||   || ||
||     ||||  Freedom to co-operate   ||||   || ||
||     ||||  Freedom to synthesis new information and contribute it to the commons  |||| Emphasises that learning is about interacting with people and emotional intelligence as much as cognitive development || ||
||    ||||    ||||   || ||
|| Learning Environment    ||||    ||||   || ||
||     ||||  Not one, but various spaces  ||||   || ||
||    ||||  Relatively simple tools and structures  ||||   || ||
||     ||||  Open and transparent  ||||   Regarding information and communication flow || ||
||    ||||  User input based  |||| Every one can contribute, though some limitations on code  || ||
||     ||||  Voluntary based  ||||   Though a software might be backed through company funding / HR || ||
||    ||||    ||||   || ||
|| Tools    ||||    ||||   || ||
||    |||| Revision control system   ||||   || ||
||     ||||  Mailing lists  |||| Developer focus  || ||
||    ||||  Forums  ||||  Targets the community at large || ||
||     ||||  Knowledge Base  ||||   || ||
||    ||||  FAQs  ||||   || ||
||     ||||  Wikis  ||||   || ||
||    ||||  Blogs  ||||   || ||
||     ||||  Chats  ||||   || ||
||    ||||  Demos  ||||   || ||
||    ||||    ||||   || ||
|| Learning Materials & Content    ||||    ||||   || ||
||     ||||  Code at repositories  ||||   || ||
||     ||||  Manuals  ||||   || ||
||    ||||  Guides  ||||   || ||
||     |||| Demos   ||||   || ||
||    ||||  FAQs  ||||   || ||
||     |||| Use cases   ||||   || ||
||    ||||  Forum posts  ||||   || ||
||     |||| Mailing list archive   ||||   || ||
||    ||||  Blogs  ||||   || ||
||     |||| News   ||||   || ||
||    ||||    ||||   || ||
|| Support ||||    ||||   || ||
||     |||| Community based / peers   ||||   || ||
||    ||||    ||||   || ||
||     ||||    ||||   || ||
||    ||||    ||||   || ||
|| Roles    ||||    ||||   || ||
||     ||||  Learner  ||||   || ||
||    ||||  Support provider  ||||   || ||
||     |||| Content creator   ||||   || ||
||    ||||  Peer  ||||   || ||
||     |||| Mentor   ||||   || ||
||    ||||    ||||   || ||
|| Types of Learning    ||||   ||||   || ||
||    ||||  Self-studying  ||||   || ||
||     |||| Collaborative learning   |||| Interacting with others  || ||
||    ||||  Problem / practice based learning  ||||  Learning through solving real problems, working on real cases  || ||
||     ||||  Experiential learning  |||| E.g. the try and error method  || ||
||    ||||   Re-experience ||||  Learning through re-experience what others experienced  || ||
||     ||||    ||||   || ||
|| Learning Activities    ||||    ||||   || ||
||     |||| Fix bugs   ||||   || ||
||    ||||  Other self-study  ||||   || ||
||     ||||  Reading source code of programs and patches  ||||   || ||
||    ||||  Reading other developers' feedback to my patches / bug-reports / bug-fixes  ||||   || ||
||    ||||  Checking programs' for errors and their causes  ||||   || ||
||     |||| Reading books or articles on programming   ||||   || ||
||     ||||  Participate in the discussions within the FLOSS / open source communities  ||||   || ||
||    ||||  Reading bug reports  ||||   || ||
||     |||| Participate in workshops or congresses   ||||   || ||
||    ||||  Learning by participating in training courses  ||||   || ||
||     ||||    ||||   || ||
|| Skills acquired    ||||    ||||   || ||
|| Technical skills   ||||  Basic / introductory programming skills  ||||   || ||
||     |||| To write code in a way that it can be re-used   ||||   || ||
||     |||| To re-use code written by others   ||||   || ||
||    ||||  To document code  ||||   || ||
||     |||| To become familiar with different programming languages   ||||   || ||
||    ||||  To design modular code  ||||   || ||
||     |||| To run and maintain complex software systems   ||||   || ||
||    ||||  To look for and fix bugs  ||||   || ||
||  Managerial skills   ||||  To clearly define and achieve targets  ||||   || ||
||    ||||  To evaluate the work of others  ||||   || ||
||     |||| To coordinate own work with the work of others  ||||   || ||
||    ||||  To lead a project or a group of people  ||||   || ||
||  Social skills   ||||  To express personal opinions  ||||   || ||
||     ||||  To clearly articulate an argument  ||||   || ||
||    ||||  To accept and to respond to criticism from others  ||||   || ||
||     ||||  To settle conflicts within a group  ||||   || ||
||    ||||  To motivate people  ||||   || ||
|| Legal skills    |||| To understand copyright law issues   ||||   || ||
||    |||| To understand patent law issues   ||||   || ||
||     ||||  To understand licences  ||||   || ||
||    |||| To understand the differences between copyrights, patents, and licences  ||||   || ||
||     ||||  To improve understanding of liability issues  ||||   || ||
|| General skills   |||| To better understand English, especially technical discussion   ||||   || ||
||     |||| To interact with other people   ||||   || ||
||     |||| To understand and work with people from different cultures   ||||   || ||
||    ||||  To get an overview of the skills you need in the software professions  ||||   || ||
||    ||||    ||||   || ||
|| Recognition of acquired skills through:    ||||    ||||   || ||
||     |||| Self assessment   ||||   || ||
||    ||||  Peer-assessment   ||||   || ||
||     ||||  Evaluation through seniors  |||| E.g. once applying for positions / group entrances  || ||
||    ||||    ||||   || ||

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