[TOS] learning objectives

[Matthew Jadud]

2010/8/23 Karsten Wade <kwade at redhat.com>:
> Please critique and help me get this correct.  It's the same method we
> need to apply to the other chapters, and apply to new chapters yet to
> come.

Hi Karsten,

[DETAIL]
The first objective is not clear.

"Use documentation as a way to become immediately useful as a project newcomer."

I think "as a way" is wordy.

"Use documentation to become immediately useful as a project newcomer."

"immediately" may be the modifier you want, but I don't know why I
would want to become useful "as a project newcomer." What does that
mean? Or, what does it mean to "become immediately useful?" If this is
the first thing I read, should it be more concrete? "useful as a
project contributor", or "an active member of a FLOSS community," or
anything that gets us towards something that is concrete/specific.

[GENERAL]
I will say that these look like they will break the up the flow of a
chapter something fierce. This would be the kind of thing that I would
consider good for revision and consistency: after going through the
book and writing these, leave only the set that starts the chapter in
place. The "section-by-section" learning goals then provide a lens for
revising the text that is already in the book, and making the whole
book more consistent overall.

Having a set of goals that tell me, as a reader, what the learning
goals are for the next eight paragraphs (and then finding another set,
and then another...) seems awfully heavy-handed. I'll likely forget
what the chapter-wide goals are by the time I get half-way through. I
prefer reading books that, through quality of prose (and judicious use
of sectioning and diagrams), make it obvious what I'm supposed to be
getting out of it.  Perhaps if I see these in context of a chapter
I'll feel differently, but that's my gut feeling reading through all
of the learning objectives.

Looking to the MIT page referenced, "Best practice dictates that
learning objectives be kept to no more than half a dozen."... you're
going to end up with more than a dozen *per chapter*, and the book is
intended to be used in a single course.

But, this is all just my 2c from the sidelines. Good luck.

Cheers,
Matt