[TOS] TOS speaker on issue tracker

[Bonnie MacKellar]

I seem to have never received the original post to which you are referring. I would be interested in helping to run this session. I am pretty firmly of the opinion that doing a client-focused project is a good way to run a  software engineering course ( other types of open source development may be appropriate for other courses, certainly). I think we need someone with the opposite opinion, though, as well.

Bonnie MacKellar

-----Original Message-----
From: tos-bounces at teachingopensource.org [mailto:tos-bounces at teachingopensource.org] On Behalf Of Mel Chua
Sent: Sunday, February 19, 2012 2:03 PM
To: 'TOS List'
Subject: Re: [TOS] TOS speaker on issue tracker

> I think that the whole subject of students engaging in
> client-centered open source projects -- challenges, pitfalls, etc --
> might be a good topic for discussion at the upcoming pre-SIGCSE
> event.

I agree. Added to 
http://teachingopensource.org/index.php/SIGCSE_2012/TOS_symposium#Proposed_Sessions. 
:)

> the course.  Major rewards are 1) students work regularly (weekly)
> with a client as they develop, 2) students are full-fledged
> committers from the get-go, and so they must contribute good code
> throughout the semester, 3) students must work as a team (not just at
> the fringes), and 4) at the end of the semester, students leave an
> artifact that benefits the non-profit in a direct way.

Thanks for this, Allen -- I hadn't thought deeply about the interplay 
between #2-3 before. #1 and #4 are very much compatible with working 
with a larger project -- customizing and deploying software for a client 
instead of writing it from scratch -- but there is a big difference 
between being a core contributor from the start, vs coming in as an 
apprentice to someone else's project.

I can still see how that might be possible to do within the context of a 
large community -- for instance, developing a plugin, or taking 
stewardship of a forgotten piece of software like Heidi's students 
adopted the Caribou keyboard within GNOME -- but the choice between 
being peripheral contributors and central ones is an important one.

Curious what folks say at SIGCSE. :)

--Mel
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