[Ambassadors] APAC Ambassadors Meeting - IRC Log 2008-06-15

[susmit shannigrahi]

<susmit> APAC ambassadors meeting starts now!
* KageSenshi is now known as IzharFirdaus
* G__81 is here
* hanthana in
<susmit> Your FAS usernames please
<magie> MagieAntonio
* IzharFirdaus is now known as izhar
<herson> HehersonPagcaliwagan
* G__81 is balajig8
<susmit> susmit
<born2linux> EngelsAntonio
* G__81 is balajig8
<leroylim> Leroylim
* izhar is izhar
<G__81> balajig8
<hanthana> snavin
* izhar is now known as KageSenshi
<susmit> anyone else?
<susmit> ok.
<susmit> Our first agenda, how to target colleges for potential contributors
<G__81> ok susmit before we start one quick question on the number of
people at the moment
<G__81> yeah ok go ahead susmit
<susmit> 7
<G__81> oh ok thanks
<G__81> yeah susmit go ahead with the agenda
<G__81> :)
<susmit> Yes
<susmit> there should be something interesting for the students to get motivated
<leroylim> !
<susmit> <leroylim>
<leroylim> Hmm how about make use of the FreeMedia program?
<G__81> free media ?
<leroylim> yea freemedia. free DVDs and such.
<susmit> will you eleborate please?
<herson> !
<G__81> yeah elaborate it leroylim
<leroylim> hmm, perhaps focvs the FreeMedia program temporarily more
on college students.
<leroylim> give them free DVDs and installation media.
<G__81> leroylim, in the sense ?
<G__81> leroylim, ok ...
<susmit> but that gives access to the media. what turns them into contributors?
<leroylim> hmm
<G__81> yeah exactly
<susmit> herson
<leroylim> i'll have to think more about that.
<leroylim> eof
<herson> in college, we have this free access to distos
<herson> distros
<G__81> ok ...
<susmit> agreed..go on please
<herson> however, the challenge is to make more people aware on how to use them
<G__81> herson, yes true to an extent
<leroylim> !
<G__81> yeah go ahead
<leroylim> perhaps organize talks on linux, and organize training programs too
<herson> that's what i'm thinking
<herson> complement that with the free media program
<herson> generate more interest
<leroylim> yea, i think so too.
<herson> more users
<leroylim> if used properly with the freemedia. could generate interest.
<herson> in the end more contributors
<G__81> yeah susmit if you see here the common thing is to arrange on
more Fedora conferences
<herson> exactly
<susmit> nice..theoretically. But what people want to see
<susmit> is what they get at the end
<hanthana> :)
<G__81> in India as you had indicated in the previous mail that the
Conferences are too less
* KageSenshi agree with susmit
<G__81> susmit, so i feel that users become potential contributors
<leroylim> well in Singapore, i don't see much fedora conferences too.
<hanthana> !
<susmit> May be a certificate or something similar will help
<susmit> hanthana
<G__81> so targeting more users would end up in having more contributors
<susmit> not practically
<susmit> sorry to say
<magie> !
<G__81> !
<hanthana> in Sri Lanka www.linux.lk our lug is conducting more and
more small events
<susmit> great. but are they regularly followed up?
<hanthana> so, it is a good thing to increase the awareness
<G__81> !
<susmit> I mean a basic workshop followed by a more advanced one?
<hanthana> simply giving a DVD is not a good solution
<leroylim> hmm perhaps a Fedora Certification?
<hanthana> as many ppl take it as it free
<leroylim> Fedora certification programme?
<susmit> after hanthana finishes, magie..after him G_81
<G__81> yes giving DVDs alone does not help
<herson> i think magie want to add something...
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<hanthana> still most of countries canot hanndle FreeMedia
<susmit> magie
<susmit> please
<hanthana> so, do we have enough resources to manage Certification prog'
<magie> i was thinking more about linkages
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<hanthana> and LPI also there
<susmit> magie would you eleborate?
<hanthana> best thing write and talk as much as possible,
<hanthana> eof
<magie> for example
<susmit> hanthana, may be online certification??
<magie> we were able to collaborate with some colleges last year to
make open source part of their thesis
<magie> so the students became contributors to several open source projects
<born2linux> !
<hanthana> susmit, in Sri Lanka no body care about MCQ type exams, as
it not mesuring your knowledge well
<susmit> magie, do you have the communications with the colleges?
<magie> yes
<hanthana> practicle exam gives more value
<susmit> if yes, can you upload that somewhere, so that we can reusse that?
<magie> will have to ask for permission
<susmit> sure, if yes, that will be a great thing
<susmit> we were discussing about a official approach to the colleges
<susmit> G_81
<G__81> yeah thanks
<hanthana> !
<G__81> i happen to speak to few of the college students last week.
<G__81> and i found that they dont know the starting point on how to
contribute. The statistics were as follows
<G__81> the talk i had was with respect to fedora. It was a friendly
talk and not an official talk
<G__81> some people say around 30 % knew what fedora was and what we are doing
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<G__81> Some around 40 % didnt know what fedora was and hows it linked to RH
<G__81> some around 30 % didnt know what it was
<G__81> if you take these 3 categories
<G__81> lets take the first one
<G__81> the first 30 % who knew what it was
<susmit> a bit faster please :)
<G__81> people were interested in getting to know what it was more.
Lot of people said they didnt know the starting point. ie i got same
questions
<G__81> like can i contribute, am i eligible to contribute
<G__81> so the anwer here is
<G__81> what i feel is in India
<G__81> More Workshops/Conferences in colleges
<G__81> point 1
<G__81> point 2 is Free Media Programme in those conferences make it
more easy as they can start to use the stuff directly
* ianwelle1 is now known as ianweller
<G__81> Point 3 The college students have projects and they dont know
what to choose. Lot of people know OSS but dont know what project. So
these people could be pulled in for Projects
<G__81> ie the Final semester projects could be done in Fedora
<susmit> I am more interested in the third one.
<G__81> yeah
<born2linux> !
<G__81> you want me to explain it bit further
<susmit> born2linux
<G__81> Engineering students have projects to complete
<susmit> G_81 a moment please
<born2linux> +1
<G__81> yeah sure
<G__81> born2linux, go ahead
<susmit> lets see what others say
<born2linux> what we need to do is identify where contribution will be
needed most
<born2linux> to narrow down the projects that the students can choose from
<born2linux> i collaborated with magie in her college linkage project
<born2linux> they focused on the sahana disaster management system
<born2linux> and found out that a mibile app was needed
<born2linux> so the college students contributed one
<born2linux> mobile
<born2linux> we can do the same for fedora
<G__81> !
<susmit> hanthana, you wanted to talk :)
<susmit> then G_81
<hanthana> susmit, yes
<susmit> go on please
<hanthana> hope RH India have internship program better contact them
for more help
<hanthana> and few moths ago
<hanthana> s/moths/months
<susmit> hmm, that RH's internal thing, we have no saying there..
<susmit> is not it?
<hanthana> I Felix and Rahul Sundharam
<hanthana>     they have created Tamil Spin
<hanthana> and     distribute along with a IT Magazin
<hanthana> it might be a good point
<susmit> nice...can we replicate that by our community also?
<hanthana> all ways students prefer something new
<susmit> I don't want to send every burden to RedHat..they are doing a lot :)
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<hanthana> as I know there are many spins for Indic languages
<hanthana> yes
<susmit> yes there are
<susmit> G_81
<hanthana> so, ambassadors can get the help of them and send them to
relavant places
<hanthana> eof
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<G__81> ok thanks
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<susmit> G_81 ?
<G__81> if you see the point hanthana was discussing about, is related
to the point 3 that i gave. Creating a distro in a language is quite a
hard one so if we can choose some topics on what the students need or
let the students decide on what they want to work on
<G__81> we could form projects and ask them to contribute for fedora
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<susmit> well, creating a distro is not very hard, thanks to revisor,
but rest we agree
<G__81> lets say a student wants to create a distro, instead of he
looking for whats to be done, we could offer him help
<G__81> i use the word mentors here
<G__81> mentors play a very vital role here if we need to have the
college-fedora interaction
<hanthana> G__81, ceating distro in alanguage is not hard if you have
translated gnome, OO and Fx,etc
<G__81> yes i agree for a college student whos new
<G__81> is still a hard one
<susmit> ok..just an example..just an example
<G__81> i did have a college talk so i am sure how many students know
how to create a new one
<G__81> susmit, so we need to launch a mentors programme
<susmit> what others say?
<G__81> this programme could be really good on how we could mentor new people
<G__81> it could be college guys, it could be anybody for that matter
<G__81> even Ubuntu has a programme on the same lines
<G__81> and thats one reason for its short time success too
<G__81> so we could have a mentors programme engage new students and
get in touch with the mentor straight away
<G__81> eof
<susmit> others, your opinions please?
<born2linux> !
<susmit> born2linux
<born2linux> G__81's suggestion sounds good
<susmit> +1
<G__81> !
<KageSenshi> +1
<born2linux> but perhaps we can make being a mentor part of an ambassador's job?
<born2linux> just perhaps
<G__81> !
<born2linux> so we don't have to create a new programme
<born2linux> eof
<susmit> G_81
<G__81> thanks for considering mine. Making Mentors as part of
ambassadors is difficult. An Ambassador could be a mentor thats
entirely left to him
<susmit> there is a mentor prograam already
<susmit> don't worry
<G__81> susmit, oh great so its just extending it fully
<azneita> sorry, kind of lost...
<azneita> mentor on college project?
<born2linux> !
<G__81> i didnt know that we had one so we need to publicise that
<azneita> or within fedora?
<susmit> https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mentors
<G__81> yes i did see that now
<G__81> so we need to publicise the mentors programme
<susmit> azneita, no, In general
<born2linux> ?
<susmit> born2linux
<G__81> thats it and with the new students i am sure it would take off
<G__81> eof
<born2linux> G__81, so this is the same thing you want?
<G__81> same thing ?
<azneita> !
<susmit> azneita
<born2linux> the existingt mentor programme is the same metor
programme that you were suggesting earlier?
<susmit> not exactly
<G__81> no not exactly
<azneita> the mentors program is for mentoring prospective ambassadors
<born2linux> ok
<susmit> yes...but we can extend that if we all agree
<G__81> yes exactly
<G__81> that was what i was talking about
<born2linux> ok got it
<G__81> !
<azneita> ahh
<susmit> https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mentors/NewMentors
<born2linux> i also thought that it was a bit different, which is why
is suggested integrating G__81's suggestion with FA
<G__81> FA ?
<susmit> ambassaors
<G__81> oh ok
<G__81> but yes
<G__81> let me give you an example
<susmit> wait a sec please
<G__81> ok
<born2linux> now that the possibility of extending the mentor
programme is here, +1 to that
<susmit> how many of you do agree?
<leroylim> +1
<KageSenshi> +1 ..
<susmit> +1
<azneita> i wouldn't mind mentoring, +1
<G__81> + 1
<magie> +1
<G__81> :)
<susmit> if most does, let's write down the exact steps.
<susmit> 1. Identifying the mentors and their areas
<magie> !
<susmit> magie
<magie> coordinate with marketing so people know about the extended
mentor program?
<susmit> sure.
<G__81> !
<susmit> G_81
<G__81> and important thing to note here is the mentors name should be
associated with the project when a person wants to join a project
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<G__81> if you take Ubuntu and if you want to join the 5 a day bug
squad you could see the name mentioned there as a mentor. We need
something like that
<G__81> so that the person (student) can get in touch with the person
whos the mentor rather than asking "whats that i ve to do ?"
<susmit> yes.
<G__81> eof
<susmit> So the first step?
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<susmit> Listing mentors.
<G__81> yes
<susmit> second? people?
<G__81> then find the people who want to act as a mentor for projects
<azneita> +1
<susmit> G_81, thats the first step.
<G__81> ie something like for project X "Mr Y " would be the mentor
<G__81> no we could have a page for the list of mentors
<G__81> the second could be the mapping
<susmit> along with their expertise..cut the complexity
<susmit> make it simple
<G__81> ?
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<susmit> the first page should contain a table with mentors, their
expertise and projects available
<G__81> so just one page to show the mentors and the projects they are
associated with
<G__81> ok perfect
<G__81> that makes sense :)
<G__81> too
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<KageSenshi> !
<susmit> KageSenshi
<susmit> KageSenshi ?
<KageSenshi> for projects that we have control over its webpages, I
would suggest the project to also link to the mentor list .. as
usually, potential contributors will visit the project page first ..
having the mentor list separated might caused they don't know mentors
exist
<susmit> good idea.
<magie> +1
<susmit> +1
<G__81> +1
<G__81> !
<susmit> G_81
<herson> +1
<susmit> we need to be fast...the meeting closes in 20 minutes
<G__81> yes the mentor has to be linked in that webpage. If a new
person visits the web page he could probably see the mentors name
(wiki URL) and probably we could give a link there to see the
available list of mentors
<G__81> eof
<susmit> we will work on minute details later
<G__81> ok
<susmit> please work on the framework
<G__81> ok then
<susmit> after listing the mentors, we need to find the timeline
suiltable for mentors and students
<susmit> 3 months or something like that?
<G__81> yeah important
<G__81> time period is important
<G__81> most colleges expect something at the end of 6 months :) so
timeline is important
<susmit> we shall refine it on the list.
<G__81> yeah just an example
<G__81> :) go ahead
<susmit> anyone else any sugessions?
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<herson> maybe we can assign point persons on this initiative to keep
the ball rolling off-list
<G__81> and as ambassadors we need to take this further by saying that
there are mentors so join ! :)
<G__81> something like that
<G__81> :)
<susmit> we will mail it to the list when posting the meeting summary
<susmit> so third step?
<susmit> how to certify successful...evaluation
<G__81> yeah can the students have interactions with mentors?
<susmit> they must
<G__81> is face to face possible ?
<G__81> :) i agree depends on the mentor
<G__81> :)
<susmit> may be...not very important though
<G__81> evaluvation is must and periodic evaluvations are important
<G__81> ie a chunk of work to be shown in X days
<susmit> others?
<G__81> could be decided on the days and the scope of work
<born2linux> looks good for now
<G__81> otherwise at the end of the first month we cannot trace the progress
<G__81> of the student.
<susmit> ok..then last thing what to present if sucessfully passed?
<G__81> I see this as a project so if a mentor has 3 students he can
prepare kind of management sheet and trace the progress of each
student
<G__81> susmit, a certificate
<G__81> from fedora that the student has participated in the programme
and completed successfully as part of the project.
<susmit> and a small give away?
<born2linux> +1
<herson> +1
<G__81> yeah sure
<susmit> G_81, can you please create a wiki page on this?
<susmit> +1
<G__81> yeah sure done
<susmit> I shall take the proposal to the list and famsco
<susmit> lets see how other people reacts
<G__81> great :)
<G__81> susmit, what should the wiki contain as of now
<susmit> our point of discussions here
<susmit> go on, we will refine it if necessary
<G__81> ok so ill create a page with the points that we discussed
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<susmit> techbugs it not here today, so can not discuss freemedia today
<susmit> anyone have anything more to say?
<susmit> if not we close
<G__81> hmm ok so no discussion on free media ?
<susmit> will be of no use, as the person who says most on these is absent
<G__81> hmm ok
<susmit> 5
<G__81> so where do you want the wiki page to be
<G__81> The URL
<susmit> create it under Ambassador right now
<susmit> we can always move it if req
<G__81> hmm.. ok
<susmit> So we close here..
<G__81> yeah
<susmit> Thank you all for being here and giving your valuable suggestions
<G__81> susmit, i ll contact you if i need some details on this :)
<susmit> sure
<susmit> Have a nice day all :)
<magie> susmit, thanks for leading the meet
<susmit> magie, welcome
<G__81> thanks and you all too
<leroylim> thanks all
<G__81> susmit, thanks for leading the meet
<born2linux> "see" you all again soon :)
<leroylim> xD same with you guys.
<susmit> G_81, welcome and see you all :)
<G__81> yeah same hre
<G__81> cya all
<susmit> APAC ambassadors meeting ends!


-- 
Regards,
Susmit.

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