Speaker
Description
About the Open Documentation Academy
Canonical’s Open Documentation Academy is a collaboration between Canonical’s documentation team and open source newcomers, experts, and those in-between, to help us all improve documentation, become better writers, and better open source contributors.
A key aim of the project is to set the standard for inclusive and welcoming collaboration while providing real value for both the contributors and the projects involved in the programme.
The workshop
This workshop will lead attendees through the complete process of making their first open source contribution; identifying an issue in a participating open source project, setting up a local work environment, solving the issue, proposing the solution for review and ultimately getting the solution merged into the upstream project.
This will be done with real documentation issues on a real open source project, with the genuine outcome of having solutions merged into the documentation. Contributors will receive recognition for their contributions and the projects themselves benefit from improved documentation and oversight.
Prerequisites
This session is suitable for complete beginners to open source, Ubuntu and Linux, and anyone yet to make their first open source contributions.
Attendees will need:
- some command line experience will help
- a GitHub account to have signed the CLA
- access to an Ubuntu laptop with git installed
The format
Suggested duration is 90 minutes.
Tutorial
- Introduction to the Open Documentation Academy
- Introduction to Diátaxis
- Overview of the process
Group preparation
- Split into groups, or working individually
- Each group selects and requests a task to work on
- Set up a local build or work environment for that task
- Identify a solution or an approach
Action
- Edit or write to fit the accepted approach
- Propose the solution to the project
- Update according to feedback
- Propose and merge the updated solution
Outcomes
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Recognition: Each group will have made a recognised contribution to an open source project.
-
Real-world experience: Attendees will have learnt how to work with, and contribute to, an open source project, including navigating issues, feedback and the git workflow.
-
Improved documentation: Several open source projects will have had their documentation improved.
We will also have set an example of what friendly, inclusive, diverse, and productive open source collaboration should look like.
Things to know or prepare for this session
This session is suitable for complete beginners to open source, Ubuntu and Linux, and anyone yet to make their first open source contributions.
Attendees will need:
- some command line experience will help
- a GitHub account
- to have signed the CLA
- access to an Ubuntu laptop with git installed
What audience can learn
Real-world experience: Attendees will have learnt how to work with, and contribute to, an open source project, including navigating issues, feedback and the git workflow.
Attendees will also have made a recognised contribution to an open source project, and learnt about how to approach and complete a documentation-related task.
Several open source projects will have had their documentation improved.
Biography
Graham Morrison has been a technical author at Canonical for nearly 10 years. He started the Open Documentation Academy in March 2024 to encourage open source contributions, improve documentation, and to set a standard for collaboration.
Before working at Canonical, he was a technology journalist and magazine editor, co-founding Linux Voice, and working on titles such as Linux Format, Linux Magazine, Linux Pro, 3D World, Computer Music, HackSpace, PC Format, PC Gamer, PC Plus, PlayStation Official, TechRadar and What Satellite.
Since 2009, he has been a regular podcaster and currently co-hosts the popular Late Night Linux podcast.
Summary
This workshop will lead attendees through the complete process of making their first open source contribution; identifying an issue in a open source project, setting up a local work environment, solving the issue, proposing the solution for review and ultimately getting the solution merged
| Difficulty level | Begineer |
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