Resources for Running Workshops

This post originally appeared on the Software Carpentry website.

A successful workshop is the result of coordinated effort among many different types of participants, including instructors, helpers, hosts, learners and staff. Software and Data Carpentry offer two types of workshops: Self-Organised and Centrally-Organised. These workshop types differ in terms of instructor training requirements, fee structures, and participant responsibilities, with local hosts and instructors at Self-Organised workshops taking on administrative responsibilities normally handled by Carpentry staff.

Instructors (both new and experienced) and workshop hosts often have questions about their roles in workshops logistics, especially with how their responsibilities differ between Self-Organised and Centrally-Organised workshops. To help clarify the roles played by the different participants, and the differences between self- and Centrally-Organised workshops, we’ve put together some resources to guide participants through the workshop organizational process.

These resources are available on Data Carpentry’s “Host a Workshop” and “Self-Organised Workshops” pages and include:

• Checklists for:
  • instructors
  • hosts for Centrally-Organised workshops
  • hosts/lead instructors for Self-Organised workshops
  • and lead instructors for Centrally-Organised workshops
• Email templates for communicating with co-instructors, helpers, and learners
• An accessibility checklist
• A list of necessary equipment and
• A troubleshooting page

We want these resources to be as useful as possible to our instructor, helper, and workshop host community. If you find that anything is unclear, incomplete, or would like to suggest an additional resource, please email ebecker@datacarpentry.org.