Teaching basic lab skills
for research computing

More Oxford feedback

Following on Phil's analysis of the feedback from the first Software Carpentry workshop in Oxford, here are the round-the-room comments from the attendees, helpers and instructors, good and bad...

Good
  • Learned something.
  • Mercurial, very useful yet simple. Can apply straight away.
  • Practical at end seemed useful way of tieing everything together.
  • Doing things in synch with lecturers.
  • Scientific approach to programming.
  • Whole approach.
  • Good overview of the key concepts and foundation to learn more.
  • Focussed.
  • Course as a whole is good.
  • Thorough - basic to advanced - and see new ways to do basics.
  • Good practice, can take forward.
  • Best practice.
  • Really good overview and intro to things not heard of before but would be very useful (version control, MDAnalysis).
  • Make and use for things other than C.
  • Other instructors chipping in on current instructor was good.
  • Loved it, especially version control and make.
Bad
  • Keeping up with the instructors typing on the projectors, so slow the pace.
  • Resources and case-studies from the simple examples to complex examples.
  • Would like more of a chance to apply what was learned with the instructors around, or at least feedback on a plan.
  • Most sessions ran over.
  • Problems with later aspects of Python.
  • Balance between beginner and advanced - always wasting someones time.
  • Knowing simpler Python commands might've helped beforehand.
  • Sometimes a bit too fast.
  • More time for exercises.
  • Target the course a bit more to their area.
  • Helps to start with, but good to have more courses and more on each area.
  • More time to work on problems and work through case-studies.
  • Downloading all the files for every exercise.
  • Days away from work.