Addison Berry -
Speaking Topic: WIOS: Open Source Mentoring

Addison has been using Open Source products since her introduction to the IT world six years ago but only became involved with the Open Source community two and a half years ago. Her first experience working in an OS project was with Apache Forrest and she now devotes most waking hours, both on-the-clock and off, to the Drupal project. She works full-time for Open Source consulting company Lullabot which focuses on solutions using the Drupal framework. Within the Drupal community she is actively involved in many aspects, including coding, documentation and teaching/advocacy. She has been heavily involved in the mentoring group Drupal Dojo and is constantly looking for ways to help new people learn not only new skills but the beauty of the Open Source community.

Abstract

Open Source Mentoring will discuss how to encourage new contributors to get involved in Open Source projects by building and providing mentoring programs. We'll look at some of the reasons that potential contributors may be turned off from getting involved and some common things that projects are doing to encourage people to join. Then we will specifically discuss the Drupal Dojo, which is a homegrown Drupal mentoring initiative that has grown organically over the last year and been wildly successful. The Drupal Dojo provides regular lessons and a "starter" environment which is not as overwhelming to new potential contributors as large Open Source projects can often feel. This has also been a great incubator for having existing contributors become even more involved. We'll talk about how the Dojo was set up, how it continues to operate, some of the ups and downs of the last year and new ideas for the future.