An extension to the New Users Network

[sense at qense.nl]

Hello,

A while ago I joined the Ubuntu Youth team and asked what they were  
doing. I was told
that the only purpose yet of the team was the #ubuntu-youth IRC  
channel where young
Ubuntu users could gather and communicate. That didn't sound much to  
me so I though of some ideas. Unfortunately I never got a real  
response to them.

When I rethought and extended those ideas I realized that they were  
also suitable for the whole community. It's meant to educate new  
people to Ubuntu how to use it, but also learn people new to the  
Ubuntu community how to participate. I mostly thought of complete  
newbies to the kind of process, but I think we should (if it would be  
implemented of course ;)) make certain parts also usable for people  
coming from other projects.

A thing I suggested was to provide the young people coming to the team  
education. The team can help young Ubuntu users find their place in  
the community(mentors? guides?) and learn them about their 'work'. The  
current lessons are also a bit technical, which I personally like, but  
it's probably not suitable for the a lot of people new to Ubuntu/Linux.
So I suggest to also provide lessons explaining how to use  
OpenOffice.org, use educational software, import photos from the  
digital camera and organize their music library(and other things  
people want to do with their computer(suggestions needed)).
This requires an easier way to find the team and take part in the  
lessons because not all people can or want to learn how to use IRC and  
look up the #ubuntu-classroom channel(although I though people are  
already working on this. Is that true?).
Maybe an entry at the Ubuntu start page, in the Ubuntu Help and at the  
yet-to-be-written/accepted/designed Ubuntu start centre would really  
help.

Another thing I would like for people new to the community, and which  
is already done by the MOTU, is mentoring. Every person asks the team  
for a mentor after (s)he has done a test/read a guide to determine  
what part of Ubuntu (s)he wants to participate in and gets(if there's  
place/need of help) a mentor specialized in that part of the  
community. The mentor, who can have more than one pupil of course,  
helps finding his/her pupil the right 'job' and learns him/her how to  
do it properly. The mentor will guide the pupil in the community until  
the pupil finds (s)he doesn't need the mentor anymore or, in the bad  
case, when the mentor doesn't have time to do it anymore or doesn't  
want to help the pupil anymore.

I thought of this resources: one 'council' team to manage the whole  
'project', one mentor team, a pupil team, wiki pages, a mailist(one  
for appliance, one for management) and an IRC channel.

OK, this was the suggestion. I've probably forgot a lot of things,  
please correct me where I made mistakes and give your feedback. Maybe  
I've sounded a bit rude because I don't speak native English or forgot  
the implications certain things have. I'm sorry for that.

Sense Hofstede
<http://www.qense.nl/>
<https://launchpad.net/~qense>
<https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Qense>

PS: It's just an idea. I want to suggest something, I don't try to  
enforce anything to anyone, although I may sound so somewhere. Please  
tell me where/if I do so.