A bootcamp host is a person (or group of people)
who would like to arrange a bootcamp at their university,
research lab,
company,
conference,
or other venue.
Hosts are responsible for finding funding for the bootcamp,
booking a room and catering,
recruiting local helpers,
and finding supplies like extension cords and sticky notes.
Getting Started
If you're considering hosting a bootcamp,
think about:
Where it will be:
Is a good
venue available?
Will it cost anything to book?
When it will be:
Lots of factors will affect
when you can
hold your bootcamp;
think about what makes sense for you and your audience.
Be flexible,
because instructor availability at our end will be a factor too.
How you will fund it:
The cost of running a bootcamp
includes instructors' travel and lodging,
the cost of booking the room,
catering,
and any donation you would like to make to the Mozilla Foundation
to help keep Software Carpentry going.
Who the audience will be:
Will the bootcamp be open to
people in your lab,
in your department,
at your university or company,
attending a conference,
or anyone nearby?
How
many learners can you accommodate?
If there is someone at your institution
who handles travel arrangements,
connect instructors with them as soon as possible.
If not, make sure instructors know how to submit receipts.
Set a date.
Set up registration (if you are handling it yourself)
or give Software Carpentry admin the
information
needed
to set up an Eventbrite registration page.
Discuss the bootcamp content and audience with instructors.
(Software Carpentry admin will set up a mailing list for you,
your instructors,
and the helpers.)
If you are restricting registration to a particular audience,
monitor registration.
(Software Carpentry admin will give you access to the Eventbrite event.)
Book catering
(if you are supplying coffee and snacks)
or find out where the nearest coffee shop is.
Confirm that instructors have booked their travel
and that they know how to submit receipts for reimbursement.
If you are using something other than
first-come–first-served registration,
select the attendees you want to attend and
let them know they have a seat.
to visit the bootcamp web page for setup information,
bootcamp location,
etc.
Emphasize the importance of setting up their computers well in advance.
to let us know if they can't come to the bootcamp.
(They can't cancel their own registration on Eventbrite—they
have to email you or Software Carpentry admin.)
anything else they need to know about the location, parking, etc.
If there are cancellations,
offer those spaces to people on the waiting list.
(Eventbrite doesn't do this automatically.)
If possible,
plan dinner or drinks with the helpers and instructors
the evening before the bootcamp.
(Planning to go out for drinks or dinner after the first day
is not a terrible idea, either.)
Find out where the bathrooms are,
how to work the air conditioning,
and who to call if something goes wrong with the facility or network.
Make sure security will be expecting you and the doors will be unlocked.
Print out sign-in sheets.
The Day Before
Help instructors with travel from the airport to their lodging,
if necessary.
Check that the network is working
and that any required guest accounts have been set up.
Check arrangements with catering (if appropriate).
The Morning of the Boot Camp
Put up signs directing learners to the room.
Give instructors and helpers ID badges or stickers.
Post network connection instructions
and the Twitter hashtag you're using for the bootcamp
(usually #swcsomething).
Remind helpers to mingle and encourage conversation
as well as answer questions and debug setup problems.
As learners arrive,
ask them to connect to the network
and check that they have software installed.
First-day Welcome
Introduce the instructors and helpers by name and explain their roles.
Circulate the sign-in sheet and photo release form.
Stay on top of the catering:
replenish snacks,
call for more coffee,
etc.
At the End of the Last Day
Collect the attendance sheet and photo release forms.
Remind attendees of any follow-up sessions you have planned.
Tell attendees that we are always looking for more helpers
and instructors,
and that we run a short online training class
for people who are interested.
Send Software Carpentry the contact information of
anyone who is interested in joining our team,
or have them contact us.
Consider organizing a gathering for dinner or drinks for the
participants and instructors to mingle. This is a great
opportunity for people to network and participants to give
feedback to the instructors in a casual setting.
After the Boot Camp
Send the names and email addresses of those who actually
attended—not just registered—to
Software Carpentry admin.
An easy way to do this is by sending us the sign-in sheets.
and remind them to contact us
if they are interested in joining our team.
Confirm that a contribution
to support Software Carpentry development
has been sent, or will be.
Pitfalls for Hosts
Organizing a good bootcamp is not trivial,
and there are a few pitfalls to avoid.
Don't underestimate setup requirements
Do you have enough power outlets? (Are you sure?)
Do you have enough bandwidth to handle fifty people hitting your version control repository at the same time? (How do you know?)
Can everyone actually log in?
Does campus security know you're using the room over the weekend?
Don't let your learners ignore each other.
Software Carpentry bootcamps are a great networking opportunity
for our learners (and for us, too).
Get to know your learners by name,
have them work in pairs, and get them to mix up the pairs
at least a couple of times.
Encourage them to chat to one another at coffee breaks and lunch,
and to get a pizza or some curry together for dinner on the first day.
Don't Underestimate The Potential for Mishaps
Something always fails to install for someone (or they fail to install
anything at all), or a bunch of learners are accidentally locked out of
the building after lunch, or whoever was supposed to drop off power bars
didn't. Roll with it, and remember to laugh (even if it's a bit
hysterically).