[edutex] Introduction

[James Allen]

A few years ago we put together a set of video tutorials very similar to
what Jim has described here (short 5-10 minute videos on a single atomic
topic). They don't quite cover everything he has listed, but quite a lot:

  1) Your first LaTeX document -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qg2WtaSy-zQ&index=1&list=PLCRFsOKSM7ePUBOfh3O-K5XZldM5uCPwk
  2) The structure of a document (logical formatting; sections, footnotes)
-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ja6WZoXW3U&index=2&list=PLCRFsOKSM7ePUBOfh3O-K5XZldM5uCPwk
  3) Mathematics -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iEQoSIPD6o&index=3&list=PLCRFsOKSM7ePUBOfh3O-K5XZldM5uCPwk
  5) Tables -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cEdqTMtHZQ&index=6&list=PLCRFsOKSM7ePUBOfh3O-K5XZldM5uCPwk
  6) Graphics -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21Y8LnKjfKE&index=4&list=PLCRFsOKSM7ePUBOfh3O-K5XZldM5uCPwk
  9) Bibliography -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IMkTnR_KcA&index=5&list=PLCRFsOKSM7ePUBOfh3O-K5XZldM5uCPwk

Our playlist is in the same rough order too (
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCRFsOKSM7ePUBOfh3O-K5XZldM5uCPwk),
so I agree with Jim on this format. These videos have been well received
and (anecdotally) seem to be good at getting people started with LaTeX.
They are a bit dated now (filmed on an older version of ShareLaTeX, and in
some places using old-fashioned 'bad' LaTeX).

We tried to make these videos about the common core of LaTeX, since topics
like TikZ, source code listings, and beamer are useful, but won't be needed
by everyone in different subjects, so perhaps these should be optional
modules, rather than part of the main lessons? The shorter and more
relevant the main lessons can be, the less intimidating LaTeX will seem. We
made more videos to further expand on LaTeX after this introduction too:
https://www.youtube.com/user/ShareLaTeX/videos

These videos are long overdue a revisit from us, but perhaps they can give
a sense of what this sort of format could look like, and a starting point
to discuss/criticise/improve on.

Regards,
James


On Wed, Sep 7, 2016 at 2:14 PM, Hefferon, James S. <jhefferon at smcvt.edu>
wrote:

>
> Peter mentioned having given courses.  I have a *very* preliminary pass at
> topics, and I'd be glad for any suggestions from experienced people.
>
> Again, the model is that a college instructor could assign people to take
> the training, say at the start of a class.  So the goal is to cover what a
> person needs to do undergrad homework in math, CS, or a science.  The
> tension is, of course, that we'd like to do it with minimal time and fuss.
>
> I imagined a dozen lessons, each a 10-minute video, and with some
> fill-in-the-blank-type questions at the end.  (Perhaps I am optimistic with
> 10 minutes but of course with a video a person can rewind, etc., so it
> differs from an in-person presentation.)  At the end the student needs to
> write some small LaTeX docs.  Here is a first take at lesson topics.
>
>   1) Your first LaTeX document
>   2) The structure of a document (logical formatting; sections, footnotes)
>   3) Mathematics
>   4) More mathematics: amsmath and theorems, etc.
>   5) Tables
>   6) Graphics
>   7) Source code listings
>   8) More structure (cross-references, table of contents, indices)
>   9) Bibliography
>   10) TikZ
>   11) Packages (including Beamer) and the community
>   12) Final Exam
>
> Regards.
> Jim
>
> ---------------------------------------------
> We none of us expect to be in smooth water all our days.
>     -- Jane Austen
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://tug.org/pipermail/edutex/attachments/20160907/78dbc80d/attachment-0001.html>