Vandy wrote: > Neil, I think I'm more or less in the same boat as yours. I'm not > sure if should be a mentor or a mentee at this stage. Perhaps the > courses will help me decide. It may turn out that I can be a mentor > for certain things/topics and mentee for others.
I think that's going to be true for almost everyone. We're all good at something, and we probably all have something to contribute that others don't know. Even the very experienced people can probably sharpen their skills against one another.
Audrey: great idea!
-john schrag Interaction Designer Autodesk Toronto
-----Original Message----- From: UXIrregulars@googlegroups.com [mailto:UXIrregulars@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Avi Soudack Sent: June-22-08 8:43 AM To: vandy.ga...@gmail.com; UXIrregulars UXIrregulars Subject: [UXIrregulars] Re: Mentoring
Hi Vandy (et al)
That sounds great - I see the mentoring effort running in parallel to any course/training offering - I guess I always thought of the mentoring as 75% coaching or guidance and 25% skill/knowledge transfer. There is room for both.
I totally agree that people might be mentors (trainers) in some areas and mentees (participants) in others, depending on the focus.
Also: want to remind/tell people about a session Bryce organised a few years where people shared documentation examples. That was a very successful cooperative model, and I'd guess there were people in the room at various levels of experience.
/avi
On 22 Jun 2008, at 10:11, vandy.ga...@gmail.com wrote:
> Hi Audrey,
> This is a great idea and I'd like to help in any way I can > . > In the past eight years, I have been directly and indirectly involved > in several Usability projects and like Neil, I am 100 percent self- > taught. I am a web project manager and an online marketer. I have > never worked as a fulltime UX professional, so a formal course or two > would definitely help me.
> Neil, I think I'm more or less in the same boat as yours. I'm not > sure if should be a mentor or a mentee at this stage. Perhaps the > courses will help me decide. It may turn out that I can be a mentor > for certain things/topics and mentee for others.
> In any case I'd definitely like to help make this a bigger, permanent > initiative in Toronto.
> Cheers, > Vandy
> On Jun 21, 3:21 pm, "Audrey Carr" <audreyc...@gmail.com> wrote: >> I've actually been thinking about this issue for a while, and quite >> frankly, >> aside from a few continuing education classes at UofT, there's >> really not >> much out there in terms of inexpensive, professional UX career >> development >> courses or training.
>> So, here's an idea: Given the existing wealth of knowledge within the >> community, and the obviously strong interest in career development, >> why not >> create our own network of UX continuing education classes and >> workshops, >> similar to Victor Lombardi's Smart Experience courses in NYC:http://smartexperience.org/
>> I've got some free time coming up in the next few weeks to get the >> ball >> rolling. I'm thinking a great place to start would be setting up a >> survey to >> see what type of skills, courses, or workshops people would be >> interested in >> attending, and also start gathering a list of individuals who'd be >> willing >> to lead a course or one day workshop. If there's enough interest, >> we could >> possibly get something up and running by September.
>> Time to put my design research skills to use :D
>> On Sat, Jun 21, 2008 at 1:52 PM, Neil Lee <n...@hushboom.com> wrote:
>>> I'm in a bit of an interesting position. I have been doing >>> design / UX >>> work on a small-to-medium-largish scale for about six out of the >>> seven >>> years I've been working online, but I'm 100% self-taught. I took a >>> 14- >>> week course back in 1999 that barely covered the basics and have >>> been >>> reading and making mistakes and learning "in the real world" ever >>> since.
>>> I know there are a LOT of things I don't know about or haven't >>> learned >>> because of this lack of formal training, but I'm not sure what >>> educational courses / workshops / mentoring would help grow my >>> skills >>> the best. On one hand I'd love to take a specific program or course >>> that covered UX but there doesn't seem to be any programs in >>> Toronto.
>>> I'm not sure if there if anyone else out there is in the same boat >>> as >>> me, but it would sure be nice to find a way to grow my abilities >>> without having to work through a 3-4 year full-time program.
This discussion has veered into something I've been having in my head for awhile: skills exchange.
I've been interested in conducting free classes for design research (my area of expertise). I figgered others probably have other areas, such as, say, a workshop of forms design, or maybe another on designing for seniors, and maybe another....you get the picture.
Who might be interested in an inaugural session on design research (how-to on putting together a really productive user research project), with a mentor/mentee session to follow immediately after?
I could look into space for this. We might be required to pay a fee for the space but everything else would be based on the co-op model.
Each "training" session could be an excuse to meet up with mentors/mentees.
> Who might be interested in an inaugural session on design research (how-to > on putting together a really productive user research project), with a > mentor/mentee session to follow immediately after?
I've been silent during this discussion.. but I'd be really interested in attending any sessions like this.
I also find myself in the situation of wanting to advance my career and skill, but i can't afford to go back to school full time (or move to a place where i could go to school for UX/IxD) ...
Anything we can do as a community in Toronto to help each other out would be greatly appreciated by all.
Matt.
On Sun, Jun 22, 2008 at 5:18 PM, David Crow <davidc...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Who might be interested in an inaugural session on design research (how-to >> on putting together a really productive user research project), with a >> mentor/mentee session to follow immediately after?
I have been reading these posts with both great interest, and happiness that this is happening here in Toronto as a grass roots movement. And Michael, your words aptly describe my own situation.
I would be interested in the design research inaugural session described, and would be happy to donate my time to the administrative aspects of making these type of sessions happen.
Helen
On 6/22/08, Matthew Nish-Lapidus <mat...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I've been silent during this discussion.. but I'd be really interested > in attending any sessions like this.
> I also find myself in the situation of wanting to advance my career > and skill, but i can't afford to go back to school full time (or move > to a place where i could go to school for UX/IxD) ...
> Anything we can do as a community in Toronto to help each other out > would be greatly appreciated by all.
> Matt.
> On Sun, Jun 22, 2008 at 5:18 PM, David Crow <davidc...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> Who might be interested in an inaugural session on design research > (how-to > >> on putting together a really productive user research project), with a > >> mentor/mentee session to follow immediately after?
Just catching up on this thread now. Great ideas all around! I'm totally in and have some topics I could possibly mentor in and definitely some I'd like to mentee in:) How about we use our next UXIrregulars meet up to discuss and/or plan?
Sam - I'm interested in a design research session for sure.
----- Original Message ---- From: Sam Ladner <samlad...@gmail.com> To: UXIrregulars UXIrregulars <UXIrregulars@googlegroups.com> Sent: Sunday, June 22, 2008 3:48:38 PM Subject: [UXIrregulars] Re: Mentoring
This discussion has veered into something I've been having in my head for awhile: skills exchange.
I've been interested in conducting free classes for design research (my area of expertise). I figgered others probably have other areas, such as, say, a workshop of forms design, or maybe another on designing for seniors, and maybe another....you get the picture.
Who might be interested in an inaugural session on design research (how-to on putting together a really productive user research project), with a mentor/mentee session to follow immediately after?
I could look into space for this. We might be required to pay a fee for the space but everything else would be based on the co-op model.
Each "training" session could be an excuse to meet up with mentors/mentees.
Feedback? Innovations? Critiques?
__________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Canada Toolbar: Search from anywhere on the web, and bookmark your favourite sites. Download it now at http://ca.toolbar.yahoo.com.
This is sooo cool :) I am a mentee through and through for everything
right now. but I can surely volunteer to help in anyway possible, with
organising such events. Please count me in , after July 6th, since I
am away till then.
- Sarika
On Jun 22, 10:53 pm, Lindsay Ellerby <ellerb...@yahoo.ca> wrote:
> Just catching up on this thread now. Great ideas all around! I'm totally in and have some topics I could possibly mentor in and definitely some I'd like to mentee in:) How about we use our next UXIrregulars meet up to discuss and/or plan?
> Sam - I'm interested in a design research session for sure.
> Lindsay
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Sam Ladner <samlad...@gmail.com>
> To: UXIrregulars UXIrregulars <UXIrregulars@googlegroups.com>
> Sent: Sunday, June 22, 2008 3:48:38 PM
> Subject: [UXIrregulars] Re: Mentoring
> This discussion has veered into something I've been having in my head for awhile: skills exchange.
> I've been interested in conducting free classes for design research (my area of expertise). I figgered others probably have other areas, such as, say, a workshop of forms design, or maybe another on designing for seniors, and maybe another....you get the picture.
> Who might be interested in an inaugural session on design research (how-to on putting together a really productive user research project), with a mentor/mentee session to follow immediately after?
> I could look into space for this. We might be required to pay a fee for the space but everything else would be based on the co-op model.
> Each "training" session could be an excuse to meet up with mentors/mentees.
> Feedback? Innovations? Critiques?
> __________________________________________________________________
> Yahoo! Canada Toolbar: Search from anywhere on the web, and bookmark your favourite sites. Download it now athttp://ca.toolbar.yahoo.com.- Hide quoted text -
For a second I had a brief moment of panic: "OMG, I didn't inadvertently kick off an academics-vs-homegrowns discussion, did I?" and then I realised that you're taking matters firmly in hand by setting up your own sessions. Wow. Very practical. Also, very much in the spirit of Carol Barnum's words: assess your work and improve your work.
My next thought: don't tell me I have to move to Toronto to participate in this. ;-o Please give lots of notice of events, so out-of-towners can rearrange their lives. Or offer these sessions in Vancouver. VanUE <http://www.vanue.com/> could promote them. Or perhaps some sort of plug-in for CanUX, in Banff?
Finally, I'm thinking of driving down to Seattle for the next two-week HFU certification session. Whereas at previous UPA conferences people were pointedly neutral about the CUA certification, this time, for the first time, I heard people being positive, with a sort of a "why not?" tone to it. (I'll tell you one reason why not: $4500 + 2 weeks in a motel = big price tag.) But I think I'm gonna do it.
Did I interpret correctly, Bryce? The hairy videophile rooster is moving to Redmond?
-=- Jerome
From: UXIrregulars@googlegroups.com [mailto:UXIrregulars@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Audrey Carr Sent: Sat, 21 June, 2008 12:22 PM To: UXIrregulars Subject: [UXIrregulars] Re: Mentoring
I've actually been thinking about this issue for a while, and quite frankly, aside from a few continuing education classes at UofT, there's really not much out there in terms of inexpensive, professional UX career development courses or training.
So, here's an idea: Given the existing wealth of knowledge within the community, and the obviously strong interest in career development, why not create our own network of UX continuing education classes and workshops, similar to Victor Lombardi's Smart Experience courses in NYC: http://smartexperience.org/
I've got some free time coming up in the next few weeks to get the ball rolling. I'm thinking a great place to start would be setting up a survey to see what type of skills, courses, or workshops people would be interested in attending, and also start gathering a list of individuals who'd be willing to lead a course or one day workshop. If there's enough interest, we could possibly get something up and running by September.
On Sat, Jun 21, 2008 at 1:52 PM, Neil Lee <n...@hushboom.com> wrote:
I'm in a bit of an interesting position. I have been doing design / UX work on a small-to-medium-largish scale for about six out of the seven years I've been working online, but I'm 100% self-taught. I took a 14- week course back in 1999 that barely covered the basics and have been reading and making mistakes and learning "in the real world" ever since.
I know there are a LOT of things I don't know about or haven't learned because of this lack of formal training, but I'm not sure what educational courses / workshops / mentoring would help grow my skills the best. On one hand I'd love to take a specific program or course that covered UX but there doesn't seem to be any programs in Toronto.
I'm not sure if there if anyone else out there is in the same boat as me, but it would sure be nice to find a way to grow my abilities without having to work through a 3-4 year full-time program.
> For a second I had a brief moment of panic: "OMG, I didn't inadvertently > kick off an academics-vs-homegrowns discussion, did I?" and then I realised > that you're taking matters firmly in hand by setting up your own sessions. > Wow. Very practical. Also, very much in the spirit of Carol Barnum's words: > assess your work and improve your work.
> My next thought: don't tell me I have to move to Toronto to participate in > this. ;-o Please give lots of notice of events, so out-of-towners can > rearrange their lives. Or offer these sessions in Vancouver. VanUE > <http://www.vanue.com/> could promote them. Or perhaps some sort of plug-in > for CanUX, in Banff?
> Finally, I'm thinking of driving down to Seattle for the next two-week HFU > certification session. Whereas at previous UPA conferences people were > pointedly neutral about the CUA certification, this time, for the first > time, I heard people being positive, with a sort of a "why not?" tone to it. > (I'll tell you one reason why not: $4500 + 2 weeks in a motel = big price > tag.) But I think I'm gonna do it.
> Did I interpret correctly, Bryce? The hairy videophile rooster is moving to > Redmond?
> -=- Jerome
> From: UXIrregulars@googlegroups.com [mailto:UXIrregulars@googlegroups.com] > On Behalf Of Audrey Carr > Sent: Sat, 21 June, 2008 12:22 PM > To: UXIrregulars > Subject: [UXIrregulars] Re: Mentoring
> I've actually been thinking about this issue for a while, and quite frankly, > aside from a few continuing education classes at UofT, there's really not > much out there in terms of inexpensive, professional UX career development > courses or training.
> So, here's an idea: Given the existing wealth of knowledge within the > community, and the obviously strong interest in career development, why not > create our own network of UX continuing education classes and workshops, > similar to Victor Lombardi's Smart Experience courses in NYC: > http://smartexperience.org/
> I've got some free time coming up in the next few weeks to get the ball > rolling. I'm thinking a great place to start would be setting up a survey to > see what type of skills, courses, or workshops people would be interested in > attending, and also start gathering a list of individuals who'd be willing > to lead a course or one day workshop. If there's enough interest, we could > possibly get something up and running by September.
> On Sat, Jun 21, 2008 at 1:52 PM, Neil Lee <n...@hushboom.com> wrote:
> I'm in a bit of an interesting position. I have been doing design / UX > work on a small-to-medium-largish scale for about six out of the seven > years I've been working online, but I'm 100% self-taught. I took a 14- > week course back in 1999 that barely covered the basics and have been > reading and making mistakes and learning "in the real world" ever since.
> I know there are a LOT of things I don't know about or haven't learned > because of this lack of formal training, but I'm not sure what > educational courses / workshops / mentoring would help grow my skills > the best. On one hand I'd love to take a specific program or course > that covered UX but there doesn't seem to be any programs in Toronto.
> I'm not sure if there if anyone else out there is in the same boat as > me, but it would sure be nice to find a way to grow my abilities > without having to work through a 3-4 year full-time program.
On Mon, Jun 23, 2008 at 12:31 PM, Jerome Ryckborst <j3r...@gmail.com> wrote: > For a second I had a brief moment of panic: "OMG, I didn't inadvertently > kick off an academics-vs-homegrowns discussion, did I?" and then I realised > that you're taking matters firmly in hand by setting up your own sessions. > Wow. Very practical. Also, very much in the spirit of Carol Barnum's words: > assess your work and improve your work.
> My next thought: don't tell me I have to move to Toronto to participate in > this. ;-o Please give lots of notice of events, so out-of-towners can > rearrange their lives. Or offer these sessions in Vancouver. VanUE<http://www.vanue.com/>could promote them. Or perhaps some sort of plug-in for CanUX, in Banff?
> Finally, I'm thinking of driving down to Seattle for the next two-week HFU > certification session. Whereas at previous UPA conferences people were > pointedly neutral about the CUA certification, this time, for the first > time, I heard people being positive, with a sort of a "why not?" tone to it. > (I'll tell you one reason why not: $4500 + 2 weeks in a motel = big price > tag.) But I think I'm gonna do it.
> Did I interpret correctly, Bryce? The hairy videophile rooster is moving to > Redmond?
> I've actually been thinking about this issue for a while, and quite > frankly, aside from a few continuing education classes at UofT, there's > really not much out there in terms of inexpensive, professional UX career > development courses or training.
> So, here's an idea: Given the existing wealth of knowledge within the > community, and the obviously strong interest in career development, why not > create our own network of UX continuing education classes and workshops, > similar to Victor Lombardi's Smart Experience courses in NYC: > http://smartexperience.org/
> I've got some free time coming up in the next few weeks to get the ball > rolling. I'm thinking a great place to start would be setting up a survey to > see what type of skills, courses, or workshops people would be interested in > attending, and also start gathering a list of individuals who'd be willing > to lead a course or one day workshop. If there's enough interest, we could > possibly get something up and running by September.
> On Sat, Jun 21, 2008 at 1:52 PM, Neil Lee <n...@hushboom.com> wrote:
> I'm in a bit of an interesting position. I have been doing design / UX > work on a small-to-medium-largish scale for about six out of the seven > years I've been working online, but I'm 100% self-taught. I took a 14- > week course back in 1999 that barely covered the basics and have been > reading and making mistakes and learning "in the real world" ever since.
> I know there are a LOT of things I don't know about or haven't learned > because of this lack of formal training, but I'm not sure what > educational courses / workshops / mentoring would help grow my skills > the best. On one hand I'd love to take a specific program or course > that covered UX but there doesn't seem to be any programs in Toronto.
> I'm not sure if there if anyone else out there is in the same boat as > me, but it would sure be nice to find a way to grow my abilities > without having to work through a 3-4 year full-time program.
I second Jerome's suggestion to give lots of notice for the events for the benefit of out of town participants.
An alternative would be, as Jerome also pointed out, to run sessions like the design research one at CanUX (perhaps after an initial offering in Toronto). It would be a great value add/extra reason to go.
Finally, +1 for the UXIrregulars conference call idea! This would be very cool!
Dmitry (from Ottawa)
On 6/23/08, Jerome Ryckborst <j3r...@gmail.com> wrote:
> For a second I had a brief moment of panic: "OMG, I didn't inadvertently > kick off an academics-vs-homegrowns discussion, did I?" and then I realised > that you're taking matters firmly in hand by setting up your own sessions. > Wow. Very practical. Also, very much in the spirit of Carol Barnum's words: > assess your work and improve your work.
> My next thought: don't tell me I have to move to Toronto to participate in > this. ;-o Please give lots of notice of events, so out-of-towners can > rearrange their lives. Or offer these sessions in Vancouver. VanUE could > promote them. Or perhaps some sort of plug-in for CanUX, in Banff?
> Finally, I'm thinking of driving down to Seattle for the next two-week HFU > certification session. Whereas at previous UPA conferences people were > pointedly neutral about the CUA certification, this time, for the first > time, I heard people being positive, with a sort of a "why not?" tone to it. > (I'll tell you one reason why not: $4500 + 2 weeks in a motel = big price > tag.) But I think I'm gonna do it.
> Did I interpret correctly, Bryce? The hairy videophile rooster is moving to > Redmond?
> -=- Jerome
> From: UXIrregulars@googlegroups.com [mailto:UXIrregulars@googlegroups.com] > On Behalf Of Audrey Carr > Sent: Sat, 21 June, 2008 12:22 PM > To: UXIrregulars > Subject: [UXIrregulars] Re: Mentoring
> I've actually been thinking about this issue for a while, and quite frankly, > aside from a few continuing education classes at UofT, there's really not > much out there in terms of inexpensive, professional UX career development > courses or training.
> So, here's an idea: Given the existing wealth of knowledge within the > community, and the obviously strong interest in career development, why not > create our own network of UX continuing education classes and workshops, > similar to Victor Lombardi's Smart Experience courses in NYC: > http://smartexperience.org/
> I've got some free time coming up in the next few weeks to get the ball > rolling. I'm thinking a great place to start would be setting up a survey to > see what type of skills, courses, or workshops people would be interested in > attending, and also start gathering a list of individuals who'd be willing > to lead a course or one day workshop. If there's enough interest, we could > possibly get something up and running by September.
> On Sat, Jun 21, 2008 at 1:52 PM, Neil Lee <n...@hushboom.com> wrote:
> I'm in a bit of an interesting position. I have been doing design / UX > work on a small-to-medium-largish scale for about six out of the seven > years I've been working online, but I'm 100% self-taught. I took a 14- > week course back in 1999 that barely covered the basics and have been > reading and making mistakes and learning "in the real world" ever since.
> I know there are a LOT of things I don't know about or haven't learned > because of this lack of formal training, but I'm not sure what > educational courses / workshops / mentoring would help grow my skills > the best. On one hand I'd love to take a specific program or course > that covered UX but there doesn't seem to be any programs in Toronto.
> I'm not sure if there if anyone else out there is in the same boat as > me, but it would sure be nice to find a way to grow my abilities > without having to work through a 3-4 year full-time program.
> I second Jerome's suggestion to give lots of notice for the events for > the benefit of out of town participants.
> An alternative would be, as Jerome also pointed out, to run sessions > like the design research one at CanUX (perhaps after an initial > offering in Toronto). It would be a great value add/extra reason to > go.
> Finally, +1 for the UXIrregulars conference call idea! This would be > very cool!
> Dmitry (from Ottawa)
> On 6/23/08, Jerome Ryckborst <j3r...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> For a second I had a brief moment of panic: "OMG, I didn't >> inadvertently >> kick off an academics-vs-homegrowns discussion, did I?" and then I >> realised >> that you're taking matters firmly in hand by setting up your own >> sessions. >> Wow. Very practical. Also, very much in the spirit of Carol >> Barnum's words: >> assess your work and improve your work.
>> My next thought: don't tell me I have to move to Toronto to >> participate in >> this. ;-o Please give lots of notice of events, so out-of-towners >> can >> rearrange their lives. Or offer these sessions in Vancouver. VanUE >> could >> promote them. Or perhaps some sort of plug-in for CanUX, in Banff?
>> Finally, I'm thinking of driving down to Seattle for the next two- >> week HFU >> certification session. Whereas at previous UPA conferences people >> were >> pointedly neutral about the CUA certification, this time, for the >> first >> time, I heard people being positive, with a sort of a "why not?" >> tone to it. >> (I'll tell you one reason why not: $4500 + 2 weeks in a motel = big >> price >> tag.) But I think I'm gonna do it.
>> Did I interpret correctly, Bryce? The hairy videophile rooster is >> moving to >> Redmond?
>> -=- Jerome
>> From: UXIrregulars@googlegroups.com [mailto:UXIrregulars@googlegroups.com >> ] >> On Behalf Of Audrey Carr >> Sent: Sat, 21 June, 2008 12:22 PM >> To: UXIrregulars >> Subject: [UXIrregulars] Re: Mentoring
>> I've actually been thinking about this issue for a while, and quite >> frankly, >> aside from a few continuing education classes at UofT, there's >> really not >> much out there in terms of inexpensive, professional UX career >> development >> courses or training.
>> So, here's an idea: Given the existing wealth of knowledge within the >> community, and the obviously strong interest in career development, >> why not >> create our own network of UX continuing education classes and >> workshops, >> similar to Victor Lombardi's Smart Experience courses in NYC: >> http://smartexperience.org/
>> I've got some free time coming up in the next few weeks to get the >> ball >> rolling. I'm thinking a great place to start would be setting up a >> survey to >> see what type of skills, courses, or workshops people would be >> interested in >> attending, and also start gathering a list of individuals who'd be >> willing >> to lead a course or one day workshop. If there's enough interest, >> we could >> possibly get something up and running by September.
>> Time to put my design research skills to use :D
>> On Sat, Jun 21, 2008 at 1:52 PM, Neil Lee <n...@hushboom.com> wrote:
>> I'm in a bit of an interesting position. I have been doing design / >> UX >> work on a small-to-medium-largish scale for about six out of the >> seven >> years I've been working online, but I'm 100% self-taught. I took a >> 14- >> week course back in 1999 that barely covered the basics and have been >> reading and making mistakes and learning "in the real world" ever >> since.
>> I know there are a LOT of things I don't know about or haven't >> learned >> because of this lack of formal training, but I'm not sure what >> educational courses / workshops / mentoring would help grow my skills >> the best. On one hand I'd love to take a specific program or course >> that covered UX but there doesn't seem to be any programs in Toronto.
>> I'm not sure if there if anyone else out there is in the same boat as >> me, but it would sure be nice to find a way to grow my abilities >> without having to work through a 3-4 year full-time program.
So should I drop them a note and pitch our first call?
Bryce
On Mon, Jun 23, 2008 at 12:54 PM, David Crow <davidc...@gmail.com> wrote: > I'm happy to host (read: pay for the conferencing solution) a UXIrregulars > conference call on a bi-weekly or monthly basis.
> I was talking to Geof Harries in Whitehorse. He'd love to participate. Even > in a semi-social phone call to discuss UX.
> It would also allow future former UXIrregular Bryce Johnson to dial in from > Redmond. ;-)
-- This email is: [ ] bloggable [X] ask first [ ] private Bryce Johnson Director of User Experience Design, Navantis Inc. Chicken wrangler - http://www.thechickentest.com
Regular concalls work for me too, even though I am in town.
ES
From: UXIrregulars@googlegroups.com [mailto:UXIrregulars@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of David Crow Sent: June-23-08 12:55 PM To: Jerome Ryckborst Cc: UXIrregulars; Audrey Carr Subject: [UXIrregulars] Re: Mentoring
I'm happy to host (read: pay for the conferencing solution) a UXIrregulars conference call on a bi-weekly or monthly basis.
I was talking to Geof Harries in Whitehorse. He'd love to participate. Even in a semi-social phone call to discuss UX.
It would also allow future former UXIrregular Bryce Johnson to dial in from Redmond. ;-)
On Mon, Jun 23, 2008 at 12:31 PM, Jerome Ryckborst <j3r...@gmail.com> wrote:
For a second I had a brief moment of panic: "OMG, I didn't inadvertently kick off an academics-vs-homegrowns discussion, did I?" and then I realised that you're taking matters firmly in hand by setting up your own sessions. Wow. Very practical. Also, very much in the spirit of Carol Barnum's words: assess your work and improve your work.
My next thought: don't tell me I have to move to Toronto to participate in this. ;-o Please give lots of notice of events, so out-of-towners can rearrange their lives. Or offer these sessions in Vancouver. VanUE <http://www.vanue.com/> could promote them. Or perhaps some sort of plug-in for CanUX, in Banff?
Finally, I'm thinking of driving down to Seattle for the next two-week HFU certification session. Whereas at previous UPA conferences people were pointedly neutral about the CUA certification, this time, for the first time, I heard people being positive, with a sort of a "why not?" tone to it. (I'll tell you one reason why not: $4500 + 2 weeks in a motel = big price tag.) But I think I'm gonna do it.
Did I interpret correctly, Bryce? The hairy videophile rooster is moving to Redmond?
-=- Jerome
From: UXIrregulars@googlegroups.com [mailto:UXIrregulars@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Audrey Carr Sent: Sat, 21 June, 2008 12:22 PM To: UXIrregulars Subject: [UXIrregulars] Re: Mentoring
I've actually been thinking about this issue for a while, and quite frankly, aside from a few continuing education classes at UofT, there's really not much out there in terms of inexpensive, professional UX career development courses or training.
So, here's an idea: Given the existing wealth of knowledge within the community, and the obviously strong interest in career development, why not create our own network of UX continuing education classes and workshops, similar to Victor Lombardi's Smart Experience courses in NYC: http://smartexperience.org/
I've got some free time coming up in the next few weeks to get the ball rolling. I'm thinking a great place to start would be setting up a survey to see what type of skills, courses, or workshops people would be interested in attending, and also start gathering a list of individuals who'd be willing to lead a course or one day workshop. If there's enough interest, we could possibly get something up and running by September.
On Sat, Jun 21, 2008 at 1:52 PM, Neil Lee <n...@hushboom.com> wrote:
I'm in a bit of an interesting position. I have been doing design / UX work on a small-to-medium-largish scale for about six out of the seven years I've been working online, but I'm 100% self-taught. I took a 14- week course back in 1999 that barely covered the basics and have been reading and making mistakes and learning "in the real world" ever since.
I know there are a LOT of things I don't know about or haven't learned because of this lack of formal training, but I'm not sure what educational courses / workshops / mentoring would help grow my skills the best. On one hand I'd love to take a specific program or course that covered UX but there doesn't seem to be any programs in Toronto.
I'm not sure if there if anyone else out there is in the same boat as me, but it would sure be nice to find a way to grow my abilities without having to work through a 3-4 year full-time program.
>> So should I drop them a note and pitch our first call?
>> Bryce
>> On Mon, Jun 23, 2008 at 12:54 PM, David Crow <davidc...@gmail.com> wrote: >> > I'm happy to host (read: pay for the conferencing solution) a >> UXIrregulars >> > conference call on a bi-weekly or monthly basis.
>> > I was talking to Geof Harries in Whitehorse. He'd love to participate. >> Even >> > in a semi-social phone call to discuss UX.
>> > It would also allow future former UXIrregular Bryce Johnson to dial in >> from >> > Redmond. ;-)
>> -- >> This email is: [ ] bloggable [X] ask first [ ] private >> Bryce Johnson >> Director of User Experience Design, Navantis Inc. >> Chicken wrangler - http://www.thechickentest.com
-- This email is: [ ] bloggable [X] ask first [ ] private
On Mon, Jun 23, 2008 at 6:37 PM, Bryce Johnson <bry...@gmail.com> wrote: > Ok but only if we have multiple roundtables!!! ;-) > We have one at Navantis but I'm not sure we have it up and running yet. > http://www.microsoft.com/uc/products/roundtable.mspx
> Bryce > On Mon, Jun 23, 2008 at 6:29 PM, David Crow <da...@davidcrow.ca> wrote:
>> Possibly,
>> For the first one, let's use LiveMeeting and my conference calling >> account. Then we can evaluate.
>> On Mon, Jun 23, 2008 at 6:20 PM, Bryce Johnson <bry...@gmail.com> >> wrote:
>>> I like the conference call idea. I have had some good experiences >>> using ConceptShare with Clients over conference calls.
>>> We could do that deliverable discussion over a conference call.
>>> So should I drop them a note and pitch our first call?
>>> Bryce
>>> On Mon, Jun 23, 2008 at 12:54 PM, David Crow <davidc...@gmail.com> >>> wrote: >>> > I'm happy to host (read: pay for the conferencing solution) a >>> UXIrregulars >>> > conference call on a bi-weekly or monthly basis.
>>> > I was talking to Geof Harries in Whitehorse. He'd love to participate. >>> Even >>> > in a semi-social phone call to discuss UX.
>>> > It would also allow future former UXIrregular Bryce Johnson to dial in >>> from >>> > Redmond. ;-)
>>> -- >>> This email is: [ ] bloggable [X] ask first [ ] private >>> Bryce Johnson >>> Director of User Experience Design, Navantis Inc. >>> Chicken wrangler - http://www.thechickentest.com
> -- > This email is: [ ] bloggable [X] ask first [ ] private
> Bryce Johnson > Director of User Experience Design, Navantis Inc. > Chicken wrangler - http://www.thechickentest.com
On Sun, Jun 22, 2008 at 3:48 PM, Sam Ladner <samlad...@gmail.com> wrote: > This discussion has veered into something I've been having in my head for > awhile: skills exchange.
> I've been interested in conducting free classes for design research (my > area of expertise). I figgered others probably have other areas, such as, > say, a workshop of forms design, or maybe another on designing for seniors, > and maybe another....you get the picture.
> Who might be interested in an inaugural session on design research (how-to > on putting together a really productive user research project), with a > mentor/mentee session to follow immediately after?
> I could look into space for this. We might be required to pay a fee for the > space but everything else would be based on the co-op model.
> Each "training" session could be an excuse to meet up with mentors/mentees.
You turn your back for a couple of days and look what happens...
Sam, please add my voice to the growing cacophony of those who want to
participate in the design researsh presentation / session / meeting /
class.
Klick has WebEx and meeting rooms that they have made available after
hours for this kind of thing. We're at 175 Bloor (Bloor and Church,
very close to Bloor and Yonge).
I'll report back on the first mentoring meeting we're having here.
There seems to have been a bit of pent-up demand for this... :-)
Should we start new threads for different topics? I'm too lazy to do
more than ask...
--Brad
On Jun 23, 8:59 pm, "Laurence Lue" <laurence....@gmail.com> wrote:
> Sam, I'd love to participate in your design research class.
> cheers,
> Laurence
> On Sun, Jun 22, 2008 at 3:48 PM, Sam Ladner <samlad...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > This discussion has veered into something I've been having in my head for
> > awhile: skills exchange.
> > I've been interested in conducting free classes for design research (my
> > area of expertise). I figgered others probably have other areas, such as,
> > say, a workshop of forms design, or maybe another on designing for seniors,
> > and maybe another....you get the picture.
> > Who might be interested in an inaugural session on design research (how-to
> > on putting together a really productive user research project), with a
> > mentor/mentee session to follow immediately after?
> > I could look into space for this. We might be required to pay a fee for the
> > space but everything else would be based on the co-op model.
> > Each "training" session could be an excuse to meet up with mentors/mentees.
> > Feedback? Innovations? Critiques?- Hide quoted text -
> You turn your back for a couple of days and look what happens...
> Sam, please add my voice to the growing cacophony of those who want to
> participate in the design researsh presentation / session / meeting /
> class.
I guess everyone interested in the idea should meet to take it to the
next level.
How about we plan our meeting for next Thursday around 6.30 p.m.?
I'll look for a venue, if everyone agrees.
I'm also going for the session Brad has organised this Thursday. I'm
sure we'll get a headstart there. And then we can plan future
events,action plan etc at our meet next Thursday.
Cheers,
Vandy
On Jun 22, 8:42 am, Avi Soudack <a...@brightroom.ca> wrote:
> That sounds great - I see the mentoring effort running in parallel to
> any course/training offering - I guess I always thought of the
> mentoring as 75% coaching or guidance and 25% skill/knowledge
> transfer. There is room for both.
> I totally agree that people might be mentors (trainers) in some areas
> and mentees (participants) in others, depending on the focus.
> Also: want to remind/tell people about a session Bryce organised a few
> years where people shared documentation examples. That was a very
> successful cooperative model, and I'd guess there were people in the
> room at various levels of experience.
> /avi
> On 22 Jun 2008, at 10:11, vandy.ga...@gmail.com wrote:
> > Hi Audrey,
> > This is a great idea and I'd like to help in any way I can
> > .
> > In the past eight years, I have been directly and indirectly involved
> > in several Usability projects and like Neil, I am 100 percent self-
> > taught. I am a web project manager and an online marketer. I have
> > never worked as a fulltime UX professional, so a formal course or two
> > would definitely help me.
> > Neil, I think I'm more or less in the same boat as yours. I'm not
> > sure if should be a mentor or a mentee at this stage. Perhaps the
> > courses will help me decide. It may turn out that I can be a mentor
> > for certain things/topics and mentee for others.
> > In any case I'd definitely like to help make this a bigger, permanent
> > initiative in Toronto.
> > Cheers,
> > Vandy
> > On Jun 21, 3:21 pm, "Audrey Carr" <audreyc...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> I've actually been thinking about this issue for a while, and quite
> >> frankly,
> >> aside from a few continuing education classes at UofT, there's
> >> really not
> >> much out there in terms of inexpensive, professional UX career
> >> development
> >> courses or training.
> >> So, here's an idea: Given the existing wealth of knowledge within the
> >> community, and the obviously strong interest in career development,
> >> why not
> >> create our own network of UX continuing education classes and
> >> workshops,
> >> similar to Victor Lombardi's Smart Experience courses in NYC:http://smartexperience.org/
> >> I've got some free time coming up in the next few weeks to get the
> >> ball
> >> rolling. I'm thinking a great place to start would be setting up a
> >> survey to
> >> see what type of skills, courses, or workshops people would be
> >> interested in
> >> attending, and also start gathering a list of individuals who'd be
> >> willing
> >> to lead a course or one day workshop. If there's enough interest,
> >> we could
> >> possibly get something up and running by September.
> >> Time to put my design research skills to use :D
> >> On Sat, Jun 21, 2008 at 1:52 PM, Neil Lee <n...@hushboom.com> wrote:
> >>> I'm in a bit of an interesting position. I have been doing
> >>> design / UX
> >>> work on a small-to-medium-largish scale for about six out of the
> >>> seven
> >>> years I've been working online, but I'm 100% self-taught. I took a
> >>> 14-
> >>> week course back in 1999 that barely covered the basics and have
> >>> been
> >>> reading and making mistakes and learning "in the real world" ever
> >>> since.
> >>> I know there are a LOT of things I don't know about or haven't
> >>> learned
> >>> because of this lack of formal training, but I'm not sure what
> >>> educational courses / workshops / mentoring would help grow my
> >>> skills
> >>> the best. On one hand I'd love to take a specific program or course
> >>> that covered UX but there doesn't seem to be any programs in
> >>> Toronto.
> >>> I'm not sure if there if anyone else out there is in the same boat
> >>> as
> >>> me, but it would sure be nice to find a way to grow my abilities
> >>> without having to work through a 3-4 year full-time program.
Oops, please ignore my message. I missed the whole conf. call thread
before I sent this as I get one abridged email at the end of the day.
David, looking forward to the conf call.
Cheers,
Vandy
On Jun 24, 11:50 am, "vandy.ga...@gmail.com" <vandy.ga...@gmail.com>
wrote:
> I guess everyone interested in the idea should meet to take it to the
> next level.
> How about we plan our meeting for next Thursday around 6.30 p.m.?
> I'll look for a venue, if everyone agrees.
> I'm also going for the session Brad has organised this Thursday. I'm
> sure we'll get a headstart there. And then we can plan future
> events,action plan etc at our meet next Thursday.
> Cheers,
> Vandy
> On Jun 22, 8:42 am, Avi Soudack <a...@brightroom.ca> wrote:
> > Hi Vandy (et al)
> > That sounds great - I see the mentoring effort running in parallel to
> > any course/training offering - I guess I always thought of the
> > mentoring as 75% coaching or guidance and 25% skill/knowledge
> > transfer. There is room for both.
> > I totally agree that people might be mentors (trainers) in some areas
> > and mentees (participants) in others, depending on the focus.
> > Also: want to remind/tell people about a session Bryce organised a few
> > years where people shared documentation examples. That was a very
> > successful cooperative model, and I'd guess there were people in the
> > room at various levels of experience.
> > /avi
> > On 22 Jun 2008, at 10:11, vandy.ga...@gmail.com wrote:
> > > Hi Audrey,
> > > This is a great idea and I'd like to help in any way I can
> > > .
> > > In the past eight years, I have been directly and indirectly involved
> > > in several Usability projects and like Neil, I am 100 percent self-
> > > taught. I am a web project manager and an online marketer. I have
> > > never worked as a fulltime UX professional, so a formal course or two
> > > would definitely help me.
> > > Neil, I think I'm more or less in the same boat as yours. I'm not
> > > sure if should be a mentor or a mentee at this stage. Perhaps the
> > > courses will help me decide. It may turn out that I can be a mentor
> > > for certain things/topics and mentee for others.
> > > In any case I'd definitely like to help make this a bigger, permanent
> > > initiative in Toronto.
> > > Cheers,
> > > Vandy
> > > On Jun 21, 3:21 pm, "Audrey Carr" <audreyc...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > >> I've actually been thinking about this issue for a while, and quite
> > >> frankly,
> > >> aside from a few continuing education classes at UofT, there's
> > >> really not
> > >> much out there in terms of inexpensive, professional UX career
> > >> development
> > >> courses or training.
> > >> So, here's an idea: Given the existing wealth of knowledge within the
> > >> community, and the obviously strong interest in career development,
> > >> why not
> > >> create our own network of UX continuing education classes and
> > >> workshops,
> > >> similar to Victor Lombardi's Smart Experience courses in NYC:http://smartexperience.org/
> > >> I've got some free time coming up in the next few weeks to get the
> > >> ball
> > >> rolling. I'm thinking a great place to start would be setting up a
> > >> survey to
> > >> see what type of skills, courses, or workshops people would be
> > >> interested in
> > >> attending, and also start gathering a list of individuals who'd be
> > >> willing
> > >> to lead a course or one day workshop. If there's enough interest,
> > >> we could
> > >> possibly get something up and running by September.
> > >> Time to put my design research skills to use :D
> > >> On Sat, Jun 21, 2008 at 1:52 PM, Neil Lee <n...@hushboom.com> wrote:
> > >>> I'm in a bit of an interesting position. I have been doing
> > >>> design / UX
> > >>> work on a small-to-medium-largish scale for about six out of the
> > >>> seven
> > >>> years I've been working online, but I'm 100% self-taught. I took a
> > >>> 14-
> > >>> week course back in 1999 that barely covered the basics and have
> > >>> been
> > >>> reading and making mistakes and learning "in the real world" ever
> > >>> since.
> > >>> I know there are a LOT of things I don't know about or haven't
> > >>> learned
> > >>> because of this lack of formal training, but I'm not sure what
> > >>> educational courses / workshops / mentoring would help grow my
> > >>> skills
> > >>> the best. On one hand I'd love to take a specific program or course
> > >>> that covered UX but there doesn't seem to be any programs in
> > >>> Toronto.
> > >>> I'm not sure if there if anyone else out there is in the same boat
> > >>> as
> > >>> me, but it would sure be nice to find a way to grow my abilities
> > >>> without having to work through a 3-4 year full-time program.
As some of you know I'm on the board of Toronto Interacts(TI). TI can
get the space for free as we are a not-for-profit org.
We are sorting out some sponsorship issues (for renting space we need
to be sponsored by a city councillor as our old sponsorship expired
last year) , but we can start re-booking any room at Metro Hall for
free after that's taken care of. Metro Hall has rooms which can hold
anywhere from 30 to a maximum of 150 people in a theatre style format.
In fact, we could use this facility for all the workshops, depending
on the size on the workshop and the availability of rooms.
Please let me know your thoughts.
- Vandy
On Jun 22, 3:48 pm, "Sam Ladner" <samlad...@gmail.com> wrote:
> This discussion has veered into something I've been having in my head for
> awhile: skills exchange.
> I've been interested in conducting free classes for design research (my
> area of expertise). I figgered others probably have other areas, such as,
> say, a workshop of forms design, or maybe another on designing for seniors,
> and maybe another....you get the picture.
> Who might be interested in an inaugural session on design research (how-to
> on putting together a really productive user research project), with a
> mentor/mentee session to follow immediately after?
> I could look into space for this. We might be required to pay a fee for the
> space but everything else would be based on the co-op model.
> Each "training" session could be an excuse to meet up with mentors/mentees.
> As some of you know I'm on the board of Toronto Interacts(TI). TI can > get the space for free as we are a not-for-profit org. > We are sorting out some sponsorship issues (for renting space we need > to be sponsored by a city councillor as our old sponsorship expired > last year) , but we can start re-booking any room at Metro Hall for > free after that's taken care of. Metro Hall has rooms which can hold > anywhere from 30 to a maximum of 150 people in a theatre style format.
> In fact, we could use this facility for all the workshops, depending > on the size on the workshop and the availability of rooms.
> Please let me know your thoughts.
> - Vandy
> On Jun 22, 3:48 pm, "Sam Ladner" <samlad...@gmail.com> wrote: > > This discussion has veered into something I've been having in my head for > > awhile: skills exchange.
> > I've been interested in conducting free classes for design research (my > > area of expertise). I figgered others probably have other areas, such as, > > say, a workshop of forms design, or maybe another on designing for > seniors, > > and maybe another....you get the picture.
> > Who might be interested in an inaugural session on design research > (how-to > > on putting together a really productive user research project), with a > > mentor/mentee session to follow immediately after?
> > I could look into space for this. We might be required to pay a fee for > the > > space but everything else would be based on the co-op model.
> > Each "training" session could be an excuse to meet up with > mentors/mentees.
That is terrific about the possibility of space! I had just started looking into it, knowing that Metro Hall was a good start.
I definitely think in-person is the best way to go. It gives us an excuse to get together and see each other face-to-face.
Vandy, can you let us know when you might be able to get this space, ie. when all that admin stuff is sorted out? We can perhaps do a second one (after Brad's tomorrow) with space at Metro Hall.
