Let's start with a definition of 'dojo', as stated by Wikipedia:
A dojo (道場,
dōjō?) is a Japanese term which
literally means "place of the Way". Initially, Dojo were adjunct to temples. The
term can refer to a formal training place for any of the Japanese do arts
but typically it is considered the formal gathering place for students of a martial arts style to
conduct training, examinations and other related encounters.
I am certainly not claiming to have originated the concept in relation to a
user group meeting, but I can't quite remember where I first heard it. Most
likely, it had something to do with J. Sawyer's new series of events, which he describes as:
a "series of events [...] to help developers hone and sharpen their .Net Kung
Fu. It will be a combination of lecture and hands-on labs ... lecture to explain
the concepts (of course) and hands-on to let you get your fingers dirty playing
with the technology."
As soon as I heard the idea, I loved it, and I hope that you will, too! With
this post, I hope to set the stage for an on-going series of valuable learning
opportunities to help make you a better developer, or simply help you stay
current with the latest technologies (which I tend to think are often closely
related, but I digress...).
For those of you (like myself) who like to see concepts laid out in bulleted
lists, here are the concepts I envision this new group addressing:
- Hands-on Labs and Open Discussion: The very core concept
of this group - and what makes it distinctly different from the main user group
- is applying and absorbing the concepts in real time. The "lecture
and learn" style of the main user group presentations is great for higher-level
technologies and discussions, however I find it nearly impossible to retain any
real deep technical details without actually doing it myself within a
relatively short period of time after attending a presentation. Realistically,
taking care of other priorities and responsibilities means that it is difficult
to find this time, so it often never happens.
- "For Members, By Members": When booking presentations for
the main user group meetings, one of the main goals is to bring in industry
luminaries and experts to impart their deep knowledge and experiences to the
group. While this is incredibly beneficial, it does nothing to acknowledge the
vast knowledge and experience that the members of our group have to
offer! Every one of us has unique perspectives and experiences to share
with the other members, so while we're waiting for the next industry rockstar to
come and grace us with their presence, let's take advantage of the valuable
resources we have right here "in our own back yard"!
- No Expectations: This may be one of the most important
concepts to keep in mind when coming - and certainly when presenting - to the
group. The only way this group will work is if all of the members are active,
involved, and participating - which means taking turns in the role of
"presenter" or "teacher". Many people feel they do not have the knowledge or
experience to present to a group, or that the topics they know about are not
interesting enough (or some other silly excuse). In order to help alleviate
these concerns, members of the group must come to every meeting with a good
attitude, an open mind, and a healthy appetite for knowledge and growth. Once
such an open environment is established, anyone should feel comfortable getting
up and talking about whatever they'd like, without fear of judgement. As
members of the group, we should all recognize that not everyone has hours to
spend preparing a presentation, so all that should be expected at any given
meeting is for the presenter to come in, plug in their laptop, and start talking
about something - be it a technology, code, or "cool tool" they've used... or
even one they've never used but wanted to learn more about. The goal is
learning.
I'd love to hear your feedback about what I've stated in this post, or your
comments and suggestions on how you'd like to see the group move forward.
Please feel free to post your replies to this thread and let me know how you
feel!