Open Documentation Academy: Your first contribution to open source

Thursday, August 14 • 09:30am - 11:30am UbuCon Room UbuCon

Abstract

Open source has become commonplace, and participating as a contributor is both rewarding and useful. Without prior experience, documentation is a good way to get started in open source. This workshop invites attendees to start participating through the Open Documentation Academy, which makes first steps in open source easy.

Description

Start participating in open source projects right now! Using the framework of the Open Documentation Academy, we will find a suitable first issue, walk through basic documentation principles, and submit a contribution to a real open source project.

In an inclusive, non-judgemental environment, attendees will be working on real-world documentation, fixing existing issues, and earning a contributor's badge in the Academy. With the help of a carefully curated list of issues identified for the Academy by experienced technical writers, everyone can find a way to start their journey in open source.

Charles Odada

I am a technical author at Canonical. My background is in mechanical engineering, but passion for software and documentation helped me become a contributor to open-source software today.

Geoffrey Nyaga

Geoffrey is a Technical Author at Canonical, specializing in Multipass documentation in the Ubuntu Engineering team. With a background in aerospace engineering, he brings a unique perspective to tech writing. Geoffrey also runs the "Kenyan Engineer" YouTube channel, where he shares insights on Django and software development, bridging the gap between engineering and coding practices

Sharon Koech

Sharon is a Technical Author in the OpenStack team at Canonical, pouring some tender loving care to the Ceph documentation. She is also the documentation maintainer for Tremor, and a grateful open-source beneficiary and proponent.