[scribus] Scribus and DTP classes

[Andrew]

On 05/12/2010, at 1:18 PM, Gerard Cunningham wrote:

> On Sat, 2010-12-04 at 16:06 -0800, John Jason Jordan wrote:
>> I recently gave a presentation on Scribus to a local Linux User  
>> Group.
>> Like many LUGs the group is sort of amorphous, but there are ~600 on
>> our e-list, of which probably 75% live locally. The presentation  
>> was at
>> our monthly general meeting, which are usually attended by 15-30
>> people. There were nearly 30 in attendance for my presentation, which
>> surprised me.
>>
>> More surprising was how little any of them knew about DTP basics. Few
>> had heard of CMYK or knew how a printing press operates. Attempting  
>> to
>> explain how to avoid banding in a photograph by either increasing the
>> resolution of the output device or lowering the linescreen was met  
>> with
>> amazement. Mentioning typographic issues like "professionals know  
>> that
>> 'am' and 'pm' are to be set in small caps" was something that had  
>> never
>> occurred to them. I had brought my copy of Bringhurst to pass around
>> and they were stunned that typography was truly an art.
>>
>> I had only an hour and a half, but I could have gone on for three  
>> times
>> that long, just with the material that I had prepared for the
>> presentation. Several commented that they wished I could give
>> additional presentations. Attending my presentation opened their eyes
>> to how little they knew of how to get their work from the computer to
>> the press.
>>
>> This has led me to ruminate on the possibility of classes to teach
>> these things to people. However, the problem of formal classes is  
>> that
>> there are few desktop publishers even in the large cities. Getting
>> enough together for a class could be difficult.
>>
>> It occurred to me that a better venue might be the web. In fact, if a
>> class could be developed, it could be something that people sign up  
>> for
>> whenever they want - like a correspondence course. Lessons could be  
>> in
>> the form of projects, each designed to teach a particular concept or,
>> in the case of teaching about Scribus, designed to teach how to use a
>> particular feature.
>>
>> Instructors would be Scribus volunteers, who would have the task of
>> correcting and commenting on the homework, as well as answering
>> questions. Instructors and others could also develop the lessons.
>>
>> I realize the above is very nebulous and needs discussion and polish.
>> But I think the idea has merit. Or am I dreaming? Or has someone
>> already done this?
>>
>
> It's not just DTP/printing. There are an awful lot of people out there
> writing, who have no idea how to write. I'm a freelance journalist,  
> and
> as more traditional work dries up, I've been considering giving
> tutorials/seminars on things that seem basic to me, but exotic to
> others. Basic public relations skills like how to write a press  
> release,
> aimed at community group PROs; DTP for groups producing small  
> magazines
> & leaflets, even the basics of putting a news story together.
>
> There's definitely a market for it, and more than enough people in  
> need
> of instruction to go round.
>
In need of, yes, but willing to pay for?

Andrew