Learn How To Create Awesome Tutorials on Utopian.io

Learn How To Create Awesome Tutorials for Open Source projects via Utopian.io

Utopian is creating an
Open Source economy

in which contributors to Open Source projects
are rewarded for their valuable work.

This work can come in
a variety of forms.

So to keep things organized Utopian
has identified several categories

into which contributors
can submit their work.

One of these categories
is Tutorials.

Education is at the heart of innovation and to
foster learning in the Open Source community

Utopian is supporting the development
of high quality learning resources.

The Tutorial category is
part of this initiative.

It is crucial that contributions to the
Tutorial category be educationally sound.

Contributions must contain highly engaging,
educational and original text and visuals.

Let’s have a closer look at what makes
an excellent tutorial contribution.

Utopian wishes to maintain consistency of format
and quality in all tutorial contributions.

To achieve this Utopian has provided you with some
tools to help in the creation of consistent content.

First, Utopian has developed a thorough
set of general rules and guidelines

which apply to all
contribution categories.

These must be followed
by all contributors.

Utopian has also created a set of guidelines
specific to the tutorials category

to help contributors create
educationally sound content

and to aid Utopian Moderators in
the evaluation of this content.

Let’s have a closer look at a few of the
guidelines for the Tutorials category.

Your tutorials must address
concepts which would be a challenge

for average learners to
figure out on their own.

Tutorials addressing circuit design and the
construction of specific electronic modules

are a appropriate for Utopian.

Your lessons should provide
skills and knowledge

which can be applied to a wide
variety of creative applications.

Tutorials teaching concepts which
are found in other applications

or tutorials which focus on how to create
content will not be supported by Utopian.

Along with adhering to the
general and category guidelines,

Utopian has provided a tutorial template to
guide you in formatting your submission.

Let’s have a closer
look at the template.

As you have seen in the
guidelines, it is critical

that you associate your Tutorial contribution
with appropriate Github repository.

In this section of your
contribution you will itemize

each of the concepts you will
be addressing in your tutorial.

These concepts must
be substantial

and not things an average user
can figure out themselves.

While it is important to cover
multiple concepts in your tutorial,

covering too many substantial concepts in one
tutorial can be overwhelming for learners.

If you have numerous concepts
which need to be addressed

you may consider creating multiple tutorial
submissions to cover the learning materials.

In this section of your submission you must
list all the software and hardware requirements

for learners to
complete your tutorial.

Indicate the level of skill and
knowledge a learner must possess

in order to complete
your tutorial.

Here you will provide highly detailed
text and images for your tutorial.

You need to address each of
the substantial concepts

and provide supporting
information to aid the learners.

Utopian encourages the development
of sequential tutorials

to thoroughly cover the concepts
of Open Source project.

Any code samples and supplementary content can
be placed in your personal Github repository.

There are two subcategories
of the tutorial category:

Code writing contributions and
end-user focused contributions.

Code writing contributions must provide clear
sequential instruction on programming concepts.

As you introduce
concepts and techniques

you must clearly explain how
and why you are using them.

Code writing can be complex

so it is important to be thorough
and sequential in your instruction.

End-user focused tutorials are focused on
complex functions of Open Source applications.

As with code writing contributions, these
submissions must be sequential and thorough.

When selecting a topic for
your tutorial contribution

you must insure that your content provides
educational value to the community.

Research existing learning
resources related to your topic

and avoid submitting content which is
already addressed sufficiently elsewhere.

Choose topics which you are both
knowledgeable in and passionate about.

Consider your audience and create content
which is suited to their learning needs.

Once you have researched and
chosen a topic for your tutorial

it is time to create your contribution
with your favourite Steem interface.

First choose an appropriate
title for your contribution.

Using the tutorials template, create
the body of your contribution.

Be sure to include all the required
information outlined in the template.

Tagging your contribution
is very important.

Your first tag must be utopian-io and
your second tag must be tutorials.

Before you publish
your contribution

proof read everything to insure
that there are no mistakes.

Once you’re happy with your
contribution it’s time to post.

Education is at the heart of
the Open Source community.

Your contributions to the Tutorial
category will empower learners

to use and develop new
Open Source applications

and in turn strengthen
the community around us.