---
tags: workshop, Q&A, helper
title: Carpentry@UiO R and Tidyverse (Novices), Helper onboarding session
---
# Thank you for signing-up as a helper :heart:
We do appreciate your contribution as a helper so that we can afford so many learners who are eager to learn about R+Tidyverse!
## Agenda
* Round table
* Carpentry@UiO's Code of Conduct
* Workshop plan
* Helper's roles in a breakout room
* Use of different communication channel
* Sharing the plan of exercises and their solutions
* Consent to publish your name as a helper in [the workshop website](https://uio-carpentry.github.io/2021-05-25-uio-R-online/)
* Q&A
## Carpentry@UiO's Code of Conduct
In [Carpentry@UiO](https://uio-carpentry.github.io/more/code_of_conduct/), we basically follow the principles of [The Carpentries' Code of Conduct (CoC)](https://docs.carpentries.org/topic_folders/policies/code-of-conduct.html)
> We are dedicated to providing a welcoming and supportive environment for all people, regardless of background or identity. By participating in this community, participants accept to abide by The Carpentries’ Code of Conduct and accept the procedures by which any Code of Conduct incidents are resolved. Any form of behaviour to exclude, intimidate, or cause discomfort is a violation of the Code of Conduct. In order to foster a positive and professional learning environment we encourage the following kinds of behaviours in all platforms and events:
>* Use welcoming and inclusive language
>* Be respectful of different viewpoints and experiences
>* Gracefully accept constructive criticism
>* Focus on what is best for the community
>* Show courtesy and respect towards other community members
Carpentry@UiO as a community runs also workshops not based on lesson materials shared by the Carpentries. In such cases, we use UiO’s [speak-up (English)](https://www.uio.no/english/about/hse/speak-up/index.html) or [si-fra (Norwegian)](https://www.uio.no/om/hms/si-fra/) for reporting any violation of CoC.
## Workshop plan
- Schedule is available at [the workshop website](https://uio-carpentry.github.io/2021-05-25-uio-R-online/) under "Schedule"
- In each session, we will have;
- plenary sessions where instructors will teach us including;
- demos (i.e. learners and helpers are supposed to watch but not necessarily do the same thing), and
- type-along (i.e. learners and helpers are encouraged to do the same thing as the instructors),
- breakout room sessions where a group of learners and a helper will work on exercises.
- We will try keeping the same breakout room composition for all the 3 days.
- Team members will be always in the same breakout room.
- Otherwise, we will assign 5 individual learners per helper.
- One day before the workshop, you will receive an email with information about which breakout room you will be using.
- To make it easy for the Zoom host and local coordinators to know that every room has the helper, please rewrite your name shown in Zoom's "participant list" to `(n,H)first_name last name` where `n` is your room number.
## Helper's roles in a breakout room
As a helper in a breakout room, your main task is **to create a positive and inclusive learning environment** where people talk and interact so that all can help each other to solve any problems encountered.
### Do-s
- Turn on camera and encourage learners to do so, too (but not force them).
- (in the 1st breakout-room session for non-team group) Quick intro-round by saying name and affiliation and/or your field of research.
- Ask and confirm their progress status.
- Consider sharing screen (yours or ask others to share), and ask "what to do next?"
- Consider using Zoom chat to everyone (that goes everyone in the breakout room only) if necessary.
- Try to keep the HackMD updated and keep the time.
- But it is of course happening that we run out of time.
- We have access to lesson materials and solutions. Those who want to continue can do so by themselves.
- We will have Q&A session 12:00-12:30 where people can ask extra questions, too.
- Call for extra help via HackMD (or Slack channel) if there is any problem (including a case against Code of Conduct)
### Don't-s
- Take over keyboard, you can share commands in chat
- Criticize certain programs, operating systems, or GUI applications, or learners who use them. (Excel, Windows, etc.)
- Talk contemptuously or with scorn about any tool.
- Dive into complex or detailed technical discussions
- Pretend to know more than you do. Trust.
- Use “just”, “easy”, "simply", "basic", "trivial" or other demotivating words.
- “I can’t believe you don’t know X”.
- Talk too much.
### References:
- [Exercise leaders in breakout rooms](https://coderefinery.github.io/manuals/breakout-rooms-helping/#exercise-leaders-in-breakout-rooms)
- [Tips for exercise leaders](https://coderefinery.github.io/manuals/helping-and-teaching/)
## Use of different communication channels
We will use different communication channel for different purpose:
### Zoom chat
- Reporting technical problems, e.g. small font size, cannot hear voice of instructors, and
- (only if necessary) Personal message to the zoom host or any other person.
### HackMD (online collaborative note)
- Public communication with all
- Q&A of workshop contents
- Index of "where we are?" (e.g. which part we are working on now)
- Showing the time of exercise (until hh:mm) and which challenges we will be working on
- Status update of the exercise progress in each breakout room
- **As a helper / an instructor (while not teaching), please**
- Answer questions written in HackMD (if possible),
- Update the status of the exercise progress in your breakout room, and
- Write if you need extra help.
- The HackMD to be used during the workshop is: https://hackmd.io/@uio-carpentry/2021-05-25-uio-R-online/edit and this is linked from the [the workshop website](https://uio-carpentry.github.io/2021-05-25-uio-R-online/), under "Collaborative Notes" section.
- After the workshop on each day, the local coordinator clean up the Q&A (i.e. removing personal info, indenting for better readability etc.) and archives to [the workshop website](https://uio-carpentry.github.io/2021-05-25-uio-R-online/), under "Collaborative Notes" section
### Slack channel
- As a backend communication among the helpers, the instructors and the local coordinators.
- For communication that should not be shared with learners (e.g. call for extra help in case of potential violation of CoC)
- Invitation will be sent by a separate email.
## Sharing the plan of exercises and their solutions
- All the challenges are found in each lesson material linked from [Tidyquintro course website](https://athanasiamo.github.io/swc.tidyverse/).
- Great if you could browse the lesson materials including challenges and solutions beforehand.
- The instructors will work on reducing the number of challenges in each session, and inform us in the Slack channel.
## Consent to publish your name as a helper in [the workshop website](https://uio-carpentry.github.io/2021-05-25-uio-R-online/)
- As a way to show credit for your contribution.
- This is NOT registered to the Carpentries.
## Q&A
This is room 5. Can we control how wide the jitter can be, can we set a value?