Workshops
In addition to the specific task-based support we offer, we can also create and run interactive workshops on data or coding topics. The specific goals of these workshops can be modified to best suit your team and meet all attendees where they are to ensure no one is left behind. While we are always happy to discuss developing new workshops we do have some materials that have already been designed (and tested by other working groups!) and are happy to offer any of these workshops to your group if it is of interest.
Collaborative Coding with GitHub
Workshop Website
In synthesis science, collaboration on code products is often integral to the productivity of the group. However, learning to use the software and graphical user interfaces that support this kind of teamwork can be a significant hurdle for teams that are already experts in their subject areas. This workshop is aimed at helping participants gain an understanding of the fundamental purpose and functioning of “version control” systems–specifically GitHub–to help teams more effectively code collaboratively.
The GitHub repository for the workshop can be found here.
Coding in the tidyverse
Workshop Website
For teams that code using the R programming language, the most familiar tools are often part of “base R” meaning that those functions and packages come pre-loaded when R is installed. Relatively recently the tidyverse has emerged as a comprehensive suite of packages that can complement base R or serve as an alternative for some tasks. This includes packages like dplyr and tidyr as well as the perhaps infamous pipe operator (%>%) among many other tools. This workshop is aimed at helping participants use the tidyverse equivalents of fundamental data wrangling tasks that learners may be used to performing with base R.
The GitHub repository for the workshop can be found here.
R Shiny Apps for Sharing Science
Workshop Website
One of our team members–Nick Lyon–created a workshop on learning to create R Shiny apps. R Shiny includes a suite of R packages (primarily shiny) that allow R users to create interactive apps that can be subsequently deployed to a URL. These apps are most commonly used for data visualization purposes but can also be a neat way of accomplishing other outward-facing tasks without needing to learn a new programming language. This workshop was offered at the 2022 LTER All Scientists’ Meeting (ASM) and is aimed at an audience with moderate R capability but limited prior exposure to Shiny.
The GitHub repository for the workshop can be found here.
This workshop also includes a second GitHub repository that contains several example Shiny apps. See here.
Other Training Resources
NCEAS Learning Hub
Training Catalog
In addition to the workshops described above, NCEAS offers a variety of other workshops and trainings that may be of interest to you or your group via the Learning Hub. While these trainings can be very helpful, it is important to note that our team may or may not be involved with teaching them. Also, workshops we create will be hosted on this website rather than on the Learning Hub.
The Carpentries
The Carpentries is another great place to find workshops and tutorials on various data and programming topics. All of their materials are publicly available so even if a workshop isn’t being offered, you can visit that site and review the content at your own pace! This can be a nice way of refreshing yourself on the fundamentals of something you have prior experience with or teaching yourself something totally new! For example, the Carpentries include helpful workshops on using R for ecologists, using the “shell” or command line, or handling geospatial data in R.
For the set of lessons that are most likely to be helpful to your groups, explore the Data Carpentry and Software Carpentry lesson lists.