The Linux Technical Journal: A Creative Template?

The Technical Journal assignment for the Linux class is not a typical assignment and this document is certainly not a typical "template" to facilitate the assignment. It will not afford many, if any, simple or immediate opportunities to merely plug in information, answers, terms, Web addresses, etc. Success in this assignment will start with a steady routine of disciplined note-taking throughout the term. The student is encouraged to make written record (notes) of anything and everything pertaining to Linux, including both those things directly related to specific course objectives as well as those things that are connected in a more indirect fashion, useful tangents if you will. The primary course competencies, objectives, the various (Journal Alerts)found in different sections of each learning plan, and any other courses of study or inquiry prompted by this course or in any other context relevant to the student's experience with Linux, are all starting points and may provide the top-level structure for the journal. Ideas pertaining to structure and order and/or format and layout of the journal may include, but are certainly not limited to the following:

In General
Structure and Order
Same order as course competencies/textbook chapters
Chronological sequence, evolution of Linux
Alphabetical, an A to Z presentation
Least to most complex
Most to least interesting/appealing
Pseudo-random
Format and Layout
Tabular, primarily text, including descriptive summaries
Tabular, including text and graphics
Tiled graphics
Newsletter
Encyclopedic

Specifics
Keyword Brainstorming
(useful in Web site design/marketing, VERY useful here)

Build a list of keywords for each area

Vertical: keywords/phrases that include the term(s) you begin with, or derivatives
(verticalbecause they are like nodes on the main trunk of a tree)

Horizontal (lateral): "other" keywords related to the term(s) you begin with; they start you off on other searches, take you down tangents, often narrowing or broadening the topic

(horizontalbecause they are like the lateral branches of a tree)

Refer to this Web site for more on Keyword Brainstorming:http://www.keywordbrainstorming.com/vertical-horizontal.htm

Take terms list(s) and Google, Google, and more Google to expand and clarify lists of terms, topics, ideas; keep intermediate lists that you copy your Web addresses into, each with a few words to describe (don't depend on Web address to jog your memory later)

Remember, the goal is to end up with the ultimate reference guide, pertaining to Linux, but in whatever context you choose

Refinement

If the journal is to have a specific theme, assemble things with that theme in mind

By this point, you should have more than you can use, keep what is useful, get rid of what isn't.

Be mindful of redundancies
Many Web sources with identical information
Overlap is OK as long as differences are defined
URL Shortening is OK, use sparingly

Watch out for time-killing useless tangents. If you've ever played with DIGG or StumbleUpon, you know what that's about...J

Some final thoughts... Unlike a typical research paper, where format is specified down to the nitty gritty, the sky is the limit in nearly all aspects of this assignment, with utility being the ultimate goal. In fact, the primary reason for imposing a given college-paper format such as APA, is to give credit where credit is due. This assignment should be even easier than the typical research project exercise, since you're being asked to accumulate and cite only the references; kind of a reverse-synthesis. The quantity and scope of those references should make some sense, however, along whatever lines you decide. This course covers a lot of material in 11 short weeks, so between that and your own natural courses of inquiry, you should be able to produce a fairly comprehensive product. Suitable document formats would be DOC, PDF, and/or HTML and obviously hyperlinks are a must. Make sure to check your links after insertion.