More recently he shared the following on the public discussion list for Joomla! GSoC 2010
A new group was started where you can participate:A number of us have been busy brainstorming and discussing how to
transfer the fantastic enthusiasm among students and mentors into
productive work for the project. Here is what we have come up with as
a starting proposal.
Joomla! Student Outreach Program
This program will include two separate ways that students can
contribute to Joomla! in structured programs with experienced mentors.
The first way will be working on larger projects as part of a team.
The team will include one or more students and one or more mentors.
Here is a starting list for possible projects:
1. Improved, automated API documentation presentation. Figure out a
way to read the PHP code documentation into a database and use it to
allow access to accurate, up-to-date documentation of the Joomla! API
in a way that is usable to developers.
2. Internationalisation of the Joomla! help screens for 1.6. Improve
the process for creating and deploying the help screens in the many
languages for which Joomla! is translated.
3. System Testing. Create automated system tests to allow testing of
the CMS from a user perspective.
4. Version 1.5 to 1.6 migration script. We need to allow 1.5 users to
easily migrate their sites to version 1.6. Work on this has been
started, but it is a big job. Also, this could include hooks to make
it easier for third-party developers to build migration tools for
their extensions.
5. Zen Joomla! template switcher. This would be capable of efficiently
allowing selection from a few hundred templates. Also maybe a
component for submission and processing?
6. Usability testing.
This is just a starter list, but the idea is that these would be
larger projects that would be worked on by teams of students and
mentors.
The other part of this is that we could also have a list of small
tasks that students could work on individually (like the GHOP model,
for those of you familiar with this). One or more mentors could help
students with these tasks. Example of tasks might be to create a unit
or system test, fix a bug, or write some documentation.
In both cases, students would be working on a volunteer basis.
However, we could award t-shirts and certificates to students who
successfully contribute to either program.
As with GSoC, the primary benefits to students are (a) real-world
experience; (b) working with world-class mentors; and (c) the
satisfaction of contributing to a great project and being part of a
great community.
What do people think? Mark
P.S. We will be shutting down this Google group and creating a new one
called Joomla! Students (or something like that). We'll post back when
this is done.
Joomla! Student Outreach Program
"This is the official discussion group for the Joomla! Student Outreach Program (JSOP). This program provides an organized structure for students to participate in and contribute to the Joomla! project."
Also look at the documents wiki:
Joomla! Student Outreach Program Project Ideas
