Preparing Participants

Set expectations: In the registration information, set an expectation about when you'll send a Zoom (or other) link, workshop materials, etc. Send Zoom information at least 1 hour before the workshop (ideally more) or expect to get emails from anxious participants asking you for it.

Software installation: If you need participants to install software or packages on their own computer, provide detailed instructions ahead of time for how to do so for both Windows and Mac. Include in the instructions a way for participants to test if their installation is working before the workshop starts. Examples of general instructions (we'd add tutorial-specific instructions to these): R, Python. Have a mechanism for learners to get help with installation outside of the scheduled workshop time. Do not troubleshoot software installation issues live during a workshop.

Accessing Materials:

• Enable participants to access and open materials by clicking on a link whenever possible.

• If you store tutorial materials in GitHub, do not count on participants being familiar with git; have links for downloading materials -- zip files when they need to download multiple files. Give very explicit instructions. Example general instructions: downloading files from GitHub.

• All but the most advanced participants will mess up file paths. Read files from URLs whenever possible.