|
This document is intended to act as a guide for Mentors serving in the
BGT Apprentice Program at www.backpackgeartest.org.
Mentors are persons who have volunteered to help new testers into the
system, or to help current testers improve their reports. Only one
Apprentice will be assigned to a Mentor at a time.
Mentors should join the BGTMentors
group on Yahoo Groups, and follow that list for instructions, Apprentice
Calls, and to discuss Mentoring issues. Apprentices will NOT join
this list.
When a you are assigned an Apprentice, you should contact the
Apprentice and engage them OFF LIST. Mentors are only a 'guiding
hand' and should not do any actual work for the Apprentices.
Apprentices should be encouraged to read the relevant survival guide
sections, and the 'How to Become a Tester' documents. This should be
enough to get them started.
Some folks will need more help than others, however, and you should be
prepared to prompt them at every step. There are several steps to
becoming a tester, and you should be familiar with all of them. In
order, they are:
1. Joining the BackpackGearTest group on Yahoo. (They will
already be a member...)
2. Writing a brief biography.
3. Writing the first Owner Review.
A. Selecting an item.
B. Writing the review.
C. Submitting the review to the list.
D. Considering edits.
E. Uploading the review.
4. Writing the second Owner Review.
(Same as above.)
5. Applying to test gear.
You should stay with an apprentice through this entire process until
they create and apply for their first test. At that point, you can
have a new apprentice if you want one. You should monitor your old
apprentices, however, and help them if they need help. By that
point, they shouldn't need much.
Please report your progress, and ask any questions, through the
BGTMentors group. Similarly, if you have trouble with an Apprentice,
for one reason or another, report it to the BGTMentors group. Not
everyone gets along with everyone else, and sometimes personalities will
clash. If an Apprentice is lazy or unresponsive, it is important to
know that too.
Resources for Mentors are:
THE BACKPACKGEARTEST SURVIVAL GUIDE
http://www.backpackgeartest.org/requirements.php
HOW TO BECOME A GEAR TESTER IN THREE EASY STEPS
http://www.backpackgeartest.org/lesson.php?lesson=BecomeTester&page=1
Editing Resources:
LINE SPACING ISSUES
http://www.theplacewithnoname.com/hiking/BGT/Help/spacing.htm
This has been a service of the unofficial BGT Help Desk.
Shane |