Dear Participant!

The second edition of the *GTN Smörgåsbord* Global Galaxy Course is about to start! (whenever it is Monday morning for you). And we are looking forward to meeting you all over the course of this week!

*Quickstart* - Join Slack (invite link https://join.slack.com/t/gtnsmrgsbord/shared_invite/zt-x7vinbs1-BA~Kht6N86JBhDq0uTIVdQ ) - Course Webpage https://gallantries.github.io/video-library/events/smorgasbord2/tapas.html (everything you need is here!) - A *Welcome Video* has been added to the program. This will explain all the course logistics and help get you started!

*Getting Started* 1. Answer today's icebreaker question on Slack in the #social https://gtnsmrgsbord.slack.com/archives/C01EDBVMHBQ channel 2. Register for a Galaxy account (see "Get set up for the course" section in program) 3. Find a tutorial on the course webpage, start the video, and start learning! Ask your questions in Slack! 4. Your program and schedule this week are completely up to you! There are no live sessions.

*Certificates* Whenever you finish a tutorial, submit your work (Galaxy History) to our certificate bot https://gallantries.github.io/video-library/certbot in Slack to track your progress! At the end of the week we will create a personalized certificate based on your submissions! Full instructions here. https://gallantries.github.io/video-library/certbot

If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask us on Slack!!

Looking forward to meeting you all soon!

*Saskia & Helena, on behalf of the GTN Tapas organizing committee*

P.S. Does your country block Slack? Join the GTN Gitter channel https://gitter.im/Galaxy-Training-Network/Lobby instead and let us know that you are joining there!

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Practical Information

When: March 14-18, 2021 (all time zones)

Where: Online

Format: self-study using GTN training materials and video recordings.

Support: on Slack (invite link https://join.slack.com/t/gtnsmrgsbord/shared_invite/zt-x7vinbs1-BA~Kht6N86JBhDq0uTIVdQ )

Website: link https://gallantries.github.io/video-library/events/smorgasbord2/tapas.html

Format of the Course

This is an *asynchronous* course. This means that all trainings have been pre-recorded, and you can work through these videos at your own pace and according to your own schedule during the week. This means you can start and stop at whatever times you want. You can skip tutorials that you already know, or that may not be so interesting for you. You can join all 5 days, or only 1. That is all up to you.

Note: there are no live sessions, everything is at-your-own-pace-and-schedule!

Common Questions *Q: Will the materials stay available after the course?*

A: Yes! Everything you need will stay online after the workshop so you can continue working on them for as long as you want.

*Q: What is Slack?*

A: Slack (https://slack.com/) is a chat platform. So if you get stuck, you can ask your question on Slack, and one of our instructors will try to answer it.

*Q: Do I need to install anything before the workshops?*

A: No, all you will need is a web browser. We recommend a modern browser such as Chrome, Firefox or Safari. (preferably not Internet Explorer)

*Q: Can I get a certificate?*

A: Yes, certificates of attendance will be available on request. It is explained on the schedule page.

*Q: Do I need to complete all the tutorials?*

*A: *No! This would be impossible in one week! You can follow as many or as few tutorials as you like; you will get a personalized certificate of attendance (upon request).

*Q: Will the videos be captioned?*

A: Yes

*Q: Can I do a tutorial on a different day than the schedule?* A: Yes, that is not a problem. You can do any tutorial on any day that you want!

*Q: Can I do a tutorial that's not in the program?* A: Yes! you can do any tutorial from the GTN website https://training.galaxyproject.org. Please make sure to check the *"Available on these Galaxies"* section in the overview box of the tutorial to see which Galaxy servers support the tutorial.

--- Saskia Hiltemann (she/her) Researcher @ Erasmus Medical Center

While I may be sending this email outside my normal office hours, I have no expectation to receive a reply outside of yours.