[brianto2010]

I am not sure if this will work or not, but here is an idea:

Instead of thinking of teaching as a 'presentation' of sorts, try changing teaching into a conversation. Don't talk at the developers, put them (and yourself) into a low-stress casual environment.

Try a 'translation' approach: Ask the developers to talk about what they know about PHP. For instance, they might talk about accessing a MySQL database via PHP. First, have them write a script in PHP that modifies a database. Then, slowly write a script in Ruby that does the same thing. Explain what you are writing as you go. Show and explain all intermediary steps. Invite them to ask questions. That is essential. The main point of this method is to draw parallels between PHP and Ruby. Question them periodically on 'hard' topics to make sure they understand.

Be sure they have a Ruby interpreter in front of them so they can interactively learn themselves. Encourage them to explore while you are conversing with them. Encourage them to take notes. However, don't go too overboard with introducing new material.

Afterward, give them rote drills on the things you guys talked about. Give a ton of those drills. Make them up on the spot! Don't expect them to do all of them, though.

Repeat that process.

As I said before, I have no clue if this would work or not; it's only an idea.

[curej]

All very good suggestions. Thank you.

I've been trying to think of ways to illustrate the code in a graphical way but it's not really working for me. A conversational approach makes more sense. Thanks for all the tips.