Jams

What is an OLPC Jam?

An OLPC Jam is an creative event designed to encourage (simultaneously) experimentation and innovation in the field participants are Jamming in and to produce open-licence content for the OLPC project in a short amount of time. Experienced, prepared participants work in small teams to collaborate with domain and local experts and produce a concrete product to a pre-specified problem; the creative output of the event is deployed in the field directly after the Jam. It's high-intensity improvisational fun - some participants say they've never created in such a productive development environment before.

Upcoming Jams

• February 9, 2008: 2nd OLPC Game Jam Nepal - External link: OLPC Game Jam Nepal
• February 15-16, 2008 : 12 hr Olin Hackathon (6pm Fri - 6am Sat)
• March 2008 -- Help to plan it! Problems Jam
• April 2008: Health Jam in Seattle
• April-May 2008: Community Jam during the Cambridge Science Festival in Boston

Past OLPC Jams

• August 6, 2007: Curriculum Jam Nepal
• Curriculum Jam Taipei (also known as Free Content Jam Taipei) - right before Wikimania, in parallel with Hacking Days
• Game Jam Boston June 2007
• OLPC Game Jam Nepal December 15, 2007: External link: OLPC Game Jam in Nepal
• September 21-23, 2007: Journalism Jam New York

Stalled Jams

The status of these jams is uncertain.

• October 5-7, 2007: Curriculum Jam Fall 2007
• January 25-27, 2008: Activity Jam Melbourne - right before Linux.conf.au

Jam Resources

• How To Run A Jam - also known as the Jam Cookbook, this is a guide for how to set up and run a Jam in your area.
• Jam in a box - proposal in development which may or may not happen, but comments and ideas are welcome. Would this be helpful to have?

Barcamp Resources

This section is about organizing a barcamp, which may be similar to organizing a Jam.

• Ten Steps to Organizing a Barcamp. by Crystal Williams
• Barcamp checklist, Christiane Link's handy
• From, How To Get Started:

 1. Find a venue. Definitely the hardest part of the process. Venue donations are ideal!
 2. Pick a date. Once you've got a place picked out, figure out when you want your event to happen. We've tended to try to hold Barcamps simultaneous with other events to mix up the attendee pool -- since you'll draw from both local and out-of-towners. What's most important is that it's convenient for you and works for your community.
 3. Communicate. Blog, Email, IRC, wiki and document everything! Seriously, the more transparent and communicative you are about your Barcamp, the more successful you'll be.
  4. Say what you need. Participants can be helpful and giving -- but if they don't KNOW that you need a few extra dollars to cover catering lunch/breakfast, t-shirts, whatever, then they can't step up to the plate and help. Remember: everyone participates. So, give everyone the information they need to be able to participate!