Grassroots bootcamp

NOTE: The contents of this page are not set in stone, and are subject to change! This page is a draft in active flux ... Please leave suggestions on the talk page.

Introduction

We're having a grassroots bootcamp and conference from June 9-13, 2008 in Boston, MA. The default location is 1cc, OLPC's organizational headquarters; if the number of attendees outgrows that, we'll find an alternate location.

The objective of the bootcamp is to train grassroots group consultants - people who are starting or running their own grassroots groups who can also serve as resources to others who want to start grassroots groups.

There will be sessions for hacking (and learning how to hack) on different areas of the XO's stack and supporting software/infrastructure, discussions of our satellite communities around volunteering, learning, and sugar -- globally and in countries, and much more. Stay tuned.

Who should attend

People who have started or are starting a local independent OLPC grassroots group and wish to serve as a resource for others starting theirs. For this first bootcamp, we strongly prefer people who have already volunteered for OLPC and gotten to know others in the community.

Prerequisites

As part of your application, you'll need to complete the following tasks and provide us with links to your creations in your application. Work you have already done can count towards this. If you can think of a different way to demonstrate similar skills, you can ask for an alternative to be approved.

• Create and release an .xo Activity with a wikipage - with screenshots - documenting its installation and usage (programming, Activity-making, wiki usage)
• Translate at least 40 terms in pootle. If you don't know a foreign language, find a friend who does and sit down with them; they provide the translations, you put them in. (pootle)
• Find at least 2 bugs in any software or hardware that ships by default, create Trac tickets for them, and cc yourself on the tickets. (bugtracking, testing)
• Resolve 10 RT tickets (deletions of spam don't count). List the ticket numbers resolved and your username. If you don't have RT access, apply to the Support gang program or provide us with transcripts of 10 email or IRC exchanges demonstrating you helping other people fix their XO-related problems. (RT, support)
• Using as few of your own words as possible (in other words, use phrases from other sources and cite them), write a 500-word minimum essay on how OLPC (you may define this term any way you want) does and does not exemplify the Constructionist theory of learning. (educational theory)

What you'll need to find/bring

• A laptop with wireless internet capabilities, and Sugar or an emulator installed on it
• Your own transportation to/from Boston
• Housing in Boston between June 9-13 (if you're interested in hosting or couchsurfing, or sharing a hotel/hostel, start a conversation on the talk page)
• $30 for the round-trip bus fare to New York
• Approximately $60 for housing and transportation in New York
• Spending money for food and sundry (we may occasionally have pizza and sandwiches over, but you'll have to get at least some food on your own)

If you need help getting any of these, (please post what you need on the talk page and we'll see if we can find people to help you.)

How to register

under construction - for starters, please list your name and contact info below, and how tentative your attendance is likely to be if you're accepted. We're looking for a group of 20-40 people. Note that inclusion on the list below does not imply acceptance to the bootcamp.

If you can think of people we should invite, list them on the talk page.

• Mel Chua (definitely attending, organizing)
• SJ Klein (definitely attending, organizing/advising)
• Nikki Lee (definitely attending if accepted)
• Andrea Lai (definitely attending if accepted)
• Chris Carrick (definitely attending if accepted)
• Christoph Derndorfer (definitely attending on June 9 and 10 if accepted, will also be in Boston the weekend before the bootcamp)
• FFM (possibly, doubtful)
• Seth (might be a day late (arrive on the 10th))