User:Mchua: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 21:52, 29 November 2013

@	mel laptop.org

help@

This user is a Support gang volunteer.
Specializes in: documentation, peripherals, new volunteers, grassroots

IRC	Nick: mchua

This user is a spare parts hound.

This user is a member of the Volunteer Infrastructure Group.

en	This user is a native speaker of English.

zh-1

这个用户是能够有助于满足于基本水平的 中国人。.

ja-1

この利用者は少しだけ日本語を話すことができます。

This user's time zone is UTC-5.

My name is Mel Chua. I'm not active in OLPC these days since returning to graduate school; this page is more an archive than anything else. Feel free to contact me with any comments, questions, or ideas you might have.

English is my native language. I have a basic understanding of ASL und mittelstufe (B1-B2) Deutsch.

Quick reference

You might be looking for...

My talk page - for leaving me a message.
My Planet Laptop blogposts.
My projects - to see what I'm working on, have worked on, or should/would-like-to work on.
My braindumps - Thoughts in progress that are not yet fully formed or ready to go to main wiki. Probably inaccurate, half-baked, or some combination of the two. You have been warned.
/Templates - things I've made that may be useful for wiki-users, including Firefox bookmark shortcuts.

Interests

My volunteering interests include Community testing, Support gang, OLPC Chicago, and the ILXO grassroots office in Illinois. I am an alumni from (and involved in the OLPC groups of) IMSA and Olin as well as University chapters, Boston pilots, and Grassroots in general. I ran the first Jam in Boston 2007 and continue to assist with coordinating and presenting at Jams and other events. On the technical side, I'm a wiki sysop and create documentation and templates on this wiki on a regular basis and generally like making it easy for new contributors to get started. I'm also involved upstream with Sugar Labs, the project that creates the user-facing software that ships on OLPC's XO laptops, and with Fedora, the project that creates the underlying operating system that ships on the same.

Current goals and projects

I tend to set my goals in 6-month cycles. This list is super-flexible; stuff changes all the time, random cool ideas come up, and so this has deliberately been planned with lots of wiggle room. As things change, I (usually remember to) edit this page to reflect that.

My current goals are working with OLPC's software upstreams - namely, Fedora and Sugar Labs - to build capacity there and give OLPC a richer selection of resources (both code and people) to draw from as a downstream that is doing great things.

My last cycle focused on (grassroots) Boston pilots and having them running as a self-sustaining, scalable, distributed, and well documented model that can be adapted to other locations. Much of my initial focus was on the Cambridge Friends School deployment, as it was the first in the area to go live. It's an example of a deployment with no full time deployment employees (or indeed, employees at all) anywhere; this is a model optimized for a $0 manpower budget.

History

I've been an OLPC intern (content and grassroots) twice (summers of 2007 and 2008), an employee once (QA/Support engineer for 3.8 months between 2008 and 2009), and - what I consider to be my most important role - a volunteer since January 2007. There is an archive of weekly updates that sporadically describe in more detail what I was doing at any given point in time.

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   {{user irc |mchua}}
   {{User community repair}}
+  {{User VIG}}
   {{user en}}
   {{user zh-1}}
   {{user ja-1}}
-  {{user time zone|UTC-6|world}}
+  {{user time zone|UTC-5|world}}
 {{userboxbottom}}
+My name is [http://blog.melchua.com/about/ Mel Chua]. I'm not active in OLPC these days since returning to graduate school; this page is more an archive than anything else. Feel free to [http://blog.melchua.com/contact/ contact me] with any comments, questions, or ideas you might have.
+English is my native language. I have a basic understanding of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_sign_language ASL] und mittelstufe (B1-B2) Deutsch.
 == Quick reference ==
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 * [[User_talk:Mchua|My talk page]] - for leaving me a message.
+* [http://blog.melchua.com/category/olpc/ My Planet Laptop blogposts.]
-* [[/Weekly updates|My weekly updates]] - to see what I've been up to and what I'm planning on doing this week.
-* [[/Projects|My projects]] - to see the things I'm working or have worked on.
+* [[/Projects|My projects]] - to see what I'm working on, have worked on, or should/would-like-to work on.
-* [[/Todo|My task list]] - things I've committed to doing someday, but not necessarily in the upcoming week. If you'd like to assign me a task, leave a message on my [[User_talk:Mchua|talk page]] and I'll notify you when I accept (and move it to my tasklist). Feel free to harass me about anything on the Todo list.
 * [[/Braindumps|My braindumps]] - Thoughts in progress that are not yet fully formed or ready to go to main wiki. Probably inaccurate, half-baked, or some combination of the two. You have been warned.
+* [[/Templates]] - things I've made that may be useful for wiki-users, including Firefox bookmark shortcuts.
-* [[/Sandbox]] - For testing wiki syntax, templates, etc.
-== Who are you? ==
-First of all, I'm ''not currently employed by OLPC.'' I'm just a very enthusiastic volunteer.
-My name is Mel Chua, and I am an itinerant hack of all trades and OLPC summer 2007 [[Content]] intern I'm active in [[Support gang]], [[OLPC Chicago]], [[OLPC New York]], and an alumni from (and involved in the OLPC groups of) [[Illinois Math and Science Academy Chapter|IMSA]] and [[Olin university chapter|Olin]] as well as [[University chapters]] and [[Grassroots]] in general. I ran the first [[Jam]] in [[Game Jam Boston|Boston 2007]] and continue to assist with coordinating and presenting at Jams and other events. On the technical side, I'm a wiki sysop and create documentation and templates on this wiki on a regular basis. I also do firmware programming for various [[Peripherals]] projects, most recently the [[TeleHealth Hardware]] module and am getting started with [[Test issues]] and software development, particularly in tutorial creation for new testers/developers. I'm not very linguistically useful yet and don't speak languages than English well enough to translate into them, but can read basic Japanese and Chinese well enough to translate from them into English, and am learning Spanish. More info about past, current, and future work is on my [[/Projects]] page.
-You may also know me from the MIT Media Lab or Design Continuum. I'm an electrical and computer engineer by [http://www.olin.edu training], educator by passion, artist by hobby, journalist by accident, and everything else out of sheer curiosity. Pressed for a short job description, I would say that I engineer educations. More at http://melchua.com.
-== Contact ==
-To find out where I am, check the Doppler badge on my [http://blog.melchua.com blog]. Leaving a message on my [[User_talk:mchua|talk page]] or sending me an email (my first name at laptop dot org) is the best way to reach me 99% of the time. I usually respond within 48 hours. You can also find me on [[IRC]] (mchua) and skype (mel_chua). If something's truly urgent, text or call me at 847.970.8484 - please don't leave a voicemail though, as they're extraordinarily difficult for me to understand (I have a hearing loss).
-=== Upcoming events I'll be at ===
-* [[Olin university chapter/hackathon|Olin hackathon]] in Needham, MA on Feb. 16
-* [http://linuxfestnorthwest.org/ Linuxfest Northwest] - presenting on OLPC with [[User:Sethwoodworth|Seth]], thanks to [[User:Ixo|Iain]]. A mini-jam may be in the works... stay tuned.
-* [[Health Jam]] - Seattle area, tentatively slated for April 18-20.
-* [[Game Jam Chicago]] - Summer 2008, at [[MVCC]]. [[User:Langellier|Larry]] is the point person on this.
-Let me know if you'd like help at your event; I might be able to pitch in or know someone who can.
-== About me ==
+== Interests ==
-[[Image:Mchua_portrait.jpg|150px|left]]
+My volunteering interests include [[Community testing]], [[Support gang]], [[OLPC Chicago]], and the [[ILXO]] grassroots office in Illinois. I am an alumni from (and involved in the OLPC groups of) [[Illinois Math and Science Academy Chapter|IMSA]] and [[Olin university chapter|Olin]] as well as [[University chapters]], [[Boston pilots]], and [[Grassroots]] in general. I ran the first [[Jam]] in [[Game Jam Boston|Boston 2007]] and continue to assist with coordinating and presenting at Jams and other events. On the technical side, I'm a wiki sysop and create documentation and templates on this wiki on a regular basis and generally like making it easy for new contributors to get started. I'm also involved upstream with [http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/User:Mchua Sugar Labs], the project that creates the user-facing software that ships on OLPC's XO laptops, and with [http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/User:Mchua Fedora], the project that creates the underlying operating system that ships on the same.
-'''What... is your name?''' Mallory Solomon Lim Chua. Most people call me Mel.
+== Current goals and projects ==
-'''What... is your quest?''' To make a world where makers make themselves. (I need to come up with a more elegant wording of this.) The job I'd like to retire from is that of an university professor with two PhD's, one in engineering and one in education, teaching and doing research at the (currently shaky and fledgling) union of the two disciplines. My goal is to have as many interesting things happen between now and then as possible. (And, of course, to seek the [http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/mphg/mphg.htm Holy Grail].)
+I tend to set my goals in 6-month cycles. This list is super-flexible; stuff changes all the time, random cool ideas come up, and so this has deliberately been planned with lots of wiggle room. As things change, I (usually remember to) edit this page to reflect that.
-'''What... is your favorite color?''' Yellow.
+My current goals are working with OLPC's software upstreams - namely, Fedora and Sugar Labs - to build capacity there and give OLPC a richer selection of resources (both code and people) to draw from as a downstream that is doing great things.
-'''Random background:''' I am Chinese and my family is from the Philippines. I was the first person in my extended family to grow up and be schooled outside the developing world, and the first to develop hardware, software, and participate in internet communities. I grew up as a "disabled" kid with a hearing loss severe enough to warrant a host of technological aids, special classes, and a full-time sign language interpreter. I also grew up as a voracious library addict (at a young age, books were easier for me to understand than people talking) and a tomboy who hung out with the guys to talk about math and science (and occasionally play football). This has shaped many of my attitudes towards education, access, technology, globalization, and development. I am a hacker of hardware, software, brains, and the boundaries between them. Please feel free to grab me if you think I'd be useful for a task.
+My last cycle focused on (grassroots) [[Boston pilots]] and having them running as a self-sustaining, scalable, distributed, and well documented model that can be adapted to other locations. Much of my initial focus was on the [[Cambridge Friends School]] deployment, as it was the first in the area to go live. It's an example of a deployment with no full time deployment employees (or indeed, employees at all) anywhere; this is a model optimized for a $0 manpower budget.
-'''As an electrical and computer engineer,''' I work with microcontrollers and design simple peripherals and control mechanisms. That sounds a lot fancier than it probably should; basically, I make Things With Electrons Talk To Each Other. I'm still ''very'' new to the hardware world, and feel less comfortable in it than any other, but I've "learned enough to teach myself more," as a prof once told me at the end of my undergrad career. (My choice to major in electrical engineering is a canonical masochism story involving a dartboard and the decision to study the field I had the least background in and the most terror of.)
+== History ==
-'''As a coder and Linux user''' (thanks to some high-school friends and a stack of Debian install floppies) I adore the command line and have picked up programming along the way, primarily in C, C++, and Python. I can usually pick up other languages fast (and forget them even faster) with the exception of assembly, which tends to drive me slowly insane if I work with it for extended periods of time. Open source software has also led me into the related topics of open licenses, open content, and (the young but burgeoning field of) open education.
+I've been an OLPC intern (content and grassroots) twice (summers of 2007 and 2008), an employee once ([[Testing|QA]]/[[Support]] engineer for 3.8 months between 2008 and 2009), and - what I consider to be my most important role - a volunteer since January 2007. There is an archive of [[/Weekly updates|weekly updates]] that sporadically describe in more detail what I was doing at any given point in time.
-'''As a long-time TA''' (since 2001), I'm fascinated by how people learn and believe in the power of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Know_thyself nosce te ipsum]. (Personally, I am a highly visual, big-picture person who learns best by teaching and writing documentation, which is usually highly convenient for classmates and fellow hackers with new projects.) I have fairly radical ideas about classroom structure (my preference: none), information distribution (my preference: everyone has read-write access to everything) and student evaluation (my preference: feedback yes, grades no), but these ideas are still quite open and under formation, and I love talking to people about these and related topics. Having completed my undergrad degree in engineering, I'm planning on going to graduate school in education in the near future.
+[[category:OLPC interns]]
-I'm also an enthusiastic (if amateur) wordsmith. I keep a blog of entropic thought at [http://blog.melchua.com http://blog.melchua.com], on which I occasionally post about OLPC-related things, but no promises are made as to coherency or relevance.