ILXO/Jam planning
Teacher Jam
1 day, July 11-13 (pick one!)
Host: hopefully, Google Chicago
(I'm trying to fill it out in the pattern of the "How to Run a Jam" guide. Info is still not definitive, as we need to contact the relevant people!)
Focus
Discussing what kind of content they want? --- how to still meet state curriculum standards while still teaching in new, innovative manner?
What kind of platform are we using? Scratch, Etoys, Pygame?
Less a “jam”, per se, but as a comprehensive discussion?
IL State Standards
http://www.isbe.state.il.us/ils/html/descriptors.htm
Pre-Jam: Figure out how to display these nicely/efficiently/effectively. May have to consider specializing? Or just having teachers clump up by academic interest and look up the relevant ones.
Mel’s idea – fill a grid with ways XO (existing or not) could be used to meet these goals. Identify gaps and figure out how to fill them.
Note: MSTE has already been doing stuff similar to this: http://www.squeakcmi.org/resources.php?subpage=k5
How to apply to pilots?
Space
Google Chicago
20 W. Kinzie St, 9th floor
Must be a weekday.
Contact person:
Kate Pellettiere
katherinep@google.com
Scheduling Time
Agenda
- Discuss curriculum standards
- Discuss XO applicability
- (tentative) Discuss Etoys vs Scratch vs Pygame
- Address community needs
- (tentative) Discuss pilot potential or low-cost laptop act
- Outline specific desired outputs
- What needs are unmet by the XO?
- What is a tangible product we can create to fix this?
Is this the end result we want to see for the evening?
Do we want some sort of speaker for the evening?
Getting People
OLPC-Chicago
Educators
Try contacting MSTE department at U of I - http://www.mste.uiuc.edu/
How do we reach teacher-y folk in IL who may not already know about OLPC?
- I can ask my own former teachers
- is there mailing list somewhere?
- maybe try http://www.classroom20.com/group/xo
- or some of these folks http://www.classroom20.com/profiles/members/?q=illinois
Resources
Food
Presumably evening. Dinner? Snack-y things? Do we provide food? Will Google graciously provide food?
(Nommy places to eat nearby)
Equipment
Whiteboards, like woah.
Swag
Do we have anything to offer? Should we offer anything? --> (erm, on no funds, probably not)
Game Jam
- 3 days, July 19-21
- Host: IMSA? MVCC?
Day 1
- Welcome, Opening Statements
- Review of Teacher Jam
- break into teams and begin planning ideas
- keep ideas and plans publicly posted and updated (whiteboard? online? both?)
- debrief on progress at end of day
Meals
- (lunch)
- dinner
- snacks
Speakers
- opening statements
- Teacher Jam review - ILXO
Day 2
- continue working
- drop-in sessions/talks as coding breaks
- usability
- interface design
- educational principles
- debrief on progress at end of day
Meals
- lunch
- dinner
- snacks
Speakers
- whoever we can get to run sessions!
Day 3
- finish up games
- test games at end of day
- bring in teachers
- get kids to come
Meals
- lunch
- snacks
Interested parties
Jake Elliott
- wants to help out but will not be in town July 19-20
Hans Sittler
- will bring kids
- wants to lead a discussion
- experience with Python and teaching
Robert Myers
- working on Asteroids game engine
- working on "Bubbles" game engine (copyright limitations on this)
- he and his son are willing to help out
We need to...
- find a host for the Game Jam
- contact Google Chicago about hosting the Teacher Jam
- get participants for both jams
- find speakers for the Game Jam
- figure out the logistics of food (and money for food...)
- figure out what type of games we're after
- Mel and I seem to have settled on the following: a minigames framework, 2D tile, arcade/fighting engine, 2D physics, memory/matching/flahscards/trivia --- /game engines
