[Noisebridge-discuss] Wanna participate in a new Hackerspace Challenge?

Sun Mar 6 01:03:38 UTC 2011

I have a road map to develop an infrastructure for bringing tablet PC's to
the classroom as well as designs for software for said tablets and the
tablets themselves.  I was a part of a company trying to corner this market,
and it crumbled from the weight of it's own
greeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed...and I quickly learned that no single
company should be trusted with the hearts, souls, and MINDS of our children.

There is nothing truly remarkable about the ideas we have, except that they
haven't been applied to schools, yet.  And the sooner we do it openly, the
better.

It gets better, wikimedia has the
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiversityproject which is following a
format that is more easily applicable to
schools than to higher institutions.

Let's...do...this.

I will have to collect all my information together that I have.  The data I
have was what we were working on before we combined it all into a document
repository, so I don't know how complete it is.  But I am sure it won't take
long for the fertile, passionate minds of noisebridge to outgrow what we
had.

Someone else will do this...someone else bent on earning a buck off of our
children...someone who is willing to sacrifice the brains of our children to
gouge money from our classrooms as the expense of other tried and true
concepts that already work...which is why we should work on a
free-as-in-speech solution NOW.

If we can design the services that run these tools, and keep them open, then
the companies will be our pawns, and not the other way around.

When...do...we...meet?

On Sat, Mar 5, 2011 at 11:51 AM, Mitch Altman <maltman23 at hotmail.com> wrote:

>  I've been asked to send out invites for a new hackerspace challenge.  I
> just sent the following to the hackerspaces.org list.  Anyone at
> Noisebridge interested in participating?
>
> Mitch.
>
>
>
> --------------------
>
>
>
> Hey!
>
>
> Here’s an opportunity to participate in a cool project, and also have a
> chance to get cool stuff for your hackerspace.
>
> Please pass this around to any hackerspace you think may be interested.
>
>
> The short version:
>
> Ten hackerspaces around the world will be chosen to participate in the
> Great Global Hackerspace Challenge to create something cool and useful for
> education.  Each of the ten spaces that complete their project will receive
> PCB layout software, and some nice soldering setups so that they can better
> teach how to make cool things with electronics.  These ten hackerspaces will
> each get $900 and two months to finish their project.  Three finalists will
> be chosen to show off their projects live (in person, or virtually) at the
> San Francisco Maker Faire May.  A panel of geeks will pick the one they
> think is coolest, and the winning space will win a handmade trophy and
> bragging rights, a top-of-the-line digital oscilloscope, and perhaps some
> other way cool stuff.
>
>
> The money to make all this happen is being put up by element14, the new
> brand of Newark/Farnell (who sell electronic parts and tools) to market to
> us DIY types.
>
>
> If you want to participate, please email me with a short (please, keep it
> short) explanation about why your space should be chosen as one of the ten.
>
> mitch **at** CornfieldElectronics **dot** com
>
> The dealine for emailing me to be considered is Friday, 11-March, 17:00h
> Pacific Standard Time (UTC-8).
>
>
>
> The long version:
>
> This is an international Hackerspace Challenge that is being developed in
> partnership with the electronics components company element14,
> http://us.element-14.com.  The goal is for members of the teams to put
> their collective heads together and make a difference for a cause.  The
> cause for this event is education.  Why Education?  Education cuts are
> barely out of the news, and the outlook remains grim across the world.  Our
> schools continue to fail us in educating people for our collective futures.
>  We need to foster practical and creative thinking and help provide
> equipment to inspire a lifetime of learning.  Already, hackerspaces are
> helping fill the void - providing workshops, after school classes and
> vocational training, often for free, or very inexpensively.  Now there is an
> opportunity to take that one step further, and to take something created in
> a hackerspace back to the classroom.
>
>
> The Great Global Hackerspace Challenge is officially being kicked off with
> an open invitation for all hackerspaces in the Americas, Europe and Asia to
> throw their hat into the ring and participate in the challenge.  All
> interested hackerspaces are asked to submit a write up outlining why you
> should be considered to participate in the Challenge.  Ten hackerspaces will
> be selected to participate.  Hackerspaces must "earn" their spot in the
> challenge with passion, skill and engagement with the cause.
>
>
> The selected groups will then each have $900 and two months to design,
> prototype and build a project that serves a useful role in a classroom
> situation.  It's up to the groups to define the term 'classroom', as well as
> all other terms.  This could be K-12, or equivalent, school districts, or
> independent community programs.  Each build must incorporate the following
> “secret ingredients”, sourced from element14's online store – a
> microcontroller and a portable power source.  The rationale for selecting
> these as the secret ingredients are:
>
>    *  The use of a microcontroller will ensure that the final output be
> electronic in nature;
>
>     * The use of a portable power source will ensure mobility (which we see
> as a vital component of usefulness in the classroom setting).
>
>
>
> During the build process the teams will be required to create an element14
> community profile featuring information about their space, their team
> philosophy, bios and past builds/experience, as well as relevant information
> relating to the competition, so that their fans can follow their progress
> (including photos and video).  Each team will have a handler assigned to
> them to oversee their progress and manage operational questions.  To ensure
> that we are continually feeding content into the community over the course
> of the project, each team will be required to provide bi-weekly updates on
> their progress.
>
>
> At the conclusion of the project, all participants will submit a write up
> and video of their working project for an initial round of judging (the
> video does not need to be anything fancy – just show us and the world your
> cool project!).  The judging will be measured on the following criteria for
> each phase of the competition:
>
>      * How reproducible is the final project
>
>      * How easily can the parts be sourced in locations around the world
>
>      * How low cost is the final output
>
>      * How well are the plans documented
>
>      * How relevant is the project to the educational goals of schools
> today
>
>      * How inventive and creative is the design and build of the project
>
>
> The top 3 submissions will then be selected as semi-finalists who will
> advance to the final stage of the Challenge.
>
>
> The judging panel will include Mitch Altman
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitch_Altman, Ben Heck
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Heckendorn, and yet to be revealed
> high profile industry celebrities.  Hint: They're awesome.  The announcement
> of these additional judges will be part of the ongoing community building
> throughout the project.
>
>
> The competition will culminate with the final judging at Maker Faire San
> Mateo in late May.  Currently we are aiming to have the three finalists
> attend virtually, via video conference if they are remote, and in person if
> they already going to be present at the event.  If the semi-finalists are
> traveling on their own dime they can certainly take the stage.
>
>
>
> There are no losers in this Challenge.  All participating teams that
> complete their project for judging will receive Eagle PCB layout software,
> as well as a collection of soldering station kits including soldering iron,
> plenty of solder, wire strippers, and wire cutters, for their hackerspace's
> own, ongoing educational and teaching needs. We all want new people getting
> educated and involved in electronic design at Hackerspaces and hopefully
> this project will help support that goal.
>
>
>
> This last point is still in development but in addition to the soldering
> equipment, the three finalist teams will each be awarded a more substantial
> piece of equipment from a name brand manufacturer. This is yet to be locked
> in. Though Tektronics has already offered their MSO2024 model digital
> oscillioscope ($5,600)!
>
>
> The single, overall winner will receive bragging rights and a delightful
> handmade trophy. The organizers of this event will personally make it with
> their own hands, and from their hearts.
>
>
> To be considered for this Great Global Hackerspace Challenge, please email
> me a short (please, keep it short) proposal for your hackerspace, letting me
> know why your space should be chosen.
>
> mitch **at** CornfieldElectronics **dot** com
>
> The dealine for emailing me to be considered is Friday, 11-March, 17:00h
> Pacific Standard Time (UTC-8).
>
>
> Cheers,
>
> Mitch.
>
> _______________________________________________
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> Noisebridge-discuss at lists.noisebridge.net
> https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss
>
>
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