[Events] Boston Python Workshop 2 staff meeting

Tue Apr 19 16:10:45 UTC 2011

Hi folks,

We still need more staff for the second Boston Python Workshop, in
particular female-identified staff. Our nominal deadline for getting
more staff is *tomorrow*, April 20th.

Showing our attendees that there is a community of confident, capable
female programmers in Boston is a part of the workshop experience.
Help make that happen by asking around your friends, family, and
social networks for women who:

- are in the Boston area
- know Python
- are interested in helping people learn Python
- are available for a substantial part of the evening of Friday, May
13th, and Saturday, May 14th.

and have them get in touch with me (jesstess at mit.edu, more contact
options at http://jesstess.com) or Asheesh.

Regards,
-Jessica

On Fri, Apr 15, 2011 at 10:38 PM, Jessica McKellar
<jessica.mckellar at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi folks,
>
> 1. We are confirmed with HubSpot for May 13th and 14th!
> 2. HubSpot says kids hanging out is fine.
> 3. There were no particular recommendations on parking -- there's the
> Galleria garage and some street parking.
>
> -Jessica
>
> On Thu, Apr 14, 2011 at 10:10 PM, Jessica McKellar
> <jessica.mckellar at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Wednesday 4/13 meeting minutes:
>>
>> Summary
>> ========
>> - The workshop will run on May 13th and 14th.
>> - If you want to write modules for the workshop, have them done by April 30th.
>> - We need more staff! Spread the word.
>> ===
>>
>> 1. Decide on how we want to get Python basics into the minds of our attendees:
>>
>> Decision: we will write up a small self-directed learning document
>> that covers printing and manipulating numbers for Friday night. We'll
>> have a ~2 hour traditional lecture on Saturday morning.
>>
>> 2. Tweaks to the workshop structure:
>>
>> - Leave some time for stragglers to arrive and get situated on
>> Saturday morning, something like: arrive at 9:45 to set up your
>> computer and review running Python, because we'll start promptly at
>> 10.
>> - Reserve time at the beginning of the Saturday lecture for "situating Python".
>> - Reserve time at the end of Saturday (4 - 4:30) for a wrap up,
>> recommending additional resources, next-steps, etc.
>> - the Friday setup + self-directed learning are mandatory. We might
>> offer some staff time prior to Friday for people who can't make it,
>> but you have to go to one of the events that covers the Friday
>> material.
>>
>> 3. Workshop dates:
>>
>> We decided on Friday, May 13th (some part of 5pm - 10pm) and Saturday,
>> 14th (9:45am - 4:30pm). I've contacted HubSpot to confirm those dates
>> and times.
>>
>> 4. Modules:
>>
>> We have time for 3 1-hour modules, from 1pm - 4pm. The deadline for
>> candidate modules is April 30th -- we'll only consider modules that
>> were drafted and announced for people to play with by then.
>>
>> We felt that we couldn't decide if we wanted to choose the 3 modules
>> that get used, let people vote at the workshop, etc. without having a
>> better sense of our module options. At some point we'll have to
>> playtest and pick a plan.
>>
>> If you have module ideas and want to implement them, awesome! If you
>> have module ideas but don't want to implement them, also awesome! Tell
>> the list and maybe someone will write them for you.
>>
>> 5. Staff:
>>
>> We are losing some of our staff from the first run to end-of-term
>> hosage. If you know people who would like to and are available to
>> staff the workshop, please get them involved! (have them join this
>> mailing list and say hi, say hi on #openhatch on Freenode, or e-mail
>> me and Asheesh) Our goal is to have the committed staff we need by
>> *April 20th*.
>>
>> Action items:
>> - Confirm dates with HubSpot [ Jessica - in progress ]
>> - Ask HubSpot about parking [ Jessica ]
>> - Ask HubSpot about their policy on kids hanging out [ Asheesh (maybe
>> Jessica should since she's already asking HubSpot about other things)
>> ]
>> - Confirm a location and date for a hack day that will happen shortly
>> after the workshop [ Asheesh/Jessica ]
>>
>> Other items in the wings include:
>> - updating the wiki
>> - setting up the Meetup event
>>
>> - Jessica
>>
>> On Sun, Apr 10, 2011 at 11:05 PM, Jessica McKellar
>> <jessica.mckellar at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Thanks for filling out the poll. The winning slot is this Wednesday,
>>> April 13th, noon-1pm. I propose meeting at:
>>>
>>> Dosa Factory
>>> 571 Massachusetts Avenue
>>> Cambridge, MA 02139
>>>
>>> Alternative proposals are welcome.
>>>
>>> I'll send a reminder on Tuesday to people who say they are coming.
>>>
>>> The agenda:
>>>
>>> 1. For getting Python basics into the minds of our attendees, do we want:
>>> - traditional lecture (like last time)
>>> - self-directed learning using Learn Python the Hard Way
>>> - some third option
>>>
>>> Please at least skim Learn Python the Hard Way (free pdf at
>>> http://learnpythonthehardway.org) before the meeting.
>>>
>>> 2. Decide on any tweaks we want to the workshop structure, for example:
>>> - N hours for lecture/self-directed learning instead of the 2 hours we
>>> had last time
>>> - Covering more than just setup on day 1
>>>
>>> 3. Pick dates for the workshop.
>>>
>>> 4. If we have time, anything else people want to talk about. I'll
>>> bring a copy of our wrap-up notes from the previous workshop to see if
>>> there's anything from them that we should be thinking about at this
>>> point in the process.
>>>
>>> -Jessica
>>>
>>> On Sun, Apr 10, 2011 at 10:46 PM, Asheesh Laroia <asheesh at asheesh.org> wrote:
>>>> On Sun, 10 Apr 2011, Jessica McKellar wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I made a Doodle poll: http://doodle.com/e8s62hgvb9fn4hib It has time
>>>>> around lunch tomorrow, lunch and evening on Tuesday, and lunch and evening
>>>>> on Wednesday to talk about these things. Please let me know your
>>>>> availability on the poll, or just say your preferences here or ping me
>>>>> somewhere and let me know.
>>>>
>>>> Thumbs up; answered.
>>>>
>>>>> As an aside, tomorrow evening Asheesh and I will be at a Boston Python
>>>>> Meetup about Python, Education, and the Community!
>>>>> http://meetup.bostonpython.com/events/17083319/ Some really great people are
>>>>> lined up to talk about there experiences in this space, including the author
>>>>> of How to Think Like A Computer Scientist. You are all invited!
>>>>
>>>> FYI, this event will probably be lots of fun, and anyone in the Boston area
>>>> (and on this lit) can come should.
>>>>
>>>> -- Asheesh.
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> You may worry about your hair-do today, but tomorrow much peanut butter will
>>>> be sold.
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>
>>>
>>
>