[Events] economic diversity

[Nelson Pavlosky]

If you're looking for a source of free/cheap computers for the economically
disadvantaged, one plausible source is Free Geek and its clones scattered
around the country:

http://www.freegeek.org/
http://freegeekchicago.org/

My intuition tells me that Free Geek "chapters" may not be as strong as
they once were in the heyday of the Linux User Group, but I have no
personal experience and would be quite happy to be proven wrong.

~Nelson~


On Sat, Jan 26, 2013 at 7:26 AM, Catherine Devlin <
catherine.devlin at gmail.com> wrote:

> At and after the Columbus Python Workshop, some of the students and I
> talked about how we could use workshops for not just gender diversity, but
> economic diversity.  They had great suggestions for organizations and
> agencies I could partner with - job agencies, women's shelters, and so
> forth.  Lots of possibilities there.
>
> But lots of questions, too, that I'd really appreciate your thoughts on.
>
> - Is this really a practical skill for people in tough economic straits?
>  Obviously programming is a great career; just as obviously, nobody's ready
> to start at Google the Monday after a weekend workshop.  The workshop is
> obviously not just about careers - it's also about having fun, building
> self-confidence, understanding our computerized world better, etc. - but I
> don't know if those noneconomic motives will ring hollow.
>     - And if it is practical, how can I *sell* its practicality to get
> agencies onboard and students in the door?
>
> - Programming on *what*?  Laptops are cheap these days but many of these
> students probably still don't have them.  Some agencies have computer labs
> - I'm told the YWCA Columbus has one, for example - though that merits
> careful checking, because sometimes machines are so locked-down as to be
> useless.  (The Columbus Public Library machines, for example, run only IE,
> Word, and Excel; and the library IT director *does not have the ability* to
> loosen them up.  Grrrr.)
>     - But even if computers can be found for the workshop itself, if the
> students don't have regular access to computers that are more or less their
> own, will they be able to follow up on the workshops afterward?  It seems
> almost cruel to show people this kind of fun if they can't follow up.
>     - Is there any practical over-the-web programming solution?  One where
> students could actually do things like keep their files, install packages,
> etc.?  Then a student could conceivably pursue her own programming over a
> web browser in a library.
>
> Thanks for any ideas...
> --
> - Catherine
> http://catherinedevlin.blogspot.com
>
> _______________________________________________
> Events mailing list
> Events at lists.openhatch.org
> http://lists.openhatch.org/mailman/listinfo/events
>
>


On Sat, Jan 26, 2013 at 7:26 AM, Catherine Devlin <
catherine.devlin at gmail.com> wrote:

> At and after the Columbus Python Workshop, some of the students and I
> talked about how we could use workshops for not just gender diversity, but
> economic diversity.  They had great suggestions for organizations and
> agencies I could partner with - job agencies, women's shelters, and so
> forth.  Lots of possibilities there.
>
> But lots of questions, too, that I'd really appreciate your thoughts on.
>
> - Is this really a practical skill for people in tough economic straits?
>  Obviously programming is a great career; just as obviously, nobody's ready
> to start at Google the Monday after a weekend workshop.  The workshop is
> obviously not just about careers - it's also about having fun, building
> self-confidence, understanding our computerized world better, etc. - but I
> don't know if those noneconomic motives will ring hollow.
>     - And if it is practical, how can I *sell* its practicality to get
> agencies onboard and students in the door?
>
> - Programming on *what*?  Laptops are cheap these days but many of these
> students probably still don't have them.  Some agencies have computer labs
> - I'm told the YWCA Columbus has one, for example - though that merits
> careful checking, because sometimes machines are so locked-down as to be
> useless.  (The Columbus Public Library machines, for example, run only IE,
> Word, and Excel; and the library IT director *does not have the ability* to
> loosen them up.  Grrrr.)
>     - But even if computers can be found for the workshop itself, if the
> students don't have regular access to computers that are more or less their
> own, will they be able to follow up on the workshops afterward?  It seems
> almost cruel to show people this kind of fun if they can't follow up.
>     - Is there any practical over-the-web programming solution?  One where
> students could actually do things like keep their files, install packages,
> etc.?  Then a student could conceivably pursue her own programming over a
> web browser in a library.
>
> Thanks for any ideas...
> --
> - Catherine
> http://catherinedevlin.blogspot.com
>
> _______________________________________________
> Events mailing list
> Events at lists.openhatch.org
> http://lists.openhatch.org/mailman/listinfo/events
>
>
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