[Events] economic diversity

[Cat Allman]

On Sun, Jan 27, 2013 at 4:00 AM,  <events-request at lists.openhatch.org> wrote:

> Date: Sat, 26 Jan 2013 12:13:12 -0800
> From: Mike Linksvayer <ml at gondwanaland.com>
> To: events at lists.openhatch.org
> Subject: Re: [Events] economic diversity
> Message-ID:
>         <CAGSmzpS8478mf9P=y=b_=DA8ixX4VmE2TiRP8-21ugVshJ9u0Q at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> On Sat, Jan 26, 2013 at 4:26 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.
>
> I think this is an important topic so I throw out ill-informed
> opinions below. Please tell me I'm wrong.
>
>> But lots of questions, too, that I'd really appreciate your thoughts on.
>
>
> And a second general observation -- there's something for OpenHatch
> (and affiliated, like-thinking, etc) initiatives to contribute (and
> "we" can learn a lot in the process, I'm sure) -- that is ideas and
> practices such as not just learning to code, but learning to
> participate in a real open source project, and not just teaching to
> code, but inviting to join local groups, and making such groups
> inviting -- and some of those help address the questions raised by
> just teaching disadvantaged people to begin to program.
>
>> - 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?

"Computational Thinking" is something that everyone needs to function,
and learning to program is a relatively concrete way to get people
thinking that way. Yes, the vast majority of people out there without
computer skills will not come into - or out of - a weekend workshop
ready for employment - but they can come out with a basic grasp of a
mode of problem solving that they can use throughout their lives. Not
bad for a weekend :)
>
> Seems to me the vocational practicality is long-term (for most people,
> it'll take years from starting to program to get a job primarily doing
> programming or related work) or broad but shallow (better computer
> skills, including some notion of how things are automated, and
> demonstration of ability to collaborate, are a nice-to-have for lots
> of jobs). And the long-term practicality is greatly enhanced by
> becoming networked in a community of people who have tech jobs
> already.

>
>>     - 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.

I believe Sugar Labs has made their software/project bootable from a
USB Drive on Windows, Linux, or Mac. This way kids without their own
machine can still learn and contribute back from a shared and locked
machine. Something to think about, assuming I'm correct - patches
welcome :)
>
> There's scratch.mit.edu. There are lots of try(language name).org
> sites, but I don't know if any facilitate long-term projects.

MIT also has the App Inventor project, specifically designed to teach
programming though a highly accessible interface on Android devices.
http://appinventor.mit.edu/
>

Cheers,

Cat

-- 
Cat Allman

allman at google.com
1-650-214-4886
Open Source Programs Office
Mountain View, CA USA
code.google.com

...let us save what remains: not by vaults and locks which fence them from
the public eye and use in consigning them to the waste of time, but by such
a multiplication of copies, as shall place them beyond the reach of
accident.

— Thomas Jefferson, February 18, 1791