Walter Bender

Learn programming in a fun way with Music Blocks! This workshop will get you started with the basics of Music Blocks visual programming, as well as introduce you to some inspirational projects that combine computation and music in a beautiful, authentic way. For the best experience, please bring your laptops! “All musicians are subconsciously mathematicians.” — Monk “Music is a hidden arithmetic exercise of the soul, which does not know that it is counting.” — Leibniz Music Blocks is a Visual Programming Language and collection of manipulative tools for exploring musical and mathematical concepts in an integrative and fun way.

Other people: Devin Ulibarri

Continuted from previous session.

Other people: Devin Ulibarri

Music Blocks is a visual programming language for exploring musical concepts. It was developed by Walter Bender (SugarLabs) and Devin Ulibarri (New England Conservatory), along with contributions from countless youth from all over the world.

Bring a laptop to this hands-on workshop, and engage yourself in coding while having fun with music. Walter and Devin will be on site to guide you through what Music Blocks has to offer, and to help you with any questions you may have.

This workshop will be kid-friendly, for years 7 and up. It is recommended that you bring your laptop with Chromium and/or Firefox pre-installed, as well as your own earbuds or headphones. Some laptops and peripherals may be provided, but there is no guarantee. Adults are allowed too, but the coordinators will prioritize kids in attendance.

Other people: Devin Ulibarri

The bad news is that educational technology has largely failed to deliver on its promise. Its focus on efficiency rather than on learning has resulted in a further reinforcement of education as a system of instruction to curricula rather than one of student-driven construction of knowledge.

The good news is that Free/Libre Software is the starting point towards a solution--not just because it tends to focus on putting powerful tools into the hands of its end-users, but also because Free/Libre Software espouses a culture of doing and sharing in a context of critique, reflection, and personal responsibility.

In this session, we will review some tangible ways in which Free/Libre Software is having and can have a positive impact on education and some things we can and should be doing better. We will then discuss strategies for advocating for Free/Libre Software in education systems both in the US and globally. The next generation of computer users are in school today. We need to ensure that the next generation is empowered to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by Free/Libre Software.

Other people: Devin Ulibarri

The lack of a mouse and the presence of "the mouse" are having a detrimental impact on global elementary education. The rush to adopt tablets is putting passive tools of consumption into the hands of young learners at a time in their development when "making" is paramount. The "Disneyification" of media further erodes the opportunity for personal expression by young learners. In this panel we will characterize these threats and discuss strategies for combating them.