The Mozilla Festival was quite fun. Even though I am from a library and foodie background, and not an engineer, I found plenty of interesting workshops to attend. Over the course of two days I was able to learn about Hacker Journalism, video editing with Popcorn, How to get more out of blogging with WordPress, How to better connect parents to take advantage of educational resources in their community, how to promote your talents and credentials through a fantastic social media idea based on “Scout’s Honor” and I was able to meet one of my long time celebrity crushes….Tim Hunkin, the adorable brainiac host of ” The Secret Life of Machines ”
Hacker Journalism discussion centered around what journalists can do to remain true to the maker idea without compromising integrity. Much lively discussion ensued. It seemed to be an understood dilemma that if a journalist were to insist on being labeled a hacker, they would be in danger of trying to be the newest shock-jock, prone to bias and easily dismissed as a… well, “a hack.” Most journalists, who have actually gone to school and learned the ropes through years of experience would probably cringe at the label. However, there are many concerned citizens who may not have a voice due to censorship and government control of their local media. These citizens want change, and social media has enabled them to appeal to a larger audience in a matter of minutes.
Journalism, which started as a public service but quickly became profit driven, will continue to play an important part in the intellectual growth of our society. There will always be a mix of established traditional values regarding investigative and data driven journalism.
The idea that a revolution can be started through social media such as Twitter is not impossible, but it would serve as the tipping point. When a society has been made aware of injustices through traditional forms of journalism it slowly builds momentum for change. The people wait for that one event to serve as a spark to get everyone out of their comfort zone and into the street. The challenge for journalists who use social media in reporting is transparency, where the subject must be based on factual info, which changes almost instantly as witnessed during the London riots, Occupy Marches, and catastrophic events.
In conclusion, the group agreed that “Hacker” or more appropriately described “Citizen Driven” journalism will provide tons of relevant info, but it will take traditional investigative techniques to gleam the truth and mainain integrity for long standing journalism such as books and the encyclopedic records that become the real history of an event.
Further discussion on this topic is available by contacting the moderator, Nikki Usher.
The introduction to Popcorn video editing software was very interesting. If you are watching a video online and need to know more information about what is being said or shown at a precise moment, you can pause the video and read a pop-up comment that was inserted by the editor. This is a fantastic feature especially for educational videos because the viewer is able to click and get the footnote immediately rather than segue off to Wikipedia.
The software offers a multitude of tools to make a video a completely personal experience. Should I ever have a need to make an educational video, I would definitely use Popcorn because it offers many features and it is not too difficult to learn how to implement them into a video.
As a newbie in the blogging world, I felt it would be helpful to attend and introduction to WordPress workshop. The instructor, Mark Simpkins, started out with about fifteen participants, although it whittled down to myself and a very nice professor from Sri Lanka, as people realized that it was an introductory workshop. I now have a new enthusiasm for blogging and trust that WordPress will stand the test of time as a valuable tool for getting my two cents out into the world. Even if you are well established WordPress blogger, it doesn’t hurt to learn about how other bloggers are using WordPress, so do consider attending one of the WordCamps when it passes through your location.
There are many choices for parents if they want to broaden the extracurricluar activites of their children out side of school supported sports programs, but it can be difficult to know what programs are available in the community and how reputable the organization is that sponsors the programs.
HIVE London and beyond is a online meeting place for parents and community organizations to meet and share information. Parents can go through the website and find a multitude of programs available for their children ranging from art and music at a local museum or conservatory, to enrichment programs that enable children to learn about the diversity of the city the live in. It is difficult for traditional education systems to fully prepare children for global citizenship. HIVE is trying to establish itself as the “go-to” website for not only parents, but any organization that has an enrichment program that would benefit children who are yearning for new and interesting experiences.
A large part of the HIVE vision is to promote cultural awareness in children, a noble effort on their part and in theory, should not be too difficult. Much discussion was had on what obstacles could appear. A website can only provide information, it will need community support in order to succeed. Participation by children is a given, parents need to maintain interest and enthusiasm or kids will feel their efforts are inconsequential.
Diversity and tolerance programs need to be more than just feel good measures. More work will need to be done so that socio-economic barriers are softened to encourage participation. When there is less marginalization among neighborhoods, it will allow children to socialize more freely. I believe all parents want safe and interesting activities for their children and HIVE is a great way for neighborhood organizations to promote themselves and share their unique qualities.
Mozilla Open Badges enable a person to show off their skills and experiences along with the rest of their shared online personal history. This sounds like a wonderful idea for people who have learned many skills outside of their traditional education. Based on the Scouts/Campfire reward system, anyone can earn a “badge” to show that they have mastered a skill or complete a number of related badges to show they have mastered a skill set. Badges go on a virtual backpack and can be linked to a Facebook or other social media so that friends can see your accomplishments.
With a recent grant by the MacArthur foundation, along with development and promotion by Mozilla, Open Badges is able to reach out to numerous schools and educational organizations that would give badges for completed coursework. There is also the opportunity for an entrepreneur to promote their business as a place to earn a badge. For example, I could earn a badge in intermediate yoga, cupcake decorating, or pet CPR by taking the class or workshop. Badges could be a boost to many people who have grown bored with their online social profile. Once there is a system in place that integrates the earning of badges with a social media forum, there is a lot of potential for positive peer to peer relationships. It is hoped that this concept truly comes to fruition and that it can be made so that it is manageable and achievable for anyone interested.
Tim Hunkin was the keynote speaker at the conclusion of Mozfest, and I personally believe that I was the most enthusiastic fan present. When I was a teenager, I would watch his tv show The Secret Life of Machines with my brothers. His voice is one of the easiest for me to recognize, right along with Anthony Daniels’ C3PO and Leonard Nimoy’s Spock. Tim gave a very entertaining slideshow about his arcade full of humorous themed contraptions, followed by an encouraging speech about what being a “maker” is all about. I felt that he really drove home the idea that one doesn’t have to have a million dollars or even what would be considered a million dollar idea in order to create and make something fun or interesting…just find a way to get the project going and don’t stop until it is complete, then don’t be afraid to show it to the world.
If you have an idea for a fun mechanical invention, but are stuck on the details, find Tim for a bit of advice.
