[Edu-sig] Example Poster

[Vern Ceder]

Hi Kirby,

kirby urner wrote:
> My hypothetical question for Vern would be:  assuming a parallel
> Universe in which Tim's project was accepted by Pycon for showcasing,
> what would that look like?

Good question. I had been thinking that if possible it would be cool to 
have a machine/monitor available to show video and demos on a rotating 
basis...

In general, we'll no doubt rely upon what contributors want/are able to 
send, which may (or not) tend toward the traditional - some poster sized 
"slides" hitting the high points of what was done. And it matters if the 
"presenter" is able to come to PyCon and stand beside the presentation 
or if it has to stand on its own....
> 
> Having seen all the Blip TV out of Pycon 2009, part of my thinking is
> "poster session" should mean an official part of the post-Pycon video
> feed, i.e. browsers might surf to Tim's exhibit online, watch the
> presentation, including screen shots, live action.  Five minutes or
> less would be an appropriate format (lightning talk).  Here he'd have
> a link for college admissions officers, others charged with background
> checking a portfolio.

I would agree. We should certainly offer poster session presenters the 
option of providing a short clip, and any clips "accepted" would have a 
fair claim to be part of the PyCon video record.

> As soon as I think this, I'm thinking why just post Python?  Why
> couldn't Pycon have this branding control over a YouTube channel
> devoted to showcasing winners and runners up?  The older exhibits
> wouldn't go away, even as new ones were added.

I'm not sure what the PSF thinks of this idea, but it sounds interesting 
to me.

As to the idea of using local Pythonistas on the ground to 
verify/encourage/etc potential poster session contributors, I think 
that's also a good idea, maybe more from the encouraging and providing a 
link to the community side than the verification side. As I see it, 
we're likely to be fairly generous in accepting poster session 
contributions in the beginning, unless and until we get too many to handle.

When I hit NECC at the end of the month (as mentioned before, partly on 
the PSF's dime) I plan hit a fair number of their some 250 poster 
sessions, which run the gamut from interactive to static, and from 
commercial to academic. I'm hoping to get a feel for what works there 
and what might work at PyCon.

I'm in a 3-way crunch at the moment - end of school year data 
processing, book deadline (The Quick Python Book, 2nd ed. from Manning) 
and preparing my NECC talk, so I really appreciate the boost you've been 
providing periodically.. :)

Starting in July, my efforts will turn toward this more fully, which 
should allow time to talk to the various PyCon organizers and 
committees, and generate a CFP to be ready in mid-August as teachers and 
students head back to school.

Cheers,
Vern

> My final piece of the puzzle:  user groups.  In terms of seeking out
> talent like Tim, or giving them a local contact, not every town has
> either a Saturday Academy or a Python User Group, but the latter is
> what's easiest to set up, even within a school.  Every year, Princeton
> University asks its alums to actually meet with candidates and write
> up their impressions in response to set questions.  I could see Vern
> getting feedback from the field in that way e.g.:  "Dear Vern, as
> member of user group X, I was asked to check in on Tim and assess that
> state of his Python project, and here are my findings..."
> 
> This way you have someone on the ground authenticating a project, not
> just getting a Youtube submission from out of the blue claiming to
> show Pythonic animation of inside-outing sphere.  On the other hand,
> if there's working source code and results might be duplicated... on
> the other hand, we don't want to deluge Vern (or anyone else) with
> projects needing to be "installed and run" unless that part of a paid
> day job, with room to add staff.
> 
> As a beleaguered volunteer, that'd be thankless, plus doesn't even
> address the whole need for judging beyond simply ascertaining that
> so-and-so really is doing what they say they're doing.  That's why I'm
> suggesting enlisting the support of user groups and giving young
> talent the fun experience of a Pythonista coming to their school, say,
> meeting the student, getting an introduction to the project, taking
> away some pictures, maybe a DVD.  The beginning of the process... fame
> and glory on the Pycon channel a possible end result.
> 
> Kirby
> 
> PS:  Tim is going to Princeton, my alma mater (and his mom's), isn't
> planning to major in computer science though, was talking about a year
> abroad in Varanasi maybe.
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8_Fc7_zn8w
> http://controlroom.blogspot.com/2006/10/new-wings.html
> http://www.saturdayacademy.org/
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-- 
This time for sure!
    -Bullwinkle J. Moose
-----------------------------
Vern Ceder, Director of Technology
Canterbury School, 3210 Smith Road, Ft Wayne, IN 46804
vceder at canterburyschool.org; 260-436-0746; FAX: 260-436-5137