Upcoming Event: VuPop 2 at Villanova, June 9
Falvey Memorial Library at Villanova University is once again proud to host the second of our (hopefully) annual series on popular culture, VuPop 2, taking place at Falvey Library on June 9th, 2014. This year, this FREE conference will focus on Interactive Fiction in Print and Online.
ABOUT VUPOP 2: While storytelling probably began as a very fluid process, several centuries of the printed book have given fiction an air of inflexibility and inevitability. However, for several decades, authors of gamebooks like Choose Your Own Adventure and Fighting Fantasy have been finding ways to directly involve the reader in the narrative of the book and to encompass multiple possibilities within a single volume.
Computer games and other digital media have brought fiction into new and infinitely variable realms. This conference will examine the evolution of interactive fiction and discuss ways in which it can be studied and used pedagogically.
Schedule of speakers and events can be found here.
REGISTRATION: Registration for this event is now open. As with last year, there is no cost for attending, and lunch will be provided for attendees. If interested, please fill out our online form so we can estimate our attendance for this year.
Upcoming Event: Kickoff and Workshop for Girl Develop It Philly Summer of Open Source, May 28
Summer of Open Source Kickoff & Workshop
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
5:45 PM to 8:45 PM
IndyHall — Independents Hall
22 North 3rd Street Philadelphia, PA, Philadelphia, PA (map)
Join us for a free workshop that will help you get started and involved in the open source community! We will be kicking off GDI Philly’s Summer of Open Source, so come find out more information on how to get involved.
About the Workshop
You’re probably using open source software already, like the popular Firefox web browser. Many websites are built with open source tools like WordPress and Drupal, and companies large and small make use of open source components like the Linux operating system.
This session will provide an introduction to open source & walk you through getting started on GitHub. If you’ve ever had a question about when and how to use it, or how to join an open source project – this event is for you!
Some of the things we’ll cover:
• What is open source? What is the open source “philosophy?” Open source licenses and licensing (what are they and what do they mean).
• Overview of tools project built as open source – you’re probably already using or have heard of at least one.
• Brief introduction to Git / Github, and other tools used to make open source stuff.
• Creating a GitHub account, getting familiar and ready to get started contributing.
• 5 ways that you can participate in an open source project right now (even if you’re not a seasoned coder).
About the teacher:
Mark Headd is a Developer Evangelist at Accela, and was previously the Chief Data Officer for the City of Philadelphia and former Director of Government Relations at Code for America. A coder and civic hacking veteran, he has advocated for the adoption of open source technologies in government for over 15 years. Self taught in programming, he holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, and is a former adjunct instructor at the University of Delaware teaching a course in electronic government.
About GDI Philly’s Summer of Open Source
Last year, GDI Philly sent out a survey to our members. We asked questions about courses, what students are learning, what their careers are like and whether they’ve ever contributed to open source projects. To our delight and surprise, we learned that 10% of members surveyed had contributed to free and open source software in some way.
This number stood out, as the number of women in open source projects is depressingly small – less than 2% of open source contributors identify as women. Since we seemed to be helping improve the numbers locally, we decided to make a more sustained and conscious effort to get ever more GDI Philly women contributing to open source. And voila! – the GDI Philly Summer of Open Source was born!
Announcing Girl Develop It Philly Summer of Open Source
Girl Develop It Philly recently announced Philly Summer of Open Source at their Meetup Page:
Last year, GDI Philly sent out a survey to our members. We asked questions about courses, what students are learning, what their careers are like and whether they’ve ever contributed to open source projects. To our delight and surprise, we learned that 10% of members surveyed had contributed to free and open source software in some way.
This number stood out, as the number of women in open source projects is depressingly small – less than 2% of open source contributors identify as women. Since we seemed to be helping improve the numbers locally, we decided to make a more sustained and conscious effort to get ever more GDI Philly women contributing to open source. And voila! – the GDI Philly Summer of Open Source Fellowship program was born!
Summer of Open Source Fellowship is Open for Nominations!
We’re now accepting nominations for women who want to receive one on one code mentoring and a leadership role in the Philadelphia tech community in exchange for their sustained participation in free workshops and contributions to open source projects throughout the summer of 2014 (June-August).
Interested in improving your coding skills with experienced mentors? Want to be a part of a team that works on a meaningful project? Looking to add experience and projects to your resume? We strongly encourage you to apply or nominate others using our short form.
Not sure if the Open Source Fellowship is for you? Here are 3 reasons you should apply to become a fellow!
Join a strong local community of open source developers in Philly who are supportive of women in tech – and want to help you with your goals.
Become a better coder through one-on-one mentoring and gain valuable team-building skills. As a fellow you will receive feedback through code reviews and regular workshops while writing code for projects you can use as code samples and in your resume.
You’ll become a leader in the open source community. Many of the most powerful tools in the technology community are free and open source and thrive with contributions from developers like you.
Potential projects for you to work on include:
WordPress projects
jQuery and JavaScript plugins
Code for Philly projects
OpenPlans projects
other locally built or national projects
#Hack4Access projects
& endless other options!
Want to get involved?
Project Mentors: Please reach out to Corinne or Cat if you’re interested in coming on board as a project mentor/shepherd. This requires a light time commitment, but helps a lot.
Student-Beginners: Don’t have the time commitment to become a fellow? We still want you to get involved! We’re hoping to increase the amount of participation in open source contributions by GDI members and students across the board – whether it’s just starting your GitHub account, making your first commit or working on a bug here and there. There are many ways to contribute.
Sponsorship: If you’re interested in sponsoring this initiative (in-kind food donations, laptops, monetary support, etc), please reach out directly to corinne AT girldevelopit DOT com.
You tell us: How can you help make the GDI Philly Summer of Open Source even more awesome?
Come to the Kickoff Event
Join us on Wednesday May 28th for the GDI Philly Summer of Open Source Kickoff to find our more info, learn about existing projects and more! Want to learn more about Open Source in general and get started on GitHub? We’ve got you covered with a free workshop on just that led by Mark Headd.
Have questions? Let us know in the comments, tweet at us (@gdiphilly, @cfarm, @corinnepw) or email us (corinne AT girldevelopit DOT com; cfarman AT gmail DOT com).
Exciting news: GDI Instructor Cat Farman and Corinne Warnshuis will be speaking about this program and other work GDI has done to get more women involved in the open source community at OSCON (O’Reilly Open Source Convention) this summer.
Upcoming Event: PSD to HTML Project Day from Girl Develop It Philadelphia
Girl Develop It is an international organization that exists to provide affordable and accessible programs to women who want to learn software and web development through mentorship and hands-on instruction. The Philadelphia chapter will be offering a PSD to HTML Project Day on Saturday, May 17, 2014 from 9:45 AM to 3:00 PM at the Impact Hub Philadelphia, 1227 North 4th Street, Philadelphia, PA. Cost is $65.00/per person.
Here is how they describe the workshop:
Do you want to become a front-end developer or freelancer? Have you taken an HTML/CSS class or dabbled with it on your own? It’s time to apply your skills by building a webpage from start to finish (or come in and get help with your site)!
The best way to combine all your HTML/CSS skills is by jumping in and doing it soup to nuts in a supported environment. Join us in a group setting and learn how to slice a design – i.e. create a site from a design file we will provide (or come in and get help with your own site). The main purpose of this class is to provide you with assisted work time focused around a common, simulated but realistic project to reinforce your skillsets. You will learn the process of breaking down a mockup, the best practices in getting started, and you will gain experience constructing the main elements of a webpage. Experienced TAs will be there to get you started and help you out along every step of the way.
Please note that we will not be spending much time on the Photoshop aspects of this process in this class, instead focusing on the problem-solving and strategy that goes into “reading” a design file and building a website from that file, while practicing our HTML and CSS skills.
If you want to become a front-end developer, you should attend this session. Come prepared with a laptop, snacks/drinks & determination!
Note: This is a working session, NOT a lecture. It is limited to 20 spots.
To learn more, go to the Girl Develop It Philadelphia Meetup Page.
GLAM Cafe/Philly DH Meeting Today
As usual on the second Tuesday of the month, Philly DH will be holding its regular meeting starting at 6 pm and Mary Mark Ockerbloom will be hosting the GLAM Cafe meeting from 5pm to 9pm. Both will be at the Chemical Heritage Foundation at 315 Chestnut Street. Today’s Wikipedia Meetup at the GLAM Cafe will focus on editing articles on Women in Science and Art dedicated to pioneering Wikipedian Adrianne Wadewitz. It is one of a number of national tribute Edit-a-thons in memory of Adrianne Wadewitz.
Looking ahead, the June 10th GLAM Café will celebrate Wiki loves Pride 2014 to improve LGBT content of Wikipedia.
PhillyDH@Penn – June 20, 2014
PhillyDH@Penn is back for a 2nd year!
It is a free event on Friday, June 20 — One day of workshops, unconference sessions, lightning talks, and networking.
Join us in the beautiful Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts on the on the 6th floor of UPenn’s Van Pelt-Dietrich Library. Thanks to the UPenn folks for hosting and doing so much work for this event.
To register for free here:
http://penn2014.phillydh.org
Please spread this announcement far and wide to whoever you think might be interested – especially those who don’t know that they might be interested and informed by the programs for the day!
We encourage you to share this invitation with others at your institutions, your professional colleagues, and students.
On the website, you’ll also find info on:
- The day’s schedule and our early draft of workshop topics.
- More info about the “unconference” format. But in a nutshell: On the day of the event, the attendees suggest & vote for the discussion topics for the day – you determine what groups talk about, what problems get solved, and what you learn and share! Some sessions end up with dozens of people discussing a particular topic while other sessions draw 3 or 4 intensely interested individuals who want to hash out a problem or learn a specific skill.
Hope to see you there, along with your colleagues, your friends, your students, your teachers, …, anyone who works with and appreciates the value of what happens when the humanities and technologies collide.