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AnonJr
Moderator
United States
5768 Posts |
 Posted - 09 December 2007 : 11:05:59
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As I mentioned yesterday, I've been saddled with a huge project at work that's due by the end of the month.  There have been a number of long days and little sleep, but that's another story for another time.
One of the ladies I work with is the Assistant Scout Master for her son's Boy Scout troop. She'd asked me if I'd help some of the boys in her son's troop get their Computer merit badge. Being the kind hearted person that I am, I spent the better part of the day yesterday working with 10 scouts over in the computer lab (which work graciously allowed us to use).
It was fun. 
There were one or two that were there because they were there and not because this was something they wanted to do. There was one who had just expected it to be a 2-hr "hand me a badge" event. But, there were also some that were very interested in what we talked about.
The requirements covered a wide range of topics. We talked about hardware, software, programming, copyright, Creative Commons and the GPL (my addition to the copyright requirements), we wrote a small VBScript program, we put together a flyer in Inkscape, we wrote a simple web page, and we talked about open source projects (highlighting this one as an example  ). I enjoyed it, and most of them seemed to enjoy it as well.
I hope I did a good job with the class and showing them what opportunities were out there. There were one or two that seemed keen on some of the things I showed them with Inkscape. There was anther kid who seemed genuinely interested in learning more about web design.
Anyway, I just thought I'd share that. |
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ruirib
Snitz Forums Admin
Portugal
26364 Posts |
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pdrg
Support Moderator
United Kingdom
2897 Posts |
Posted - 09 December 2007 : 11:40:59
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Nice one mate - and I don't know what your neighbourhood's like, but maybe there were one or two kids who'd otherwise have let computers pass them by now thinking in terms of the GPL...
Seriously though, you can never tell quite how big an impact something like that can have - ideas etc can lay dormant like seeds for years and years. One of those kids who was maybe slow at writing, poor at drawing, lousy at sports, wondering if there was anything they could be good at, may now have seen something they could relate to, and be secretly inspired to blossom and bloom :-) Who knows, it may even be one of the kids who didn't seem engaged ;-) |
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JJenson
Advanced Member
USA
2121 Posts |
Posted - 10 December 2007 : 11:49:17
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I was one of those kids pdrg speaks of. I was ab ig athlete as a kid and ended up playing some semi pro tennis. I had learned about computers younger and mainly just like them for playing games  I was big into Video Consols and games. I never in a million years would have thought I would have ended up doing anything computer related.
I wasw glad I had some people along the way when I was uninterested that taught me some things even though they will never know h ow much it helped because I was there cause my parents forced me.
Nice work way to give something back and I can almost gurantee one of those kids will end up in the computer IT, Programming related fields and probably partly cause of you. |
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AnonJr
Moderator
United States
5768 Posts |
Posted - 10 December 2007 : 12:30:29
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Indeed it was a day well spent. I was a Boy Scout long ago and I couldn't pass up the chance to give a little back.
pdrg, It was amazing to watch some of the "light bulbs" appear when I told them about the Creative Commons, GPL, and LGPL. Some of them indicated that all they'd ever heard of was the standard copyright, and all that goes with it.
In the end I still hope/wonder if I did the best I could for them. I know that various individuals were a little more attentive at certain points. For instance:- I know one kid's interest was piqued when I mentioned how easy it is now to set up your own studio and record demos.
- I know there was another kid who is already into art and was really digging Inkscape. He asked a lot of questions about graphics design and what jobs there were in that field.
- There was another kid who's a senior in High School that seemed really interested in web design.
And that's just what I can say was obvious. |
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