TECH Dozens 2014

Last update: Thursday 1/1/15 @ 1:25 pm

This year's cover = photo from tweet about Protests against police killing unarmed black males


Other top stories ==> No Diversity in Silicon Valley ... Closing the Digital Divide with code ... and Massive IT security breaches

This special end-of-year edition of Tech Dozens contains tweets that link to the Digital Learning Lab's favorite news items for the year 2014 ... Links to previous editions of the Dozens can be found ==> Back issues.

A. HBCUs | B. Ed Tech | C. Gen Tech | D. Hackers | E. Views 

Songs for the Christmas Season by Committed

Last update: 12/25/14 @ 4:29 am

Early on Christmas morning, I woke up to the amazing sounds of the a cappella group "Committed" singing Christmas carols during their interview on NPR radio. They identified themselves as alums of Oakwood University, a small Christian HBCU in Alabama. When the NPR interview was over, I sat up, opened my MacBook Pro, searched Youtube, and was delighted to find many of their songs. So here's my Christmas gift to the readers of this blog ==> Links to some of the best sounds you will hear this season!!! ... :-)

Seasons Greetings!!! ... Merry Xmas!!! ... Happy Holidays!!!

Last update: Tuesday 12/23/14 @ 12:19 am

The DLL will suspend publication of its HBCU Tech Dailies and its TECH Dozens magazine until 12/30/14

Seasons Greetings!!! ... Merry Xmas!!!

Christmas Songs by Committed ... :-)

Community Chats -- We need an app for that

Last update Sunday 12/22/14 @ 12:53 pm

From time to time the DLL uses Storify to assemble the tweets from interviews, panel discussions, conferences, town halls, workshops, hackathons, and other events wherein participants and observers used Twitter as their primary medium of communication with each other. The Archives page on this blog contains links to the Storifys created by the DLL and by other curators of such events.

Last month, I posted an updated version of some preliminary notions about how hackathon procedures could be modified so as to make hackathons more understandable and more fun for remote observers, i.e, for persons who are following the hackathon via Twitter and associated blogs.  Today's note presents some suggestions as to how "community chats" could be made more understandable and more fun, not just for observers of Twitter events, but for the participants themselves.

"TECH Dozens" -- Week Ending Saturday 12/21/14

Last update: Sunday 12/21/14 @ 12:05 am

This week's cover = photo from tweet that FBI accuses North Korea of hacking Sony 

Other top stories ==> Hottest tech skills in 2014 ... Obama's College Ratings Plan ... and IBM systems learn how to detect cancer

Below find links to the Digital Learning Lab's "Dozens" of favorite news items about HBCUs' use of information technology to enhance their teaching, research, and community services ... plus news about hackathons and issues related to coding & coding literacy... in HBCU media and Tech media ... for the week ending Saturday 12/21/14 @ 12 noon ... Links to previous editions of the Dozens can be found here ==> Back issues can be searched for old tweets.

A. HBCUs | B. Ed Tech | C. Gen Tech | D. Hackers | E. Views | F. Events 

DLL Storify of Black Enterprise Twitter Chat with Rev. Jesse Jackson and Lincoln Stephens on Wednesday 12/17/14

Last update: Thursday 12/18/14 @ 9:38 am

On Wednesday 12/17/13, Black Enterprise magazine invited two distinguished guests to participate on a panel via Twitter that addressed issues related to the Millennial Generation, diversity, and the current business environment. 

• The Reverend Jesse Jackson, Sr., Rainbow PUSH Coalition, has been pressing Silicon Valley to diversify its employment for more than a decade. 
   
• Lincoln Stephens is Executive Director/Co-Founder of the Marcus Graham Project. The project's mission is " to identify, expose, mentor and train ethnically diverse men and women in all aspects of the media industry, including advertising, entertainment and marketing."

The discussion was moderated by Janell Hazelwood (Associate Managing Editor, Digital Black Enterprise). Listeners were invited to join in the discussion. The DLL used Storify to organize tweets that used hashtag = #GenDiversity  ... Storyfies of other #DiversityInTech events are listed in the DLL's Archives

If the Storify is not visible, please click the "Read more" link below this line.

Waves of Code and Waves of Coders

Last update: Tuesday 12/16/14 @ 3:19 pm

The 1950s and 60s generated the world's first waves of code  and coders as IBM, Unisys, Honeywell, and other mainframe manufacturers hired and trained thousands of programmers to produce and maintain their corporate operating systems and proprietary software applications. Only a small percentage of the population were direct users of these systems

"TECH Dozens" -- Week Ending Saturday 12/13/14

Last update: Saturday 12/14/14 @ 10:13 am

Please click the links in bold blue letters in the headlines and in the navigation bar (below)

                                            
This week's cover = photo from tweet about Protest in Washington DC, one of many nationwide demonstrations 
  
... Other top stories ==> Twitter chat with Jewel Burks ... Apple-IBM 1st iOS apps ... and Hour of Code 

Below find links to the Digital Learning Lab's "Dozens" of favorite news items about HBCUs' use of information technology to enhance their teaching, research, and community services ... plus news about hackathons and issues related to coding & coding literacy... in HBCU media and Tech media ... for the week ending Saturday 12/13/14 @ 6 pm ... Links to previous editions of the Dozens can be found here ==> Back issues can be searched for old tweets.

A. HBCUs | B. Ed Tech | C. Gen Tech | D. Hackers | E. VIEWS | F. Events 

DLL Storify of NewME Accelerator's Twitter Chat with Jewel Burks on Friday 12/12/14

Last update:  Monday 8/10/15

NewME Accelerator hosts a regular series of Twitter chats with founders of startup firms. This week's guest was Jewel Burks ... @jewelmelanie ... Co-founder and CEO of PartPic ... using hashtag = #founderchat

Note from PartPic's Website -- "PartPic provides a simple way to find and order parts using images, which is a relief when the name or part number is unknown. Our proprietary technology can be the power that aids your customer service representatives in the sell process." 

PartPic's winning presentation at Disrupt 2014 (September) was featured in a TechCrunch article ... PartPic was also featured in an extended video interview with The Verge Small Empires (October 2014) that includes an on-site inteview with one of PartPic's first customers. In August 2015 PartPic was invited to pitch its services to President Obama as part of the first White House Demo Day.

Ms. Burks attended Howard University where she majored in marketing  ... Storyfies of other #DiversityInTech events are listed in the DLL's Archives

"Hour of Code" in Computer Science Education Week (update)

Last update: Friday 12/12/14 @8:10 pm

This week, from Monday 12/8/14 to Saturday 12/14/14, is Computer Science Education Week, an initiative that was organized by Code.org

"TECH Dozens" -- Week Ending Saturday 12/6/14

Last update: Sunday 12/6/14 @ 12:41 am

This week's cover = photo from tweet about national protests against cops killing unarmed black males 

 ... Other top stories ==> San Quentin Inmates Learn to Code ... Successful launch and return of Orion
... Amazon Uses robots in warehouses for holiday order

Below find links to the Digital Learning Lab's "Dozens" of favorite news items about HBCUs' use of information technology to enhance their teaching, research, and community services ... plus news about hackathons and issues related to coding & coding literacy... in HBCU media and Tech media ... for the week ending Saturday 12/6/14 @ 12 noon ... Links to previous editions of the Dozens can be found here ==> Back issues can be searched for old tweets.

A. HBCUs | B. Ed Tech | C. Gen Tech | D. Hackers | E. Views | F. Events 

"TECH Dozens" -- Week Ending Saturday 11/29/14

Last update: Sunday 11/30/14 @ 12:06 am

This week's cover = photo from tweet about HBCU students protest no indictment in Ferguson

Other top stories ==> #BlackOutBlackFriday
... Online sales on Thanksgiving and Black Friday 

Below find links to the Digital Learning Lab's "Dozens" of favorite news items about HBCUs' use of information technology to enhance their teaching, research, and community services ... plus news about hackathons and issues related to coding & coding literacy... in HBCU media and Tech media ... for the week ending Saturday 11/29/14 @ 12 noon ... Links to previous editions of the Dozens can be found here ==> Back issues can be searched for old tweets.

A. HBCUs | B. Ed Tech | C. Gen Tech | D. Hackers | E. VIEWS | F. Events 

Prosecutorial misconduct in Ferguson ... some reasons for hope

Last update: Friday 11/28/14 @ 12:18 pm

We have all heard the old saying that a competent prosecutor could get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich. But we also know that prosecutors don't go on to win all of their cases. Why not? What's the difference between a grand jury and a trial jury?

Failure to Indict in Ferguson

Last update: Thursday 11/27/14 @ 3:18 am

Like most black Americans, I went to bed three nights ago enraged by the failure of the grand jury in Ferguson, MO, to indict Darren Wilson, the 6' 4" 210 pound police officer who killed Michael Brown, an unarmed 6' 4" 290 pound black teenager last summer. Young Mr. Brown first attracted Officer Wilson's attention because he was jaywalking in the street, instead of walking on the sidewalk. I was especially troubled by reports that Officer Wilson had fired twelve shots, hitting the unarmed 18 year-old six times. 

"Coding Literacy" a/k/a "Computational Thinking"

Last update: Wednesday 4/15/15 @ 3:33 pm

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet" ... William Shakespeare

"A rose is a rose is a rose" ... Gertrude Stein

The end of the last decade witnessed the birth of a surging, grass roots, educational movement that has many names, two of the most prominent being "coding literacy" and "computational thinking." This movement seeks to ensure that everyone -- especially the younger generations, and most especially the younger generations of peoples of color -- are given opportunities to learn how to code. Fortunately, this is a technical revolution with the most profound economic consequences that Black America won't miss thanks to the rapid emergence of a savvy cohort of extraordinary leaders, e.g., Kimberly Bryant (Black Girls Code), Kalimah Priforce (Qeyno Labs), Van Jones (#YesWeCode), and Emile Cambry (Blue 1647).

"TECH Dozens" -- Week Ending 11/22/14

Last update: Saturday  11/22/14 @ 8:52 pm

 ... This week's cover = photo from tweet about Tech808 Conference 

... Other top stories ==> HBCU Summit 2014 in Silicon Valley 

... Recap/Wrapup of MBKHack ... and Neural nets write image captions automatically

Below find links to the Digital Learning Lab's "Dozens" of favorite news items about HBCUs' use of information technology to enhance their teaching, research, and community services ... plus news about hackathons and issues related to coding & coding literacy ... in HBCU media and Tech media ... for the week ending Saturday 11/22/14 @ 12 noon ... Links to previous editions of the Dozens can be found here ==> Back issues can be searched for old tweets.

A. HBCUs | B. Ed Tech | C. Gen Tech | D. Hackers | E. Views | F. Events 

DLL Storify of Microsoft/UAF Hackathon --Thursday to Saturday, 11/13/14 to 11/15/14

Last update: Monday 11/17/14 @ 11:58 pm

According to a report from HBCU Lifestyle (10/30/14), twelve teams were selected to compete, including eight HBCUs ==>  Claflin University, Clark Atlanta University, Hampton University, Howard University, The Lincoln University, Morehouse College, North Carolina A&T State University, and Spelman College. Four public non-HBCUs were also chosen ==> Fort Hayes State University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Old Dominion University, and University of Washington.  The DLL used Storify to organize the tweets of attendees who used the hashtag #BeU.

As per the final pictures and tweets in the Storify, first place was won by New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) for a $40,000 prize, second place by Fort Hayes State University ($20,000), third by Spelman College ($10,000), fourth by Howard University, and fifth by Claflin University.

DLL Storify of Code for Atlanta's Govathon 2014 -- Fri/Sat 11/14-11/15 ... with Facebook note

Last update: Friday 11/21/14 @ 2:47 pm

On Friday 11/14/14, Code for Atlanta convened a civic hackathon -- "Govathon 2014" -- in Atlanta, GA. The hackathon ran from late Friday afternoon 11/14/14 until late Saturday afternoon 11/15/14. The DLL used Storify to organize the tweets of attendees who used the hashtag #govathon. At the end of the hackathon, an observer posted a note on Facebook that provides a concise summary of what happened, including a description of the winning team's app. Readers should also take note of the tweets from @codeforatlanta at the end of the first phase of the hackathon that announced the teams that had been formed. Also note their tweets that announced each team's presentation. Code for Atlanta provided an overview of the event including logos of the hackathon's sponsors on its invitation page ==> HERE ... After the hackathon, Venture Atlanta posted an extensive overview/summary ==> HERE

"TECH Dozens" -- HBCUs' Sunday Magazine -- Week Ending 11/15/14

Last update: Sunday 11/16/14 @ 7:30 pm PST

This week's cover = Photo from tweet about one of the hackathons in the East, West, and South

... Other top stories ==>  

Google quadruples Nobel Prize in Computing to $1M  

... Rosetta mission 

makes space history 

... and President Obama favors net neutrality

Below find links to the Digital Learning Lab's "Dozens" of favorite news items about HBCUs' use of information technology to enhance their teaching, research, and community services ... plus news about hackathons and issues related to coding ... in HBCU media and Tech media ... for the week ending Saturday 11/15/14 @ 9 am ... Links to previous editions of the Dozens can be found here ==> Back issues can be searched for old tweets.

A. HBCUs | B. Ed Tech | C. Gen Tech | D. Hackers | E. Events 

DLL Storify of NewME Accelerator's Twitter Chat with Tamar Lucien on Friday 11/14/14

Last update: Saturday 11/15/14 @ 7:41 am  PST

NewME Accelerator hosts a regular series of Twitter chats with founders of startup firms. This week's guest was Tamar Lucien ... @Tamarstruth ... Co-founder and CEO of CanUStart ... using hashtag = #founderchat ... CanUStart was also featured in TECH Cocktail Miami and has a short Youtube video

DLL Storify of HBCU Hackathon at Facebook -- Friday 11/14/14

Last update: Saturday 3/15/14 @ 3:19 pm PST

On Friday 11/14/14 UNCF and APLU sponsored a trip to Google, then the hackathon at Facebook for HBCU students attending the 2014 HBCU Summit Conference in Silicon Valley. The DLL used Storify to organize the tweets of attendees who used the hashtag #HBCUInnovation.  

Of Silicon Valley, the Talented Tenth, Bright Stars, Dark Stars, HBCUs, and Affirmative Action

Last update: Monday 11/17/14 @ 1:46 pm

"The Negro race, like all races, is going to be saved by its exceptional men."
… W.E.B. DuBois, The Talented Tenth, September, 1903

This essay is the first draft of a "Big Picture" -- a framework for understanding the relationships between the various notions mentioned in its title. I expect that most readers will find that most of my assumptions and derived assertions are consistent with what they already know about these topics.  

"TECH Dozens" -- HBCUs' Sunday Magazine -- Week Ending 11/8/14

Last update: Sunday 11/9/14 @ 1:55 pm

This week's cover = Graphic from tweet about Microsoft taking its Office and Explorer beyond Windows via the cloud ... Other top stories ==> Diverse Issues publishes comprehensive data about minority graduates ... and HBCU 2014 Summit in Silicon Valley

Below find links to the Digital Learning Lab's "Dozens" of favorite news items about HBCUs' use of information technology to enhance their teaching, research, and community services ... plus news about hackathons and issues related to coding ... in HBCU media and Tech media ... for the week ending Saturday 11/8/14 @ 12 noon ... Links to previous editions of the Dozens can be found here ==> Back issues can be searched for old tweets.

A. HBCUs | B. Ed Tech | C. Gen Tech | D. Hackers | E. Events 

DLL Storify of the BMe "Innovate Philly" Townhall Meeting -- Monday 11/3/14

Last update: Tuesay 11/4/14 @ 7:44 am

On Monday 11/3/14, BMe Community -- a real-world social network for building more caring and prosperous communities inspired by Black men --  hosted a town hall meeting in Philadelphia, PA wherein participants discussed the "asset-driven community." Qeyno Labs collaborated with BMe in organizing this event. The DLL used Storify to organize the tweets of attendees who used the hashtag #InnovatePhilly.

"TECH Dozens" -- HBCUs' Sunday Magazine -- Week Ending 11/1/14

Last update: Sunday 1/2/14 @ 9:31 am

This week's cover = photo from tweet that Apple's CEO Tim Cook says he's proud to be gay

... Other top stories ==>HP's move into 3D printing will radically change manufacturing ... and Inside Higher Ed's survey shows most faculty still skeptical about online programs

Below find links to the Digital Learning Lab's "Dozens" of favorite news items about HBCUs' use of information technology to enhance their teaching, research, and community services ... plus news about hackathons and issues related to coding ... in HBCU media and Tech media ... for the week ending Saturday 11/1/14 @ 3 pm ... Links to previous editions of the Dozens can be found here ==> Back issues can be searched for old tweets.

DLL Storify of NewME Accelerator's Twitter Chat with Dawn Dickson on Friday 10/31/14

Last update: Friday 10/31/14 @ 2:10 pm 

NewME Accelerator hosts a regular series of Twitter chats with founders of startup firms. This week's guest was Dawn Dickson (@THEDawnDickson), founder and CEO of Flat Out of Heels ... using hashtag #founderchat.

"TECH Dozens" -- HBCUs' Sunday Magazine -- Week Ending 10/25/14

Last update: Sunday 10/26/14 @ 12:30 pm

This week's cover = photo from tweet about Platform 2014 Summit Conference at Morehouse College

... Other top stories ==>Google's new "Inbox" ... Apple's record profits ... and Ebola

Below find links to the Digital Learning Lab's "Dozens" of favorite news items about HBCUs' use of information technology to enhance their teaching, research, and community services ... plus news about hackathons and issues related to coding ... in HBCU media and Tech media ... for the week ending Saturday 10/25/14 @ 10 am ... Links to previous editions of the Dozens can be found here ==> Back issues can be searched for old tweets.

A. HBCUs | B. Ed Tech | C. Gen Tech | D. Hackers | E. Events | F. Ebola

DLL Storify of Platform 2014 Summit Conference -- Day 3, Sunday 10/26/14

Last update: Sunday 10/26/14 @ 3:18 pm

On Sunday 10/26/14, Platform.Org a/k/a @PlatformOrg, in partnership with YesWeCode, hosted the third  and final day of its Platform Summit, a conference on "diversifying the innovation economy." The conference was held at the Ray Charles Performing Arts Center at Morehouse College in Atlanta. Georgia Tech is the conference co-host. Note -- Day 3 ends with a "Special Conversation" with the Rev. Jesse Jackson who spearheaded the movement to get Silicon Valley tech firms to diversify.

The DLL used Storify to organize the tweets of attendees who used the hashtag #platform2014. The conference schedule posted on Platform.Org's Website provides a framework for the shifting focus of the extensive and wide ranging tweets of the conference attendees. Readers are also encouraged to download the conference app (for iOS or Android) for convenient access to the comprehensive program of the conference events 

... Click Here for Storify of Day 1 
... Click Here for Storify of Day 2

... Also view @PlatformOrg's complete set of videos of all presentations at the summit

DLL Storify of Platform 2014 Summit Conference -- Day 2, Saturday 10/25/14

Last update: Saturday 10/25/14 @ 10:57 pm

On Saturday 10/25/14, Platform.Org a/k/a @PlatformOrg, in partnership with YesWeCode, hosted the second day of its Platform Summit, a conference on "diversifying the innovation economy". The conference was held at the Ray Charles Performing Arts Center at Morehouse College in Atlanta. Georgia Tech is the conference co-host.

The DLL used Storify to organize the tweets of attendees who used the hashtag #platform2014. The conference schedule posted on Platform.Org's Website provides a framework for the shifting focus of the extensive and wide ranging tweets of the conference attendees. Readers are also encouraged to download the conference app (for iOS or Android) for convenient access to the comprehensive program of the conference events 

... Click Here for Storify of Day 1
... Click Here for Storify of Day 3

... Also view @PlatformOrg's complete set of videos of all presentations at the summit

DLL Storify of Platform 2014 Summit Conference -- Day 1, Friday 10/24/14

Last update: Friday 10/24/14 @ 11:59 pm

On Friday 10/24/14, Platform.Org a/k/a @PlatformOrg, in partnership with YesWeCode, launched its three day Platform Summit, a conference on "diversifying the innovation economy". The conference was held at the Ray Charles Performing Arts Center at Morehouse College in Atlanta. Georgia Tech is the conference co-host.

The DLL used Storify to organize the tweets of attendees who used the hashtag #platform2014. The conference schedule posted on Platform.Org's Website provides a framework for the shifting focus of the extensive and wide ranging tweets of the conference attendees. Readers are also encouraged to download the conference app (for iOS or Android) for convenient access to the comprehensive program of the conference events 

... Click Here for Storify of Day 2 
... Click Here for Storify of Day 3

... Also view @PlatformOrg's complete set of videos of all presentations at the summit

"TECH Dozens" -- HBCUs' Sunday Magazine -- Week Ending 10/18/14

Last update: Sunday 10/19/14 @ 1:44 pm

This week's cover = Photo montage from Storify of tweets from the Silicon Harlem 2014 Technology Conference

... Other top stories ==>New 
products and operating system from Apple ... New operating system from Google

Below find links to the Digital Learning Lab's "Dozens" of favorite news items about HBCUs' use of information technology to enhance their teaching, research, and community services ... plus news about hackathons and issues related to coding ... in HBCU media and Tech media ... for the week ending Saturday 10/18/14 @ 9 am ... Links to previous editions of the Dozens can be found here ==> Back issues can be searched for old tweets.

A. HBCUs | B. Ed Tech | C. Gen Tech | D. Hackers | E. Events

DLL Storify of NewME Accelerator's Twitter Chat with Morgan DeBaun on Friday 10/17/14

Last update: Friday 10/17/14 @ 3:40 pm 

NewME Accelerator hosts a regular series of Twitter chats with founders of startup firms. This week's guest was Morgan DeBaun @MorganDeBaum founder and CEO of Blavity ... using hashtag #founderchat.

DLL Storify of Silicon Harlem's 2014 Technology Conference ... Plus Post-Conference Acknowledgements

Last update: Monday 10/20/14 @ 1:49 pm

On Thursday 10/16/14 Silicon Harlem hosted its one day technology conference at My Image Studios in Harlem, New York City. The DLL used Storify to organize the tweets of attendees who used the hashtag #harlemtech. The Website's description of the conference provides a framework for the shifting focus of the wide ranging tweeted comments of the conference attendees. Readers are also encouraged to download the conference app for convenient access to a comprehensive program of the conference events ==> Click HERE 

... On Friday 10/17/14 the conference organizers tweeted extensive acknowledgements of the contributions from the conference speakers, sponsors, and others. These day-after, post-conference tweets, using hashtag #harlemtech, have been appended to the tweets from the conference events.

... On Monday 10/1914 the conference organizers tweeted a link to a page that hosts a video overview of the conference plus a preview of the agenda for the conference in 2015==> Click HERE

DLL Editor's apology -- The original draft for this note was a template that the I use for DLL Storifys of  all conferences and hackathons. The default number of conference days in the template = 3. Unfortunately, I repeatedly failed to notice that the text still stated that the SH conference lasted three days and to modify the text to correctly state that the SH tech conference was a one day event. I sincerely apologize to readers of this blog and to the hard working organizers of the SH conference for taking so long to correct this bug ... :-(

"TECH Dozens" -- HBCUs' Sunday Magazine -- Week Ending 10/11/14

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Last update: Sunday 10/12/14 @ 11:48 am

This week's cover = photo from tweet about the International Day of the Girl -- especially #DayOfTheGirlBGC

... Other top stories ==> ATT's Hackathon at Howard U ... Carnegie Classifications new home ... and Microsoft CEO Nadella's bad advice to women

Below find links to the Digital Learning Lab's "Dozens" of favorite news items about HBCUs' use of information technology to enhance their teaching, research, and community services ... plus news about hackathons and issues related to coding ... in HBCU media and Tech media ... for the week ending Saturday 10/11/14 @ 12 noon ... Links to previous editions of the Dozens can be found here ==> Back issues can be searched for old tweets.

A. HBCUs | B. Ed Tech | C. Gen Tech | D. Hackers | E. Events