Fabulous Realities -- God particles and Black Tech Billionaires

Last update: Tuesday 7/28/15

This afternoon while reviewing tweets from business sources about today's news, I was stunned by a photo in a tweet from Business Insider about a "tech billionaire" who had had a "lavish wedding" because the text appeared above a picture of of a middle aged Black man and a young White bride ... wait ... he's Black ... and he's a tech billionaire ... click the link to the article ... more pictures of a man in his fifties in wedding garb who has my color, my lips, and my hair ... who's a Tech billionaire ... who I never heard ... maybe he's really Italian or Greek or from India and his photographs just look Black ... no ... that man is Black ... 

DLL Storify of Black Girls Code Hack at Yammer -- Tuesday 7/28/15

Last update: Tuesday 7/28/15 @ 5:57 pm EDT

Yammer invited the Bay Area Chapter of Black Girls Code to a workshop/hack at its headquarters in San Francisco. Details are provided on the event's invitation page

Below find the DLL Storify of the few tweets that were generated by participants who used hashtags = @yammer and @BlackGirlsCode.  As usual, the DLL Storify is merely a "firehose" draft, i.e., it includes all tweets in chronological order without comment or classification ... Storyfies of other #DiversityInTech events are listed in the DLL Archives

From Online to Blended -- Part 1 (High Tech, High Touch)

Last update: Tuesday 7/28/15

Way back in the fourth century BCE, Aristotle noted that man is a social animal. Twenty-five hundred years later, his judgment stands, unchallenged by modern behavioral science. It also stands as a warning about the limits of innovations, e.g., online education programs, that don't give sufficient importance to people's needs to interact with one another.

Part 1 (High Tech, High Touch) | Part 2 (Uber & Airbnb) | Part 3 (Barnes & Nobel, Paradise Lost)

From Online to Blended -- Part 2 (Uber & AirbnB)

Last update: Tuesday 7/28/15

Some have proposed blended education as the solution; but I say, "not yet". Proponents of blended courses -- courses that mix online instruction with classes that meet fewer hours than traditional face-to-face courses -- cite studies that show that blended courses are as effective as traditional face-to-face courses. But I say, "How could this not be true?" If I can mix all of the best high tech from online courses with just enough face-to-face meetings to satisfy most students' social needs, then my blends, being the best of both worlds, will have to be as good as the traditional courses. Indeed, well designed blended courses should be better than face-to-face courses!!!

Part 1 (High Tech, High Touch) | Part 2 (Uber & Airbnb) | Part 3 (Barnes & Nobel, Paradise Lost)

TECH Dozens -- Week Ending Saturday 7/25/15

Last update: Sunday 7/26/15 @ 11:05 am

This week's cover = photo from tweet that Microsoft reports biggest quarterly loss ever 

... Other top stories = R.I.P for Dr. Cooper, Director White House HBCU Initiative ... FCC approves AT&T-Direct TV merger ... and Profit boosts Amazon shares

The Digital Learning Lab's favorite tweets about how HBCUs are using information technology to enhance the effectiveness of their teaching, research, and community service ... plus tweets about Ed Tech, Info Tech, and Hackers ... Big news, interesting stories, insightful comments, and good reads ... for the week ending Saturday 7/25/15 @ 3 pm ... Links to previous editions of the Dozens can be found ==> Back issues.

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

... Old TECH Dozens ...  Calendar ... TECH 2014 ...

DLL Storify of Black Girls Code Hackathon in Brooklyn, NY -- Day 3 of 3 ... Sunday 7/24615

Last update: Sunday 7/26/15 @ 7:37 pm

Day 1 -- Friday  | Day 2  -- Saturday | Day 3  -- Sunday 

Hackathons sponsored by Black Girls CODE are community oriented "girls only" events for girls between the ages of 12 - 17 which allow them to participate in creating solutions to social issues within their communities while they build their skills, confidence, experience and have lots of fun! Girls attending BGC hackathons learn how to brainstorm as a team, research their ideas and design an app.  Experienced mentors work with teams over a weekend to build amazing mobile apps and digital tools.  At the end of the hackathon, teams will demo their solutions on stage, receiving feedback from judges and be eligible for prizes. 

BGC launched its second hackathon series -- called "Project Humanity" -- in 2015. Its theme emphasizes how girls can create positive change in our world by focusing on ecosystems, the earth, and social justice themes. Teams will build apps and solutions that solve problems in this space. Project Humanity is about creating a good and safe environment for both humans and the earth. The theme broadens the definition of environment to not just include the earth (water, plants, animals, etc.), but also the environments that we (humans) live in.

The Brooklyn hackathon, held at the NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering, began on Friday afternoon (12 pm to 6 pm), continued on Saturday (8 am to 6 pm ), and ended on Sunday (8 am to 6 pm). More information can be found on the hackathon's event page. 

Below find the DLL Storify of tweets that were generated by participants who used hashtags = #bgchackathon, #BGCProjectHumanity, @VolunteerBGCNY.  As usual, the DLL Storify is merely a "firehose" draft, i.e., it includes all tweets in chronological order without comment or classification ... Storyfies of other #DiversityInTech events are listed in the DLL Archives

DLL Storify of Black Girls Code Hackathon in Brooklyn, NY -- Day 2 of 3 ... Saturday 7/25/15

Last update: Saturday 7/25/15 @ 6:25 pm

Day 1 -- Friday  | Day 2  -- Saturday | Day 3  -- Sunday 

Hackathons sponsored by Black Girls CODE are community oriented "girls only" events for girls between the ages of 12 - 17 which allow them to participate in creating solutions to social issues within their communities while they build their skills, confidence, experience and have lots of fun! Girls attending BGC hackathons learn how to brainstorm as a team, research their ideas and design an app.  Experienced mentors work with teams over a weekend to build amazing mobile apps and digital tools.  At the end of the hackathon, teams will demo their solutions on stage, receiving feedback from judges and be eligible for prizes. 

DLL Storify of Black Girls Code Hackathon in Brooklyn, NY -- Day 1 of 3 ... Friday 7/24/15

Last update: Friday 7/24/15 @ 11:18 pm

Day 1 -- Friday  | Day 2  -- Saturday | Day 3  -- Sunday

Hackathons sponsored by Black Girls CODE are community oriented "girls only" events for girls between the ages of 12 - 17 which allow them to participate in creating solutions to social issues within their communities while they build their skills, confidence, experience and have lots of fun! Girls attending BGC hackathons learn how to brainstorm as a team, research their ideas and design an app.  Experienced mentors work with teams over a weekend to build amazing mobile apps and digital tools.  At the end of the hackathon, teams will demo their solutions on stage, receiving feedback from judges and be eligible for prizes. 

DLL Storify of Black Girls Code DC Chapter's Build a Game in a Day with Scratch Workshop -- Saturday, 7/18/15

Last update: Sunday 7/19/15

Sponsored by Verizon and held at Impact Hub DC, this was the first workshop offered by the new Black Girls Code chapter in the Washington, DC.  Intended for girls 7 to 17, this workshop introduced participants to animation, gaming, and interactive stories and it encouraged student-driven learning, as participants thought analytically, designed, played and coded in real-time. More information can be found on the event's home page.  

Below find the DLL Storify of tweets that were generated by participants who used hashtag = #BGCDC.  As usual, the DLL Storify is merely a "firehose" draft, i.e., it includes all tweets in chronological order without comment or classification ... Storyfies of other #DiversityInTech events are listed in the DLL Archives.  

TECH Dozens -- Week Ending Saturday 7/18/15

Last update: Sunday7/19/15 @ 12:05 am

This week's cover = graphic from tweet that Google's stock soars in biggest one-day rally ever

... Other top stories = NASA's fly-by of Pluto and Charon  ... Closing the Digital Divide (again) ... and more fallout from hack of Hacking Team 

The Digital Learning Lab's favorite tweets about how HBCUs are using information technology to enhance the effectiveness of their teaching, research, and community service ... plus tweets about Ed Tech, Info Tech, and Hackers ... Big news, interesting stories, insightful comments, and good reads ... for the week ending Saturday 7/18/15 @ 3 pm ... Links to previous editions of the Dozens can be found ==> Back issues.

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

... Old TECH Dozens ...  Calendar ... TECH 2014 ...

DLL Storify of Hackcon III, MLH Workshop and Conference 2015 -- Friday 7/17/15 through Sunday 7/19/15

Last update: Friday 7/24/15

This year Major League Hacking (MLH) held its third annual conference and workshop for students who organize hackathons at the headquarters of GitHub in San Francisco. As can be seen from the schedule at the bottom of the events page, most of the workshop sessions were held on Friday (7/17/15) and most of conference sessions were held on Saturday (7/18/15) and Sunday (7/19/15), thereby enabling participants to attend both events. 

MLH has rapidly emerged as the primary organizer of hackathons for colleges and universities at first in North America, but more recently in Europe. So it's only a matter of time before MLH extends its global reach to Africa, South America, and Asia. MLH events have been sponsored by leading U.S. tech corporations, e.g., GitHub, Dell, Intel, and Amazon. MLH broadcasts its events on Twitch and frequently tweets links to articles and videos on its Website that provide guidelines and best practices for organizing hackathons (@MLHacks).

Below find the DLL Storify of tweets that were generated by participants who used hashtag = #hackkcon. As usual, this DLL Storify is merely a "firehose" draft, i.e., it includes all tweets in chronological order without comment or classification ... Storyfies of other #DiversityInTech events are listed in the DLL Archives.

On Wednesday 7/22/15, MLHacks tweeted a link to its official collection of photos of the workshop and conference ==> HERE ... then on Friday 7/24/15 MLHacks tweeted its official assessment of the workshop and conference (what went right, wrong, and how Hackcon IV will be even better) ==> HERE

Describing unique experiences

Last update: Monday 7/13/15

DLL Editor's note -- The topic of the following note is outside the usual range of this blog. I'm publishing it now because it will be referenced in a future note that will be within range ... :-)

From time to time when I go to the Starbucks at the Barnes & Nobel in Rockville, MD, I see a young Vietnamese artist seated at the table in the center of the room doing his thing. I can't describe it. And I get a kick out of watching other people stop dead in their tracks, staring, as their minds boggle, searching for words to describe what they are seeing, hypnotized as he extends whatever he already has on the sketchpad using ball point pens in real time. 

TECH Dozens -- Week Ending Saturday 7/11/15

Last update: Sunday 7/12/15 @ 11:05 am

This week's cover = Epic hack of federal personnel records by Chinese

... Other top stories = Hack of the Hacking Team  ... Cyber-glitches bring down NY Stock Exchange, Wall Street Journal, & United Airlines ... CEO Ellen Pao forced out of Reddit

The Digital Learning Lab's favorite tweets about how HBCUs are using information technology to enhance the effectiveness of their teaching, research, and community service ... plus tweets about Ed Tech, Info Tech, and Hackers ... Big news, interesting stories, insightful comments, and good reads ... for the week ending Saturday 7/11/15 @ 3 pm ... Links to previous editions of the Dozens can be found ==> Back issues.

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

... Old TECH Dozens ...  Calendar ... TECH 2014 ...

DLL Storify of Black Girls Code "Build a Webpage in a Day" Workshop at NCCU ... Saturday 7/11/15

Last update: Saturday 7/11/15 @ 9:12 pm

This inaugural workshop for the new Raleigh-Durham, NC chapter of Black Girls Code was held at North Carolina Central University, an HBCU. The workshop was intended for girls, ages 7 to 17, and taught participants how to build their own unique webpage in one day using fun games and activities to introduce HTML, CSS, and basic web structure. More information can be found on the event page.

Below find the DLL Storify of tweets that were generated by participants who used hashtag =  #BGCRaleighDurham. As usual, this DLL Storify is merely a "firehose" draft, i.e., it includes all tweets in chronological order without comment or classification ... Storyfies of other #DiversityInTech events are listed in the DLL Archives.

Pass the MOOCs -- Part 4 (STEM vs Humanities)

Last update: Monday 7/6/15

Part 2 of this series noted my surprise at the beginning of the MOOCs that I was taking -- MOOCs that were offered by a couple of the nation's leading universities. I was surprised when I realized that their descriptions of their courses substantially underestimated the prerequisite knowledge that was required and the hours of study per week that were required to pass their courses. By contrast, this current note conveys my surprise at the end of the first four MOOCs. At that point I found that their use of student peer evaluations of final projects was (a) appropriate and (b) effective. (Note: only the Hopkins MOOCs offered via Coursera used peer evaluations; the M.I.T. MOOC offered via edX did not.)

"TECH Dozens" -- Week Ending Saturday 7/4/15

Last update: Sunday 7/5/15 @ 12:05 pm

This week's cover = graphic from tweet that Apple Music arrives with iOS 8.4 ... Other top stories = PowerMovesNOLA 2015 Conference ... Google algorithm tags black people as gorillas in photos ...   and Microsoft gives maps to Uber

The Digital Learning Lab's favorite tweets about how HBCUs are using information technology to enhance the effectiveness of their teaching, research, and community service ... plus tweets about Ed Tech, Info Tech, and Hackers ... Big news, interesting stories, insightful comments, and good reads ... for the week ending Saturday 7/4/15 @ 3 pm ... Links to previous editions of the Dozens can be found ==> Back issues.

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

... Old TECH Dozens ...  Calendar ... TECH 2014 ...

DLL Storify of PowerMoves.NOLA National Conference -- Wednesday 7/1/15 to Friday 7/3/15

Last update: Sunday 7/5/15 @ 10:56 am

PowerMoves.NOLA is a national initiative to deploy innovative ideas, fresh approaches, and an overall commitment to equity and diversity as a growth strategy to address the generational obstacles that prevent minority entrepreneurship. An excellent article about PowerMoves.NOLA published by Forbes    

Its 2015 national conference was a three-day event held alongside the ESSENCE Festival® presented by Coca-Cola® in New Orleans.  From boot camps to one-on-one investor meetings, PowerMoves.NOLA gave entrepreneurs of color an exclusive opportunity to promote their companies, network with advisors, and connect with a local and national startup community. Pitch competitions showcased some of the promising high-growth high-tech minority-founded startups from around the country. Participants were challenged to demonstrate how their businesses are sustainable and poised for growth as they competed for cash prizes. More information can be found on the conference Web page


Below find the DLL Storify of tweets that were generated by participants who used hashtags = #PowerMovesNOLA & @PowerMovesNOLA. As usual, the DLL Storify is merely a "firehose" draft, i.e., it includes all tweets in chronological order without comment or classification ... Storyfies of other #DiversityInTech events are listed in the DLL Archives 

Silicon Valley's Search for Bright Stars and Dark Stars

Last update: Wednesday 7/1/15

Facebook, Google, and other elite tech companies in Silicon Valley (SV) just released reports that their staffing is no more diverse this year (2015) than it was last year. While some will shake their heads in disappointment, I am baffled that anyone would have expected different results, considering where and how the Valley's recruiters did their recruiting.