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Shout Out to the Women of Tech

Shout Out to the Women of Tech

March 8 is International Women’s Day, a day of recognition started in 1911 and celebrated across the globe. What better time to give a shout out to the amazing women of tech. A dear friend of mine, Trish Gray, who is senior development manager of O’Reilly School of Technology and a talented programmer, studied computer […]

First Time at Maker Faire?

First Time at Maker Faire?

I’m writing a series of posts aimed at folks looking forward to their first experience at the upcoming Maker Faire Bay Area (May 18-19 in San Mateo, Calif.). I’d like to help out by answering your questions directly, documenting some of my own experiences as an exhibitor at Maker Faire, and interviewing folks at MAKE for advice on enjoying the fair.

Challenge the Kids, Challenge Yourself

Challenge the Kids, Challenge Yourself

I had twenty-four kids to walk through a detailed robot kit build. I thought we’d get through the physical build in one or two classes, and have two classes to play with the circuit and make the robot do different things. Boy, did I mis-judge things. By the end of the first class, we had barely managed to finish the first two steps of the build. I went home and collapsed for a bit. I was exhausted and not a little bit panicked.