San Antonio Busy Kids

At SXSW this year, I had the pleasure of meeting some amazing folks doing really cool things for kids related to tech…like NukoToys and Gamestar Mechanic.

There were many things that captured my attention, but one really stuck. It was simple one-pager that showed the tools along the pathway to professional game design and coding…starting with a platform that even elementary school kids can use. It was the first road map I’d ever seen. I decided right then and there, I was going to do something here in San Antonio for kids related coding. It took months to put it all together, but with tremendous exuberance and excitement, I present to you the first ever

Saturday, August 18, 2012 from 1 pm to 4 pm (CT)

Molly Pruitt Library at Roosevelt High School, 5110 Walzem Road, San Antonio, TX

So, what is a Code Jam, you ask?

It’s a local event, designed to make game design, webmaking and digital literacy easy, social and fun. We’ll be using tools that help make it easy for youth to explore, remix and redesign the web.

I’m especially excited, because we’ll be bringing in the amazing folks from Gamestar Mechanic, an online forum where kids can focus on design first (before coding) and bring to life their own video games.

Before I get into the day’s events, let me first send a HUGE shout-out to our sponsors, Rackspace and Time Warner Cable – Connect a Million Minds. This event would not be possible without them. Did I mention it’s a FREE event?

And what are we going to do?

Besides finding solutions to all the world’s problems (not really), we’ll be doing some pretty amazing things.

This code jam is meant to be a semi-unstructured, collaborative, creativity-inspiring experience for youth. There will be three stations and no strict agenda. After a brief icebreaker, the kids are free to choose where they want to spend their time. Some will float around, spending time at many stations and working on different things, while others will stay at one station, working on one project that interests them. It’s all good.

Each station is manned by volunteer instructors and assistants – there to teach the kids how to use the tool, and then to support them as they think creatively and use the tool.

Three Stations (No experience required!)

1. Gamestar Mechanic
Taught by Brian Alspach, EVP, General Manager, Gamestar Mechanic
At this station, participants will learn to use Gamestar Mechanic to design and create their own digital games.

2. Remix That Site!
At this station, participants will use Mozilla’s Hackasaurus tool to hack a website. Or, if they like, they can remix a newspaper website to feature an article they’ve written.

3. Java Baby!
Taught by Adele Williams, Technology Solutions Architect, San Antonio Credit Union
At this station, kids will create a simple program using Java.

We have space for up to 30 tweens and teens with laptops and another 20 BYOLs (Bring Your Own Laptop).

Ready to Register?

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