Squeakfest is Here!
If you need OLPC Etoys for the hands-on sessions, you can find it here: http://tinlizzie.org/olpc/OLPC-Etoys070726.zip

On behalf of the Early Childhood Education and Interactive Multimedia Programs, the Schools of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Media Arts, Columbia College Chicago, and Viewpoints Research Institute, thank you for your interest in SqueakFest´07. We hope that you can join us on Wednesday – Friday, August 1—3, in Chicago.

SqueakFest is open to educators, parents (homeschoolers, other) developers, community technology center leaders, etc., etc. -- anyone interested in working with Squeak Etoys.

This year we're planning a special track on the One Laptop Per Child Initiative ($100 laptop) and welcome participation by Etoy content developers for this particular platform in addition to those using or planning to use Squeak Etoys on other computing platforms. (For those who may be unaware, Squeak Etoys is currently one offering provided on the $100 laptop which is being distributed in great quantity this year.)

Hands on workshops, presentations and panels will be conducted Wednesday August 1 - Friday August 3. Events will begin at 9 AM each day and end by 5 PM. Participants are also invited to a conference reception (details coming soon). Alan Kay will deliver the conference keynote on Thursday afternoon. He'll be speaking about the One Laptop Per Child Initiative and the "$100 laptop"

Continuing professional-development unit credits will again be available to public school teachers at no charge from the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Columbia College Chicago. On this site, you will find a wealth of valuable information, including the SqueakFest schedule, information about accommodations, a regularly updated list of confirmed participants, maps and local travel details, and more (such as things to do while you are in here in Chicago). SqueakFest ’07 follows the first four SqueakFests, held in the summers of 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006 at Columbia College Chicago; and judged resounding successes by participants.

As in years past, attendees will include K-12 teachers, college and university education faculty, researchers, and programmers. Again, we hope that the critical mass of participants will share best practices and practical considerations. Many of you are arriving with examples and details of student projects, lesson plans, assessment details, stories, anecdotes, pedagogical approaches, and such, and we are likely to discover much. What worked? What didn´t work? Why? What can we draw as conclusions, learn from, and do differently (or the same) in the future? Most importantly: What can we learn from, and teach, each other? This year, in addition to large and collective group panels and presentations, we will continue to offer concurrent sessions to accommodate participants with varying expertise and experience utilizing Squeak and Etoys in practical settings, from novice to more advanced users. There will be plenty of time for attendees to share, to discuss, to socialize, and to spend lab time collaborating in wireless – and laptop-equipped workshop rooms. There will also be time for you to provide feedback on teaching and using Squeak (its features, interface, etc.) to Squeak’s developers, and to get a glimpse of the future. At the conclusion of SqueakFest ’07, the Squeak projects and materials brought to and developed during the workshop will be aggregated and distributed.

We expect the three days again to be thought provoking, stimulating, challenging, illuminating, productive, collegial, and yes, fun. We also hope to emerge as a cohesive, committed, strong, larger, and involved core community, one international in scale and scope; participants will again gather from points and distances around the world. We look forward to seeing you!

Neil Pagano, Liberal Arts & Sciences, Columbia College Chicago
Kim Rose Viewpoints Research
Carol Ann Stowe, Early Childhood Education, Columbia College Chicago