Hi, Eric -

Thanks so much for your email to the list; it's nice to "meet you" and learn about your work and involvement with Squeak Etoys. There is a lot of interest and activity around Squeak Etoys in Japan and Korea -- as you may know Kyoto, Japan has also been a gathering spot for several years for the "C5" Conference -- slightly different in nature from SqueakFest, but attracting some of the same community. I also know of several regional conferences in Japan that have attracted teachers, developers and researchers.

This suggests that we encourage all readers of this mailing list to share knowledge of any /all activities no matter where they might be; I know it would be of great interest to us at Viewpoints just to see, and be more aware of activities around the world.

Certainly the olpc's "xo" computer is raising levels of consciousness about and use of Etoys and we'll now have the potential to reach millions around the world.

We'd be fascinated to learn more about how you've used Squeak as part of your teaching in Guam. Please do share more when you have a chance. I hope we will meet one day, at a gathering such as SqueakFest.

regards, Kim

On Nov 29, 2007, at 11:28 AM, Eric Eisaman wrote:

Howdy Squeak Enthusiasts,

I teach for the U.S. Dept. of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) in Guam, USA. Guam resides about two and one-half hours east of the Philippines, six hours north of New Zealand, and ... well quite far from Chicago. I do plan routine trips to the states to see family and friends and attend professional trainings however, due to my economic situation they don't occur every year or even bi-annually.

I had tried to attend last year's SqueakFest but wasn't quite able to pull it off. I would love to see some consortium activity in the Pacific Rim Region. It seems plausible to me since at least a few of Squeak's "Heavy Hitters" are native to this region that such a get together can be planned and executed.

In another note, I sense Squeak's worldwide momentum could be enhanced by sharing consortium with humanitarian sponsor organizations of OLPC and the like. My sense is that we, Squeakland, should apply as much effort in building worldwide humanitarian solidarity with as much vigor as we do to our code stream in order to effectuate the societal changes envisioned through the Dynabook concept. I see some fine inroads being developed, but the humanitarian workforce and vision to sustain and develop these roads even further can't be just expected to happen without some larger scale meetings of the well minded hoi polloi (not an oxymoron, they actually exist). The high class teas and power lunches with heads of state and CEO's can only get us so far. We must formulate and conduct large scale worldwide musters with the humanitarian purpose at the core of each assembly to truly reach a "Dyna"mic kingdom. So in closing, Chicago sounds great yet I'd still like to see some more action worldwide. I have been a proponent for Squeak since 2002 throughout all of DoDEA and my community. I am more than willing to work with others in my region to effectuate even greater change.

Regards,

Eric Eisaman AP Physics Teacher DoDEA Guam High School

On Nov 28, 2007 2:47 AM, Kim Rose kim.rose@vpri.org wrote: Greetings, Squeaklanders -

Viewpoints has recently been informed that after a long and successful run hosting "SqueakFest" each summer for 5 years, Columbia College will take a break in hosting the event in 2008. I think all who attended any SqueakFest will agree what a wonderful job the group at Columbia did to host our group to not only their "campus" but to the city of Chicago. We are so grateful for this longer-than- anticipated run and to our friends at Columbia for all their hard work and effort each year.

Originally the thought was that the venue for SqueakFest would change from year to year, enabling the community and venue to travel around the world, have a variety of organizations to host, etc., etc. but the first year was such a success in Chicago, we all wanted to "do it again" and so, now, here we are.

I would like to ask you, the community, for feedback and ideas for the future....

Should there be another SqueakFest? Ideas for venue? Hosts? Sponsoring organizations? Is it time to create more regional events? Perhaps in addition to an annual international gathering?

Who would like to be involved in planning, organizing, etc..,etc?

I'd love to start a discussion on this topic, so please send your thoughts and ideas.

cheers, Kim

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