Tech Education Today

The education of real computer science skills, that lead to independent creation and innovation, is utterly lacking. Over the past decade, a time that has seen amazing advances in technology and the scope of things that are possible online, education has turned backwards to focus on subjects such as writing documents in word processors, creating presentations, and basic computer use skills. However, a lot of children can already do these things; they learn them naturally through growing up with computers as well as being taught by tech-savvy parents and older siblings. So why are schools stuck teaching them?

Technology education should be focused on proper computer science skills such as basic programming, how computers work and learning to understand the hardware and software behind them. Learning these things would empower children to be able to go on and really make a difference. By teaching these skills we would be instilling children with a passion to create and innovate, and the knowledge necessary to do so.

Someone who recognises this, and has done something amazing to bring about this change, is David Braben, founder of UK development studio Frontier Developments. His solution has been to create an incredibly low-cost PC, to be given to children for free, in order to allow every child access to really understanding how computers work. David’s aim is to stimulate the teaching of basic computer science in schools, and to excite and produce passion in the same children that are currently left uninspired and ignorant about the way computers work by today’s ICT classes.

The $25 PC

The PC consists of a USB stick, with an HDMI port on one end and a USB port on the other. This allows the PC to be connected to any monitor with an HDMI socket, and then to a keyboard. Just like that, you have a fully-functioning machine running one of four versions of Linux, including Ubuntu, allowing it to handle web browsing and run office applications.

The hardware packed neatly into the tiny casing is impressive, punching way above the weight you might expect from something that can fit in your pocket or on a key chain. The 700MHz ARM11 processor is coupled with 128MB of RAM and runs OpenGL ES 2.0, which allows for decent graphics performance with 1080p output confirmed. In terms of storage, the PC uses SD cards, currently used by all the leading digital camera companies.

Raspberry Pi

David’s venture is called Raspberry Pi, and is part of the Raspberry Pi Foundation. This UK registered charity has been set up to promote the study of computer science and related topics, especially at school level, and to put the fun back into learning computing.

The idea behind producing and distributing this ultra-low-cost computer is to be used in teaching computer programming to children. The Raspberry Pi Foundation hope that teachers, developers and the government (three groups of people who generally do not collaborate nearly as much as they should) will come together in order to put the PC into the hands of children who might not otherwise have such ready access to a computer.

Its accessibility and low cost are also hoped to encourage children to become interested and excited about what is inside this, and every, computer. They will be able to break it apart, inspect it, mess about with it, and tinker under the bonnet.

Teaching Innovation through Innovation

The hope is also that educators will build upon this cheap, accessible device to come up with new, exciting ways to teach the real skills necessary to use computers to their full potential. The Raspberry Pi is perfect for school and college courses to be built upon, providing the means to inspire children to learn a bit of programming and to understand their computers better.

With innovative ventures like Raspberry Pi, we can encourage and enable schools to shift the way in which they teach computing. Hopefully this change will move towards teaching children deeper knowledge of the computers we use, and providing them with skills of real value. Also, the excitement that such projects will inspire could lay the foundation for the next generation of passionate and creative programmers.

Do you think the $25 PC has the potential to change computing education in our schools? Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Images courtesy of CriticalGamer.co.uk and RaspberryPi.org.

The Importance of the $25 PC is a post from: Fuel Your Venture

According to the Startup Roots website, students are immersed in a 10-week fellowship program in the San Fransisco Bay / Silicon Valley startup community and will meet CEO’s and executives at the most innovative companies in the world. A weekly speaker series features industry CEO’s, Venture Capitalists and thought leaders talking on a variety of topics ranging from the history of startups to to how raise money for a company.

Why are summer internships important to students? Founding member Himani Amoli explains, “Experience follows you forever. Working at a startup, you’ll undoubtedly work on substantial projects that contribute to the growth and direction of the product. Whether its product marketing or feature development, these are tangible experiences that you’ll be able to speak to for the rest of your life. Many of the other summer options won’t be able to provide this.”

Early-stage startups with a viable market opportunity and full team are encouraged to participate in the program. Startup Roots can be leveraged to help find and match startups with, what they describe as, elite student interns. Their internship program may also be integrated into existing programs within your company. Find out how.

Startup Roots was founded by Himani Amoli, Gagan Biyani, Andrew Chen, Lou Hong and Ajay Kamat. Prior to launching Startup Roots they worked for industry leaders at Accenture, Microsoft, TechCrunch, Brocade Communications, and Deloitte Consulting.

The Summer 2010 program has already begun but for additional information you may follow the StartupRoots blog to learn more about their Summer 2011 program.

Matching Interns with Startups: Startup Roots is a post from: Fuel Your Venture

Last week TechStars held its “Demo Day”, the final step in the incubation process. The Demo Day gave the startups the chance to present their work to over 300 potential investors in an 8 minute pitch. When asked about the event Liam Davis-Meade, CTO of ScriptPad, a service that turns digital devices into prescription pads for doctors, referred to the final day as “a weird mix of exhilaration and relief, tempered by [the fact that] now the real work begins. It was the first step, a big step, in a long series of steps.”

While the Demo Day is the climax of the program, the real value of TechStars is found in the three-month process as a whole; as the co-founder of Rent Monitor, who develop management software for landowners, likened the process to getting an MBA in three months.

All of the founders worked in the same workspace, receiving instruction from TechStar’s Mentors, in fields such as legal, business development and finance. David Cohen, TechStars CEO, said that mentors are brought on through personal connections and because they know they are “awesome”.  While several founders referred to the mentors (Eric Reis, Don Doge and Dave McClure to name a few) as the most valuable assets, they also praised the value of working with the other founders. The relationships built between the companies even paralleled, by ScriptPad’s CEO Shane Taylor, to a fraternal bond.

Seed accelerator, angel groups and start-up pitch events have become increasingly popular over the past few years with the success of Y Combinator and Techcrunch50 (newly re-branded as TechCrunch Disrupt). These programs have opened the door for early stage startups and investors alike. John Laramie of ADstruc, an outdoor billboard marketplace and TechStars graduate, credits these programs as the “driving force behind mentoring, supporting, and launching successful companies.”

Below is a list of the companies that took part in the TechStars 2010 Boulder class:

ADstruc

ADstruc is an advertising marketplace for outdoor billboards. Ranging from Times Square wallscapes to billboards on the back of bicycles ADstruc looks to become the Google AdWords for the large outdoor advertising format.

BlipSnips

BlipSnips is a tool for adding interactive annotations to online video. These annotations make it easier for viewers to share specific moments in content, engaging the viewer and those they share with online.

Kapost

Kapost is a social publishing platform that allows the audience of a site produce content for it. It currently works within blog frameworks such as Wordpress and Drupal. Watch their commercial to get a sense of what Kapost offers here.

Omniar

Omniar is a visual search platform that can be utilized through an open API and is currently open for beta testing.

Orbotix

Orbotix, formerly Gearbox, is an advanced toy company. Currently their flagship project is a ball controlled via smartphone. They are currently looking to develop beyond the simple ball game with their API.

Rent Monitor

Rent Monitor is a management dashboard for landowners to manage their properties and simplify the process of running their business

Round Pegg

Round Pegg is a service aimed towards finding employees that will fit company culture and eliminate the mess a miss-hire causes.

Spot Influence

Spot Influence is a curated search engine where users are provided information from the top influencers of their desired topic. This is done primarily through social media keywords.

ScriptPad

ScriptPad looks to turn digital devices, currently the iPhone and iPad, into digital prescription pads. The elegant solution to messy handwritten prescriptions that may be filled incorrectly while digitally documenting the process.

StatsMix

StatsMix is a customizable dashboard for companies to display data and analytics for their websites and APIs.

Vacation Rental Partner

Vacation Rental Partner is a management tool for those who rent out their vacation homes as opposed to hiring a management company, keeping control in the hands of the owner and minimizing cost.

TechStars Graduate 11 More Startups is a post from: Fuel Your Venture

Between 1980 and 2005, virtually all net new jobs created in the U.S. were created by firms that were 5 years old or less. Robert Litan, (VP of research at the Kauffman Foundation) 

As we consider the economic upheaval of the last couple of years, the questions are clear and daunting.  Where should our priorities lie? What do we promote and what do we stand behind?

If you believe Litans research, our economic future lies with the startup and the humble (or not so humble) Entrepreneur.

Ask a dictionary and you might walk away believing that ‘an entrepreneur is a person who has possession of a new enterprise, venture or idea and assumes significant accountability for the inherent risks and the outcome.’ – To those of us who live it, its more than the enterprise.  Its more than money. Its the drive to pursue a vision, a passion for the unknown, mixed with a slight addiction to the risk. I cant help but smile at Roy Ash’s take… “An entrepreneur tends to bite off a little more than he can chew hoping he’ll quickly learn how to chew it.”

So a petition has been started (by the Grasshopper founders)  with the Kauffman Foundation’s support, to create a nationally recognized Entrepreneurs’ Day as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week – starting November 19th of this year and every Friday of Global Entrepreneurship Week thereafter. They need a million signatures.

According to organizer Siamak Taghaddos – Entrepreneurs are America’s real “bailout” in the sense that by investing in them and their ventures, we would stimulate a real economic turnaround. Whether or not you agree with the politics, entrepreneurship is a vital part of any economic stimulus – so why did it seem like no one was talking about the lack of investment in the future of entrepreneurs? (you can read about more of his motivations here)

Never ones to miss a marketing opportunity, the grasshopper team have created a beautifully executed mo-graph video for the movement.  So take a few minutes to be reminded about what it means to be an entrepreneur. Then head over and sign the petition.

Although on the cheesy side, I cant help but feel that a day to remember the people who have done big things and more importantly dreamt big, is exactly what the world needs right now.

Join the entrepreneur movement. Stimulate the economy. Spread the word.

http://entrepreneursday.org

The Economic Answer? Entrepreneurs’ Day. is a post from: Fuel Your Venture

In their own words:

TechCrunch Disrupt is a three-day, single-track conference and startup competition to immerse you in the debate about what’s changing in media and technology right now, what’s causing it and what we need to do about it to survive and thrive in real time. TechCrunch Disrupt gathers the leaders and innovators of the technology and media industries to give you deep insights into the creative destruction happening right now. The big changes. And the subtle trends.

Tablet computing. Smart phones. Real-time conversations. The geo-stream. The evolution of advertising. Rich media platforms. Software in the cloud. And social media. All of these things are connected, and are converging in different ways.

We’ll bring the experts together to talk about what’s next. And why.

***

There’s more than advice, guidance, and networking opportunity on offer. Over the three days emerging companies will be competing in the Startup Battlefield, showcasing their talents and new designs of both hardware and software. One of them will leave the conference with $50,000 to continue to grow, create and succeed in their field.

In the real startup battlefield, beyond the conference, things are constantly changing. TechCrunch Disrupt will immerse you in where media and technology are heading, how not only to make your company survive the changes, but how it can thrive by moving forward and being the change instead of being lost in the rush. At the event you will hear from some of the best in the business, who have been there and done it, and can help you to do it. Check out the confirmed speakers and secure a place by booking tickets here.

If you’re in New York City this weekend, before the Disrupt conference starts in full, check out the free TechCrunch Hack Day – being organised by Chad Dickerson (who held the first Hack Days at Yahoo, now CTO of Etsy), Daniel Raffel (Yahoo) and Tarikh Korula (Uncommon Projects) and Jonah Brucker-Cohen (Scrapyard Challenge). Work with others to create and build something new, hardward or software, and work long into the night to get the chance to present onstage to over 2,000 people. Registration for the Hack Day begins Saturday 22nd at 1pm, 570 Washington Street (between Houston and Clarkson Streets), 2nd floor, New York, NY 10014. Find more info on the Hack Day here.

Everyone can get something from the TechCrunch Disrupt. Be one of more than 1,000 innovators gaining market insight, developing new business, and moving forward with every change in the industry. Listen to executives from high-tech and media sectors speaking of the industry, but grab the opportunity to speak with them and network, developing new business ideas and being part of the latest thinking. Technologists will be seeing what the competition is up to. Startups will gain incredible exposure, with funders from all over the US, and find opportunities everywhere to take the next step. Disrupt will support your innovation. Investors will be there too, seeing the trends and products, getting in there before the competition does. New and exciting business and innovation will be exposed to press, bloggers and policy influences from every corner of the industry.

Dates & Times:
Saturday (tomorrow), May 22nd – Sunday, May 23rd, 2010: Hack Day (Registration begins Saturday, May 22nd at 1pm) 570 Washington Street (between Houston and Clarkson Streets), 2nd floor, New York, NY 10014

Monday, May 24: “What’s Going On?”

Tuesday, May 25: “How are Platforms and Content Evolving?”

Wednesday, May 26: “How do You Find Your Audience –and Make Money?”

Speakers include:

Tim Armstrong (CEO, AOL)
Nikesh Arora (President, Google)
Ron Conway (Founder, SV Angel)
Chris Cox (Vice President, Facebook)
Dennis Crowley (CEO, Foursquare)
Jack Dorsey (Founder, Square; Co-Founder, Twitter)
Eric Hippeau (CEO, Huffington Post)
Ben Horowitz (Partner, Andreessen Horowitz)
Vic Gundotra (Vice President, Google)
Frank Quattrone (Founder, Qatalyst)
Avner Ronen (CEO, Boxee)
Andrey Ternovskiy (CEO, ChatRoulette)
Fred Wilson (Partner, Union Square)

You can learn more about the TechCrunch Disrupt conference here.

‘TechCrunch Disrupt’ Starts Tomorrow in NYC is a post from: Fuel Your Venture

DreamIt is not unlike other localized incubators, such as Mountain View (CA) based Y Combinator and Boulder(CO)’s Techstars, which provide funding and essential services for early stage startups. Teams aren’t expected to have a business plan — only a great idea and a solid team. The program provides a team with up to $30,000 in startup capital, coaching from top mentors, complimentary legal and accounting services, connections to the startup community and office space in Philadelphia. At the end of the program, DreamIt hosts a Demo Day at which participating companies pitch to potential investors.

Although young — DreamIt funded its first class in 2008, with some graduates already achieving notable success. SCVNGR, a location-based gaming company, raised $4 million from Google Ventures and is already cash-flow positive after only a year; NoteHall, an online marketplace for college notes, was featured on ABC’s show ‘Shark Tank’ and received funding as a result; and SeatGeek, which forecasts sports and concert tickets, was a finalist at TechCrunch 50 and secured $500,000 in Series A funding.

“Our first two classes of DreamIt companies were exceptional,” said Mike Levinson, one of DreamIt’s founding partners. “We expect this year to be our best class yet. We will have more applicants than ever before, impressive new mentors and a more vibrant community of investors keeping an eye on our companies.”

Since the notable success of Y Combinator, incubators fitting the small seed funding, mentorship- and community-driven model are starting up all over the country. There are funds in San Francisco, Boulder, Philadelphia, Boston, Atlanta, Austin, and Salt Lake City, Utah to name just a few. This is an important step forward for the startup community. New incubators, increase the opportunity for startups to get funded and succeed, by providing a vital ingredient: connections. If the current trend holds, we should see a lot more of these popping up in other population centers over the next few years — and it’s only a matter of time before one appears in your backyard.

Startup incubator ‘DreamIt’ ramps up for a new round is a post from: Fuel Your Venture

• Links to Useful Resources and Downloads
• Links to Tutorials
• Links to Inspirational Work (*really good* work only please)
• Links to Articles

You can submit your links below using the form. They are generally approved within 24 hours.

User Link Feed is a post from: Fuel Your Venture