Hack to the Future

Hack to the Future, is a new event for 2012. The brainchild of Alan O’Donohoe, an ICT Teacher from Preston, United Kingdom. Alan is passionate about computing, and has gathered a large following since the announcement of impending changes to the UK’s ICT curriculum.

Alan’s idea is simple, host a barcamp in his school, and invite 200 children to attend. But what he has done differently to other events is that he has invited 100 mentors, from different roles in the IT community to lead workshops and talks on their specialist subjects. For example Microsoft will be there showing off their new Gadgeteer, Andy Piper will be demonstrating Nanode, a device which is similar and compatible with the Arduino platform. There will be games designers, artists, programmers and lots more for children to learn from.

These mentors are donating their time free of charge, providing first hand knowledge on their specialist subjects. This is a great chance for children to learn key skills, and use this information to make informed choices for their future academic studies, and their career paths.

The event model is also totally open source, and other potential event organisers are encouraged to read the wiki  and improve the event with each iteration of events. There are already discussions about taking the event around the UK, so keep an eye out for one near you soon.

There’ll be a full write up on the blog after the event, but please keep an eye on our twitter hashtag before, during and after the event. From there you can watch a live stream of the event, listen to interviews with mentors and much more.

My thanks to Josette and O’Reilly for providing a selection of books, magazines and an free ebook voucher for every attendee! WOW!!!