
Greetings!
On behalf of the Interactive Multimedia and Early Childhood Education Programs, the Schools of Media Arts and Liberal Arts and Sciences, Columbia College Chicago, and Viewpoints Research Institute, thank you for your interest in SqueakFest ’05. We hope that you can join us on Wednesday-Saturday, August 10-13, in Chicago.
You can register here. Details on how to pay the conference registration fees on a secure on-line site will follow in an e-mail.There are a few changes for this year: SqueakFest has expanded by one day: hands-on workshops will be conducted on Wednesday, August 10, and the conference will be Thursday-Saturday, August 11-13. Participants may register for the workshops only, the conference only, or for the entire proceedings.
Dr. Alan Kay will kick off the SqueakFest ’05 with an opening keynote address on Thursday morning.
Events will begin at 9 a.m. each day, and end at 5 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, and at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Participants will receive continental breakfasts Wednesday-Saturday, lunches Wednesday-Friday, and are invited to a conference reception Thursday evening.
Another change is the registration fee. As the conference grows, we find it necessary to subsidize the costs. Conference fees are:
Registration fees will be waived for workshop leaders, panelists, and presenters. Continuing professional-development unit credits will again be available to public schoolteachers 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 here in Chicago).
SqueakFest ’05 will again be held at the just-completed University Center of Chicago, a residence/conference center developed by Columbia College Chicago, DePaul University and Roosevelt University. The UCC is at the corner of Columbus Drive and State Street in Chicago’s vibrant South Loop; an easy walk from your accommodations, and near to Lake Michigan, Grant Park, the new Millennium Park, Navy Pier, and myriad popular and cultural attractions.SqueakFest ’05 follows the first two SqueakFests, held in the summers of 2003 and 2004 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 futur?. 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 conduct concurrent sessions to accommodate participants with varying expertise and experience utilizing Squeak and Etoys in practical settings, from novice users 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 (Croquet).
At the conclusion of SqueakFest ‘05, the Squeak projects and materials brought to and developed during the workshop will be aggregated and distributed.
We expect the four 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!
Wade RobertsLinks:
Columbia College ChicagoSqueakFest'05 will be held in smart-rooms, each of which is equipped with the following: Internet access (ethernet and WiFi), a podium/microphone/laptop connection, a projector, a screen, speakers (for the presenter and computer, and laptops for participants. Should you have additional needs, please request them as soon as possible. wroberts@colum.edu and jeff@interactive.colum.edu