Alice/Media Computation Workshop

I love this workshop!  VERY hands on.  However, they didn’t say until the last minute we needed notebooks which is a problem for a few, but not me.

One problem I did have, is that the notebook I brought doesn’t have a CD Rom drive.  Had to have one of the student helpers copy the workshop CD’s to my hard drive which would have been a piece of cake if I had remember that i had actually packed one.

Once I remembered that, it was a piece of cake.

The only problems we’ve had, have been the casino’s fault — we’re at Circus Circus, and their choice of morning food sucks, but I can a) buy other and b) did bring some food.  Also they didn’t restock for the morning break.  We’ll see how afternoon and the rest of the week go.

Also, the casino does a lot of nickel and dime -ing, even more so than the cruise ship we were on.  We have two choices for internet access, room access only for $12 a day, and business center access for $15 for 9 hours.  I do have my phone and am tethering.  So far, I’ve only hit .2 megabytes this month.  However, the ATT network is blocked badly by the hotel, and I’m often forced to Edge instead of 3G.

The really good news, is that we don’t have to go to through the casino to get to the meeting place, the elevator dumps us right there.

I saw Steve in San Antonio and he was equally good today.  We’re split into two groups each day, advanced and beginner.  I choose beginner Alice, and will probably stay in that track, but will go to the advanced when it comes to Java, because I’ve been doing it forever (okay, several years, forever in computer years).

I think this is the first time I’ve had Barbara as a workshop presenter, she is good!  We’re a bit ahead of the agenda right now, and taking a mini-break.

The pluses on this workshop — and remember, I’ve been teaching this stuff for 17 years…..

• It is not an AP workshop
• It is very hands on.
• It is not an AP workshop.
• The software is free.
• It is not an AP workshop.
• The materials are free until the book is published.
• It is not an AP workshop.

Yes, I get tired of doing AP stuff.  They are covering the same materials as many of the AP workshop but not as extensively and not in the AP way.