THATCamp Canberra

Summaries of all the BootCamp sessions are up on the BootCamp page.

For some sessions you might need to do a bit of preparation, so check out the details now!

What can we not accomplish with ideas to nourish the mind and coffee to make us all jittery and hyperactive?

THATCamp Canberra will have liberal quantities of both.

Your menu:
Saturday breakfast — fruit platters and scones
Saturday lunch — wraps (50% vegetarian)
Sunday breakfast — fruit platters and danishes

There will also be a coffee cart available throughout, dispensing caffeinated and other beverages, along with a variety of snacks. You’ll have to pay for these, but yes — it’s real coffee!

There’s no formal conference dinner but a booking has been made at the Asian Cafe (32 West Row Civic — see map) for 7.30pm. If you’d like to come, add your name to the list. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of transport available for out-of-towners.

During lunch on Saturday will be inviting people to make lightning presentations of no more than 3 minutes. In US THATCamp parlance these are ‘dork shorts’, but the Australian translation — ‘boardies’ — doesn’t seem to quite work. Speed-os perhaps? Stubbies?

Anyway, think of them as showcase opportunities, or elevator pitches — a chance to briefly show off a project you’ve been working on or thinking about.

So start thinking now about what you’d like to present. Leave a comment and link below if you’d like to be added to the line-up.

THATCamp Canberra t-shirts are available now from Zazzle.

Sorry, there’s not much time left, but if you order straight away there’s a good chance your shirt will arrive in time. And if it doesn’t, well you’ll still have a valuable piece of memorabilia to show your grandchildren.

At most THATCamps, participants are asked for a $20-30 voluntary contribution towards the cost of things like t-shirts and food. We decided it’d be easier if you just ordered your t-shirts direct (and yes there’s a modest %10 markup to go towards other costs). This way you get the shirt you want, in the size you want, and we don’t have to worry about handling any money.

So support THATCamp Canberra and wear your shirt with pride!

Thanks to those people who have started posting session ideas. With only two weeks to go, now’s the time to let fly with your thoughts. If you’re unsure what to suggest, have a look at the suggestions from THATCamp headquarters.

Remember, you don’t have to have all the answers. Perhaps you’ve got a problem you need help with, a project that you need feedback on, or an idea you want to test out with a friendly and supportive audience. We’re all at THATCamp to help and to learn.

If your idea connects up with something someone has already posted, then leave a comment and think about joining forces.

In the first THATCamp session we’ll build a schedule from the ideas that people have posted — voting if necessary to determine people’s preferences.

To add your own session proposal simply log in using the username and password you supplied when you registered. From the WordPress Dashboard just go to Posts > Add new. Remember to tick ‘Session proposal’ in the Categories box.

Perusing the applications for THATCamp Canberra, I am a bit daunted – but mostly excited – by the experience, skills, interests, passions and quests of people keen to come. What an amazing gathering it will be. Soon, we’ll publish a profile for each participant, and start talking about what we’ll do at the Camp.

Until then, behold the wordle.

Once more, for the more horizontally-oriented Campers:

What is THATCamp all about? Here’s some basic groundrules from one of the founders, Tom Scheinfeldt, Managing Director at the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University:

1. THATCamp is FUN – That means no reading papers, no powerpoint presentations, no extended project demos, and especially no grandstanding.
2. THATCamp is PRODUCTIVE – Following from the no papers rule, we’re not here to listen and be listened to. We’re here to work, to participate actively. It is our sincere hope that you use today to solve a problem, start a new project, reinvigorate an old one, write some code, write a blog post, cure your writer’s block, forge a new collaboration, or whatever else stands for real results by your definition. We here to get stuff done.
3. Most of all, THATCamp is COLLEGIAL – Everyone should feel equally free to participate and everyone should let everyone else feel equally free to participate. You are not students and professors, management and staff here at THATCamp. At most conferences, the game we play is one in which I, the speaker, try desperately to prove to you how smart I am, and you, the audience member, tries desperately in the question and answer period to show how stupid I am by comparison. Not here. At THATCamp we’re here to be supportive of one another as we all struggle with the challenges and opportunities of incorporating technology in our work, departments, disciplines, and humanist missions. So no nitpicking, no tweckling, no petty BS.

Read Tom’s post on his Found History blog.

After much tinkering with the WordPress registration form, applications for THATCamp Canberra are now open, just fill in the application form.

Before submitting your details check out our latest information about the camp including the digital methods BootCamp and micro-fellowships.

THATCamp Canberra will be held on 28–29 August 2010 at the University of Canberra. Read  all about it!

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