Think of the children!!!
Joshua Marpet
CEO, Bijoti.be
There are many complaints about how we bring up the next generation of hackers. STEM education isn’t strong enough in this country, the technology teachers can’t teach as fast as the industry moves, yada yada yada.
Bull pucky.
There are great products, great languages, and above all, great teachers out there. If your kid doesn’t connect with his/her teacher, then find one who can “hook” their attention. OR do it yourself. Little Jimmy has a problem with math? Check out Khan Academy. Probably one of the best free educational sites on the Internet. Sally isn’t really connecting well with her technology teacher? Download Scratch, buy a raspberry pi, and learn programming together!
We live in the era of amazing content, available to any and all, for free, or practically so. Go looking for it! It’s out there, I swear. Check out OpenCourseWare. MIT (yes, Massachusetts Institute of Technology) started several years ago to give away videos of their courses for free!!! You can’t get a degree watching them, but you can download the homework, some of the exams, and watch the actual courses to learn Python, history, and many other topics.
The BSides conferences have always been about learning and community. From the first BSidesLV, to the latest BSidesDE, we’ve ALWAYS emphasized family, education, access to learning for those of limited means, and the sharing of knowledge.
BSidesDE has opened a new “village”, Spawn Camp. What is Spawn Camping? It’s when you wait by where characters show up (Spawn) in a video game to kill them as soon as they appear. The practice became known as “Camping“, and is generally not a nice thing to do. In reality, it’s hacking the game, using the reality found in the game. New players spawn at one spot. “Camp out there”, and get them fast. A early form of hacking. Unintended functionality.
We’re going to take your spawn (kids), and camp out with them to learn. Do they like Minecraft? We’re going to do Minecraft mods in the morning, and learn to do Scratch programming in the afternoon! We’re going to do it on Raspberry Pi’s, and each kid gets to take his Pi home with him! For the little ones, or anyone interested, we’re also bringing Snap Circuit kits to learn the basics of electronics and electricity! No soldering needed! Just snap the circuit together, and make things happen!
It’s time to learn with family, with friends, with technically knowledgeable experts who can work with us and with our kids to bring us together in the sharing and receiving of knowledge.
It’s time for SpawnCamp!
Thanks to Security BSides Delaware, Bijoti, and you, we can bring new hacklings into the fold. Let’s do it.
