UnConferences are only loosely structured, and so we don't mean to schedule out every minute in detail, but we do mean to broadly define what's going on at what time blocks. That is, the contents of the freeform collaboration blocks are freeform, but those freeform blocks are themselves scheduled, and some blocks are more formally scheduled.
How to use these pages
Take a look at these activity ideas, comment, add your own. And if you're thinking you may participate in the Unconference, be sure to sign up on the participants page.
Having more structure early in the agenda to get things off to a good start, and periodic structure to bring things back together, seems a good idea.
Activities
These are mostly seeder ideas at this point – we need more activity ideas, and we also need to resist the inclination to schedule all of the available time.
Activity |
Description and comments – please do add your comments! |
Who is interested |
|---|---|---|
uPortal framework code clinic |
~awp9, Eric Dalquist, Peter K. sorts of developers have a desk in a corner and everyone is welcome to bring over their uPortal-touching code (channels, mods, plugins, anything) and look at it with an "expert" who will comment as to what it is doing well and how it might work better, and guide as to where to go next with the code (how to effectively open source it if appropriate) |
|
Fluid-sponsored user experience design code clinic |
Fluid designers and developers available at a desk in a corner and everyone is welcome to bring over their user interfaces and look at them with an "expert" who will comment as to what is done well, what can be improved, and guide as to how this relates to Fluid work if appropriate. |
|
Spring / Portlet clinic |
John Lewis, Cris Holdorph, Eric Dalquist sorts of developers have a desk in a corner and everyone is welcome to bring over their Spring-using and/or JSR-168-implementing code and look at it with an "expert" who will comment as to what it is doing well and how it might work better |
|
Open-sourcing clinic |
~awp9, Eric Dalquist, Jason Shao, Matt Young sorts of people at a desk in a corner and everyone is welcome to bring over their code and look at it with people who have open sourced software before, and talk through options for taking the code forward as open source software, building a project, getting activity on it, how it fits into the JA-SIG ecosystem. |
|
Lunch day 1 |
Food! |
|
Lunch day 2 |
Food! |
|
Lightning talks |
Many presenters giving very short talks. Maybe 10m talk + 5m Q&A and speaker switching – that would fit 6 talks in 90 minutes. Plenary works well so that everyone connects with some shared topics for discussion, shouldn't be too painful for people uninterested in a particular talk because they are short. |
|
Fluid-driven UCamp |
Fluid-run session on user experience design along the lines of the UCamp activities they've done @ Sakai e.g. |
|
Meeting of the uPortal Steering Committee |
Possibly closed and private, much more likely open so that others can help the committee figure out how to steer. Possibly this is just a bad use of time at this conference – the steering committee can "meet" and collaborate asynchronously and remotely, whereas the unconference is a particular opportunity for in-person activities |
|
Meeting of the JA-SIG Board of Directors |
Possibly closed and private, possibly open so that others can help the board decide how to direct. Possibly this is just a bad use of time at this conference – the board can "meet" and collaborate asynchronously and remotely, whereas the unconference is a particular opportunity for in-person activities |
|
Screenshot and Screencast collection |
Help JA-SIG and uPortal gather better marketing materials! Developers with interesting open source software, compelling usages of the software, head over to a kiosk where someone versed in effective screenshot and screencast capture helps the participant to navigate to their cool software on the web and take some screenshots and screencasts that can then be input to an ever more compelling JA-SIG web presence. |
|
Build it so they will come |
Programmers get together to implement the need for a particular portlet and/or uPortal feature. Create content or features to make uP out-of-the-box a more compelling product |