Day Zero Intro & What Makes a Good Hackathon?

Two short presentations for DotAstronomy7 Day Zero, University of Sydney, Tuesday 3rd November 2015

Conference website: http://dotastronomy.com/events/seven/

Transcript

1. Welcome to Day Zero
   #dotastro #dayzero @dotastronomy
   Amanda Bauer @astropixie
   Arna Karick @drarnakarick
   James Allen @j_t_allen
   Vanessa Moss @cosmicpudding
   Rob Hollow @roberthollow
   

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2. W E L C O M E T O D AY Z E R O
   

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3. So what’s it all
   about?
   Learning some new skills and web tools
   to better prepare you for the hack day…
   Skills that you can start using in your
   research, or for small projects should
   you wish to pursue and an alternative
   career — within astronomy or elsewhere
   

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4. So what’s it all
   about?
   Tutorial/Demo sessions
   +
   Slideshows during coffee sessions
   +
   Use Slack #dayzero for contributions to
   the Day Zero guide. Tools and tips etc.
   +
   DotAstronomy #unconference sessions
   for the overflow of tutorial ideas and
   participant demos
   

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5. Software
   installation &
   troubleshooting
   during morning
   coffee
   

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6. We have a pretty
   packed schedule,
   but it’s going to
   be great!
   

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8. What makes a good Hackathon?
   Tips and tricks for the uninitiated…
   Arna Karick
   @drarnakarick
   

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9. What makes a good Hackathon?
   What I’ve learned from Random Hacks of Kindness
   (RHoK) and DotAstronomy6.
   Arna Karick
   @drarnakarick
   

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10. a "hack" is a small project that solves one
    problem, designed and executed as quickly as
    possible — but it’s not just about coding or
    knowing how to code well…
    

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11. created with wordle.net
    

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12. My tips for hack day…
    1. Decide on a hack project or decide who you want to work with
    2. Don’t be afraid to tell people what you can do
    3. Don’t dwell on what you can’t do
    4. Love your neighbour: you might be the person they need to
    solve their problem, and vice versa
    5. Buddy up with veteran DotAstros. They are your mentors
    6. But be selfish: work out what you want to get out of the day:
    a new skill? a finished project? knowledge?
    7. Ask other groups for suggestions when you get stuck
    8. Do the simplest thing that will work, you can extend it later
    9. Use sticky notes, Slack & existing web tools
    10. Ask other groups for suggestions when you get stuck
    11. Keep your eye on the prize! Yes there will be prizes and yes,
    they will be awesome.
    12. Embrace the silliness and have fun
    

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13. What is Slack?
    

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14. http://slack.com
    

    Slack is *the* communications tool for hackathon and research teams.
    It's the easiest way to share basically anything with the team. It integrates
    beautifully with a ton of other tools. With a few clicks you can pipe Github
    notifications into your #myawesomehackproject channel.
    You can also upload code snippets, documents, links, leave comments and
    send private messages.
    The best bit… it’s private and archivable. Which means that (unlike Twitter)
    in 6-12 months time when you want to check on the progress of a hack you
    don’t have to filter the crap in your twitter feed…
    — so far not an issue for #dotastro
    What is Slack?
    

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15. Ok enough about hacking
    let’s get caffeinated
    and learn some skills
    Slack invites to follow shortly
    

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