The following is a list of workshop ideas and suggestions for the forthcoming HacktionLab Summer 2023 taking place in June in Sheffield, UK. The *Nerd gag* measures how technical and jargony the session might be, from "on tight" being accessible to all, to "ungagged" being no-holes-barred tech talk. In the middle there's "breathing room" and "rather loose".

Session times

TBC, but here’s a guide…

Friday

9.30 - 11.00 - Sessions
11.00 - 11.30 - Break
12.00 - 13.30 - Sessions
13.30 - 14.30 - Lunch
14.30 - 15.30 - Session
15.30 - 16.00 - Break
16.00 - 17.00 - Sessions

Saturday

9.30 - 11.00 - Sessions
11.00 - 11.30 - Break
12.00 - 13.30 - Sessions
13.30 - 14.30 - Lunch
14.30 - 15.30 - Session
15.30 - 16.00 - Break
16.00 - 17.00 - Sessions

Sunday

10.00 - 11.00 - Sessions
11.00 - 12.00 - Brunch
12.00 - 13.00 - Session
13.00 - 13.30 - Break
13.30 - 14.30 - Sessions

Types of Sessions

Talk: 30-60 mins - please say if you need a projector / screen etc
Workshops: typically 60 mins - let us know your requirements
Skill Share Sessions: typically 60 mins - hands on in collaboration with others around a theme
Round Table Discussions: typically 60 mins - around a theme
Lightning Talks: typically 5-10 mins - these may be themed together or at random

Example

Title of workshop?

Format: talk / workshop (interactive) / skills share / round table / lighting talk
Proposed by: Your name
Length: 30-60 minutes, 5-15 for a lighting talk
Equipment: projector, speakers, paper, pens, posits, chairs, etc
Description: a description of the workshop
Nerd gag: How much technical background will people need to be able to follow the session? Nerd gag measures how technical and jargony the session might be, from "on tight" being accessible to all, to "ungagged" being no-holes-barred tech talk. In the middle there's "breathing room" and "rather loose".

Reflective & Philosophical

Objectivism for Lefties: a look at Ayn Rand’s writings and philosophy (wip)

Format: talk
Proposed by: Mike
Length: 30-40 mins plus discussion
Equipment: projector, maybe speakers
Description: The Russian-American author Ayn Rand was a controversial character in her lifetime and still is today. She’s often considered a apologist for selfishness and capitalist values by her detractors and is very much not a natural bed-fellow of the left. In this talk I will take a look at who she was, her novels and other writings, attempt to take a nuanced look at her World-view, and open the discussion as to whether there's something useful that can be learned from it.
Nerd gag: on tight

Emergent Technologies

Non -alternativeInternet: the Fediverse and peer-2-peer

2023 - the year twitter died (WIP)

Is there a reason for twitter to exist anymore ?

Will a federated social media protocol finally displace the normies

does anyone actually use an ActivityPub network?

does anyone actually use twitter ?

Are Silos a good thing

Programming and other nerding

The HTML 5 <canvas> element as seen through a fractal eye: a brief introduction

Format: talk
Proposed by: Mike
Length: 45 mins
Equipment: projector
Description: A revamp of an acclaimed talk on the Mandelbrot and Julia sets, first given at BarnCamp in 2011 and recently updated for the Wizard Amigos Code Camp at the Astral Ship in Autumn 2022. The talk looks at the maths behind complex numbers and the Mandelbrot and Julia sets and how we can transform it into Javascript code to render beautiful pictures in our web browsers. Bring your laptop and explore with us.
Nerd gag: ungagged

melting stuff in your microwave (wip)

using your microwave to make rubies and other jewellery

Workshops for HacktionLab Summer 2023

Contents