Frequently Asked Questions
From GhettoInstituteOfTechnology
Dear GhettoTech Badasses,
Welcome, and thanks for getting on the bus. I'm looking forward to learning with you.
And now, some FAQs:
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[edit] When are we meeting, and how often?
Our first, introductory session will be Sunday, January 28. We will convene at Groundworks Coffee Shop, and head to the Gradmens' Lair at Noon.
The Information and Entropy course contains 12 sessions. Ghettotech meets weekly.
As of Session 1, the class members have decided to hold Ghettotech sessions consistently on Sundays at Noon. Unfortunately, this will conflict with the LA Futurists meeting, Caltech Skeptics, Hike the Geek, and other profoundly cool and interesting things to do in our fair city of a Sunday. Please plan accordingly when selecting your session to teach.
[edit] What kind of time commitment will Ghettotech require?
In-class presentation of course material should not take longer than one hour; 30-45 minutes is probably ideal. The time we spend on discussion will vary. We will also spend some small amount of time dealing with administrative tasks - announcements, scheduling, voting on what color sweatshirts we want, etc.
My best guess is class will be "in session" from 12-2pm, with informal-coffee-and-heated-theorizing 'til Mrs. Gradman kicks us out. By the second class, we should have the hang of it.
Out of class, your time investment is up to you. I will personally be doing all of the homework, and will take the final exam. Although the syllabus on the website does not permit collaboration on the homeworks, I'd like to encourage you to do it in groups (after class at Groundworks maybe?) if you think you're more likely to complete it that way. Also, this mailing list is a perfect forum for homework questions if you're stuck.
Of course, some of us are busy people with packed schedules. If all you have time for is the meetings, that's ok too.
[edit] I'm not so sure I could teach. Do I have to?
Ideally, we will all share responsibility for mastering this material. Some of it might be familiar, depending upon your background. Some of us may be able to add dimension to the provided notes with our own experience or research. GhettoTech is an invitation to be inventive in your pedagogy.
Every week a different individual or group will lead us in our discussion of the new topic. It is my sincere hope that lecturing will be kept to a minimum. Games, short films, poetry and pop-up books are all acceptable forms of content delivery.
So, do you have to teach? Not necessarily. What would you rather do?
[edit] MatLab
You don't actually need MatLab (although it's here - http://thepiratebay.org/search.php?q=matlab if you do). The python interpreter is good, and there's also Ruby too if you're one of those damn hipster programmers. Eric has another free (as in beer) application that I'm sure he'll mention here soon that he recommends.
