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RubyConf 2016 - Programming in the Small: Kids, Chickens, and Ruby by Coraline Clark & Jason Clark After several years of programming in Ruby using Shoes, my daughter and I were hunting for a new project. Something more useful than a game. Something with a real-world connection. Then it struck us: Chickens! Join us as we show you how we built our coop monitoring system. It’ll be a wild ride of hardware hacking, weather-proofing, and father-daughter bonding, with Ruby sprinkled throughout. You’ll learn how to modernize your surroundings, and about engaging the young people in your life in technology along the way.
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The presentation "Programming in the Small: Kids, Chickens, and Ruby" by Jason and Coraline Clark at RubyConf 2016 discusses a father-daughter project aimed at solving a real-world problem associated with their backyard chickens. After years of programming together using the Ruby Shoes GUI library, they decided to build a chicken monitoring system to track egg production, given their eleven chickens and the difficulty in identifying which chicken laid which egg. Key points covered include: - **Introduction**: The presenters share their programming background with Ruby, and their pet guinea pig named Ruby illustrates their love for programming in the Clark household. - **Identifying the Problem**: The challenge of keeping track of their chickens and the eggs is highlighted, especially given the indistinguishable appearance of the eggs laid by different breeds. - **Solution**: The Clarks created a Raspberry Pi camera system to capture images that would help track egg production. They explained the system's architecture involving hardware like the Raspberry Pi and software components built using Ruby. - **Tips for Engaging with Kids**: Jason shares valuable advice for working with children, such as breaking down projects into manageable tasks, allowing kids to take control, and focusing on hands-on, visual programming experiences. - **Programming Process**: The presentation covers their programming approach, including connecting the Raspberry Pi to a display, using terminal commands, and developing a desktop application using Shoes. - **Demo**: They present a demo showing how the camera system works in real time by capturing images of the chickens in their coop. They also discuss future enhancements, including better lighting, improved date selection for egg-laying tracking, and the idea of automating the coop door. **Conclusions and Takeaways**: The presenters emphasize the joy of bonding through programming with children while sharing practical insights on implementing tech projects. They express hopes for continuing to engage children in technology and making meaningful projects that address real-life problems while enjoying the creative process of programming together.
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