Dance Hack Day is a global celebration of technology and the choreographic arts. Participating in this year’s Amsterdam sister site event with an evolution of my light-up motion-responsive Arduino costume was a joy and a privilege. My biggest learning from the weekend is that with the right kind of supportive and open environment, even someone … Continue reading
Tag Archives: technology
Duologue, the chatbot that rescues you from uncomfortable silences
The highlight of my week (and possibly my year) has been finally releasing Duologue, a chatbot that rescues you from uncomfortable silences by prompting you with questions to ask when the conversation starts to dry up. You can check out this Facebook messenger bot on the Duologue Facebook page. Duolouge is also open source, so … Continue reading
Let there be light! (An Arduino Adventure)
I think there is no greater power on this earth than creativity: the freedom to forge, even in a small way, the world in the way that it should be. And I knew that my world needed a new creative fabric-and-programming project in it. I’m not sure exactly when I got interested in learning to … Continue reading
A moment of gratitude and a call for action
As we come to the end of year that has been full of unanticipated challenges, I’m drawn to reflect on the things I’m truly grateful for. One of those things is Ada’s List, a group which supports women in technology (and science, engineering and maths) by offering an exchange of opportunities, space to talk about … Continue reading
String, post-its and dancing bots: Mozilla Festival 2016
Yet another Mozilla Festival has come to an end. This year I presented for the first time, delivering a session on network evaluation methodology. The lead analyst for Mozilla’s Leadership Network, Arliss Collins, co-presented with me on Mozilla’s approach to network evaluation. Before the session we both agreed that as it was a methodology session … Continue reading
Nesta’s Future Festival
Nesta recently held the two-day FutureFest covering innovation in a range of areas like work, play, and love. With talks and roundtables interspersed with interactive, immersive experiences, there was certainly plenty to stimulate the curious mind. There were several sessions on the future of education. Most of these were slotted into the ‘Work’ theme of … Continue reading
Adventures in coding-land
I dreamed about a canvas painted in thick smears of black, spread so thickly the strokes seemed to move, roiling over and around each other giving depth and heft to the obscurity. Smudges of color which never quite resolved into shapes blossomed and faded on the surface, giving the impression of sinister figures shrouded in … Continue reading
On Imaginary Things
San Francisco always seems imaginary to me. Unlike many of my friends I’ve never felt the urge to move here because it would be like asking to live in a daydream: beautiful and otherworldly but insubstantial. But then, the digital worlds that we build of which Silicon Valley is the spiritual home are no more … Continue reading
International Women’s Day: The Rest is Just Syntax
Last week I was invited to observe a women in technology celebration day for young teenagers who are starting to look at the kinds of higher educational paths they want to pursue. The highlight of the day for me was meeting Genevieve Smith-Nunes, an educator who uses arts to convey computer science concepts–and computer science … Continue reading
Ada’s List Member Survey
For a while now I’ve belonged to a London-focused Women In Technology group called Ada’s List. It’s a fantastic way to find out about events and training, but more importantly, the frank conversations which form part of the group’s ethos really help me to feel more confident in my career. Even when I’m not actively … Continue reading
In a Merry Hour: Caitlin E McDonald 