Phil Shapiro has been an educator, teaching students from pre-school to graduate school for the past 35 years. He currently works at a public library in the Washington, DC area, helping youth and adults use their public Linux stations. Between 2007 and 2012, he blogged for PC World magazine on various technology topics and currently writes for Ars Technica, MAKE magazine, FOSS Force, TechSoup for Libraries, Computers in Libraries, Information Today magazine, and Opensource.com. Visit him at his antique ebook store.
Library Journal Movers & Shakers Award, 2024
And see his library dance videos on YouTube.
WashPost - The Man Who Gives Computers to Kids (May, 2000)
PCWorld - Does Free Software Restore Dignity?
PCWorld (original article)
I like to teach. David tenor guitar
The Day My Mind Became Open Sourced
Professional associations and organizations I support:
Internet Press Guild
Women in Film & Video
Washington Apple Pi
Northern Virginia Linux Users Group
Virginia Macintosh Users Group
Omaha Linux Users Group
Columbia Area Linux Users Group
Let's Play America
HacDC
East Harlem Tutorial Program
Higher Achievement
Small Things Matter
Carpe Diem Arts
Vietnamese American Services
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Journalism I support
MAKE magazine
NPR
Hackaday
CoolTools
FOSS Force
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"All of the flowers of tomorrow are in the seeds of today." - Chinese proverb
"The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper." - Eden Phillpotts
Authored Comments
As a library worker, I spotted several excellent books on this list that I had not heard of before. I sure appreciate the effort to collect and compile this list.
This is excellent advice, Al. Programming can be a very fun hobby for youth and for some youth, it can be the path to a rewarding career. I'd encourage folks to also see if there is a CoderDojo youth programming club in their town. If there isn't one, find a few folks to start one. You might also ask for help from your local public library, scout group, makerspace or other civic organization to help start a CoderDojo.
To locate a CoderDojo near you, search the web for the word "CoderDojo" and your town's name.
These clubs are run by volunteers, it's useful to know. I have found them to be very inclusive of all youth, regardless of programming experience. At some CoderDojo meetings youth learn skills related to programming, such as tinkering with the insides of computers, making screencasts, building web sites, soldering, etc.
Programming can also boost youth sense of wondering which is excellent, because wisdom starts with wonder. (Socrates).