[@OKFNau] Robotics and Technology Road Trip idea - Request for help

Wed Aug 28 02:55:36 UTC 2013

Hi All,
please let me know if this is breach of spamming but I've got a dream I would like to share.

Robotics and Technology Road Trip - Request for help
I want to take Robotics and Technology based workshops all around Australia to Promote Engineering and Technology to young people (Or at least promote why Maths, Science and Technology are important in High School). There could also be a focus on careers. I created Robogals UTas, have run quite a few Lego Robotics Workshops and I know I can take it further.
Alongside or before this road trip I want to create a website to support Technology based videos/workshops and release them under a creative commons licence so people can change them and create their own. The website could be similar to http://www.drgraeme.net/ but have an updated look and feel like http://www.codecademy.com/ . 
Now I would love to do all of this work for free but unfortunately I need some modest income to live off. So I’m currently looking into funding options. I will even look into a kick starter-esk crowd funding campaign to see what I can source there. There will also be lots of applications for grants and a lot of conversations to be had.
This is where I need help, I’m not an expert in media, business, education, intellectual property or websites and I’m looking for any advice/ideas/assistance that you can provide. What do you think is good/bad about this idea? I need constructive criticism just as much as great support to ensure I don’t develop unrealistic expectations.
I’ve got many options. E.g. I could run it under Robogals and name it the Great Australian Robogals Roadtrip (GARR) for short but being a non for profit may cause some issues with crowd funding and I’m not sure if I want the “female” focus that comes with Robogals. I could run it as my own business or under another organisation. E.g. some people from ThoughtWorks and the Python Software Foundation might be able to help. I can’t start all of these conversations myself though, so any help spreading the word would also be greatly appreciated. I’m thinking of engaging my old college to help with media. I want the focus of my efforts to be on education and open technologies.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated ^_^.
>From Samantha Connelly
Twitter: @sammy_lee12
Website: http://samanthaconnelly.com/ 
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