Welcome
SS12 was a Code-A-Thon Challenge organized by Project:Possibility, USC ACM, and USC EGSA that occured at the University of Southern California on November 17th and 18th, 2007. This event was an opportunity for over 30 undergraduate and graduate software developers to make a profound difference by developing innovative, empowering software projects for disabled persons and win prizes for their work. The purpose of SS12 is to increase awareness of issues in accessible computing and be educational and fun for all participants.
News
SS12 Projects Available Online, Semester Project Announced
Wednesday, January 30, 2008SS12 projects, along with descriptions and full source code, are now available in the projects area of the Project:Possibility website. You can also find direct links to each project by visiting the SS12 projects page. We hope you enjoying playing with the software!
If you are a student that is interested in getting involved in an experience similar to SS12 but occuring over the course of a semester, please consider the Semester Project. Organized by Project:Possibility and supported by the USC ACM and USC EGSA, the Semester Project program will be a powerful experience for all participants!
SS12 Ends with a Bang
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Coding completed tonight at 7:00PM as scheduled, at which time judging commenced on which teams best met the challenge they were faced with over the weekend. InfoGrip began their presentation on eye tracking technology from Tobii.
Student teams' dibbs on the dozens of prizes were determined by votes cast by guest judges, mentors, and the students themselves. Bhaskar Krishnamachari of USC Viterbi and Terrence Tun of MySpace analyzed code quality, architecture, and documentation for 15% of the vote. SS12 project mentors, who worked intimately with each of the student teams over the weekend, assigned scores to each of the teams, totalling 50% of the vote. And after all of the students had presented their work, the student themselves casted votes on how well they felt their peers met the challenges of the projects to which they were assigned, accounting for 35% of the vote.
The voting was extremely close--literally down to decimal places! In our eyes, all of the participants are champions, and everyone was awarded a prize. We will post all of the results, videos of the student presentations, and links to their work on this website. For now, please enjoy all of the pictures from day two of our event.
Thank you to all of the incredible individuals who volunteered their time to this event to make it a reality, and to all our sponsors for providing us a means through which this event was possible.
SS12 Day 1 an Incredible Success
Saturday, November 17, 2007
As we are writing this announcement, we have just completed day 1 of the coding event. We had nearly 40 undergraduate and graduate software developers hacking away at several projects today. Most of the students started from knowing next to nothing about their assigned projects, to becoming pioneers in something that had never been done before. We have a lot of news to report on the status of all the projects, but for now, we will say that some incredible progress has been made on all fronts. We thank all participants, staff, and mentors for a successful first day in every respect, and we look forward to tomorrow. Please see pictures from today on Picasa.
Skateboards Have Arrived!
Thursday, November 15, 2007
We've received two incredible, custom skateboards from University Skateboards! The SS12 shirt design, by Brian Chung, was hand painted onto the high-tech skateboards just for the SS12 event. The skateboards will end up in the hands of two lucky participants who dedicated 24 hours of their weekend to coding for a cause.
InfoGrip Tech Demo Confirmed
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Aaron from InfoGrip will be kicking off the SS12 showcase and demoing some amazing eye-tracking technology on Sunday. Everyone is invited to check out this hardware and software suite that offers huge utility for both enabled and disabled persons. Following will be a presentation-style showcase of SS12 accomplishments over the weekend!
Red Bull Girls!
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
The Red Bull Girls will be making visits to SS12. Yes--that means that SS12 participants will have fresh, free, cold energy drink handed to them by the friendly ladies of Red Bull. Is there any reason left not to participate in this event? Thanks goes out to Red Bull for supporting SS12.
SS12 T-Shirt Design Finalized
Monday, November 5, 2007
We have finalized the SS12 T-Shirt design and have sent them to print. These super cool t-shirts will be given to all participants who complete the weekend Code-A-Thon. A special thanks goes out to Brian Chung for his incredible work on the design of this t-shirt.
Free Food and Snacks for the Entire Weekend!
Saturday, November 3, 2007
The SS12 organizers have worked hard to ensure that food and snacks for all participants and volunteers will be covered, free of cost, for the entire weekend. You can expect a variety of meals throughout the weekend along with plenty of snacks and energy drinks to keep you at your best.
Google, NASA, Amgen Friends to Join SS12
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Our friends from Google, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Amgen will be taking the time from their busy schedules to join us at SS12! They will be joining us as volunteers to code, coordinate, hang out, and have a good time! Definitely come with questions to ask them about their lives in the industry.
SS12 Registration Website Online!
Thursday, October 25, 2007Thank you for your patience! Many of you have been waiting for weeks to find out what "SS12" is, and the answer is now available. We will have many updates posted here in the coming weeks as we near the Code-A-Thon challenge. Stay tuned for new prizes, special guests, and updated event schedule for participants and guests of SS12!
New Prize Announcements!
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
We are pleased to announce that we will awarding 6 brand new iPod nanos during the SS12 Code-A-Thon. In addition, Microsoft has agreed to donate 5 copies of Windows Vista, 5 copies of Office, an assortment of video games, and funding for the event. Lastly, a commemorative, not to mention very stylish SS12 t-shirt is in development. The shirt will be awarded to all participants who complete the SS12 experience.
USC Student Organizations to Fund SS12
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
We are excited to announce that the USC Graduate and Professional Student Senate (GPSS), USC Engineering Graduate Student Association (EGSA), USC Undergraduate Student Government (UGS), and the USC International Students' Assembly (ISA) have agreed to fund the SS12 event.