Moodle Hack/Doc Fest, Winter 2012

Moodle Hack/Doc Fest for Winter 2012 will be held Wednesday, January 11, 2012 through Friday, January 13, 2012 at Tulane University in  New Orleans, Louisiana. This will be CLAMP’s ninth Moodle Hack/Doc Fest.

Attending Hack Doc Fest: Moodle Hack/Doc Fest is a free event. Attendees will need to pay for their own transportation, lodging, and dinner.

Registration

Logistics

  • Contacts:
  • When: Wednesday, Jan. 11-Friday, Jan. 13, 2012.
  • Where: Rooms 306 & 308, Howard-Tilton Memorial Library
    7001 Freret Street, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118
  • Campus Map: Tulane University: Uptown Campus

Transportation

Airport
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) is the primary airport for New Orleans. Rental Cars are available at the airport.

Trains
The Amtrak Station is about 3 miles from the Hampton Inn Garden District and 4 miles from Tulane University.  New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal (NOL) – 1001 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70113 – (504) 528-1612

The Crescent line serves New Orleans daily from New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC, North Carolina, South Carolina and Atlanta.

The City of New Orleans line travels from Chicago  to Memphis and New Orleans daily.

The Sunset Limited line travels from Los Angeles to Tucson, El Paso, San Anonio, Houston, and then to New Orleans three times per week.

Shuttle info
The airport has a shuttle to downtown hotels and the cost per person one way is $20 — 1-866-596-2699 – www.airportshuttleneworleans.com.  Taxis charge $33 one way for up to 2 people.

Driving & Parking
Driving directions can be found on the Tulane University web site. Follow directions to the Uptown Campus:
http://tulane.edu/tulane/about/visiting/driving.cfm

If you need a parking pass, please contact Molly or Ken, who will arrange to get one from the folks at Tulane University.

Lodging

Attendees are responsible for arranging their own lodging. There are some recommended options for the event. We have arranged a block of 20 rooms at the Hampton Inn on St. Charles Street, New Orleans at a nightly rate of $129. These rooms are available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Hampton Inn

Amenities include:

  • Free parking
  • Free wireless internet access
  • Complimentary Hot Breakfast
  • The Hampton Inn  is a 5 minute drive or a 10-15 minute Trolley Ride on the St. Charles Street car.
  • The Hampton Inn is about 2.5 miles from the French Quarter and Bourbon Street – Taxi or Trolley Car is the best way to travel to the French Quarter since parking is difficult to find.
  • The Hampton Inn does not have an airport shuttle, but the airport has a shuttle and the cost per person one way is $20 — 1-866-596-2699 – www.airportshuttleneworleans.com.  Taxis charge $33 one way for up to 2 people.

Guest room reservations are to be made by individually calling 504-899-9990 and requesting the Collaborative Liberal Arts Moodle Project group rate at the Hampton Inn – Garden District (coded CLA in the reservations computer) and the dates. Reservations can also be made by visiting www.hamptoninn.com, find 3626 St. Charles Street location and type the group code.   All reservations must be guaranteed with a major credit card and must be made no later than 12/12/2011.

French Quarter hotel options
The Hampton Inn and Tulane University are in the Garden District, which is a quiet residential area known for stately homes and gardens located about 2.5 miles from the French Quarter and Bourbon Street.  Although the festival season has not started in January, you can expect the French Quarter to be noisy and busy, especially if you decide to extend your stay through the weekend.  Secure parking is difficult to find, so if you are bringing a car be sure to ask for parking at your hotel and expect to pay about $30.00 per night for parking.

Prince Conti
http://www.princecontihotel.com/
$120/night plus tax, no group rate

Hotel Monteleone
http://hotelmonteleone.com/
$190/night plus tax, no group rate

Weather

The winter months are mild with highs in the 60’s and lows usually in the 40’s – snow is extremely rare, but there could be some rain if storms are in the area.  Extreme changes in the temperature are not uncommon – in January it might be sunny and 70 one day and raining and 40 the next day.  Check weather reports and bring layers including a jacket.

Reimbursement

  • There is no reimbursement for this event through CLAMP.

Virtual Participation

As at previous Hack/Doc Fests, we will be paring people at Hack/Doc Fest with virtual counterparts to work on particular tasks/bugs. Virtual participants should be prepared to start working on Hack/Doc projects at 10 a.m. on each day of Hack/Doc Fest.

Itinerary

This is a tentative itinerary for Moodle Hack/Doc Fest at Tulane University. Hack/Doc is a very ad hoc event; we typically come up with a plan the first day of the event, break up into teams, and then get to work. This itinerary exists to provide a rough overview of our schedule, and is subject to change on site.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011
* 2 p.m., ET: Hack/Doc Fest Orientation

Note: The orientation has been rescheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2011 at 2 p.m. ET

We will be holding a pre-event Hack/Doc Orientation on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2011 in CLAMP’s Elluminate Room. During this session we’ll be making sure that everyone’s CLAMP accounts work (for logging into WordPress and Redmine) and trying out the Jabber server. We’ll also be taking a first crack at running down the task list.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

8:30 a.m. Meet at Hampton Inn

9:00 a.m.-10 a.m.: Session 1

  • Initial planning and task assignments

10 a.m.-10:15 a.m. Break

10:15 a.m.-Noon: Session 2

Noon-1 p.m.: Lunch

  • Lunch provided by Tulane University

1 p.m.-2:30 p.m.: Session 3

2:30-2:45 p.m.: Break

2:45-5 p.m. Session 4

6 p.m.: Group Dinner

Thursday, January 12, 2012

8:30 a.m. Meet at Hampton Inn

9:00 a.m.-10 a.m.: Session 5

10 a.m.-10:15 a.m. Break

10:15 a.m.-Noon: Session 6

Noon-1 p.m.: Lunch

  • Lunch provided by Tulane University

1 p.m.-2:30 p.m.: Session 7

2:30-2:45 p.m.: Break

2:45-5 p.m. Session 8

6 p.m.: Dinner on your own

Friday, January 13, 2012

8:30 a.m. Meet at Hampton Inn

9:00 a.m.-10 a.m.: Session 9

10 a.m.-10:15 a.m. Break

10:15 a.m.-Noon: Session 10

Noon-1 p.m.: Lunch

  • Lunch provided by Tulane University

1 p.m.-2:00 p.m.: Wrap up