Computers are so intricate, complex, and finely tuned that it can be scary for young folks to spend any significant time getting their hands on the hardware, and really exploring. What's more, it's not common for people to really understand what parts make up a computer, and how they can be used.

I was very happy to participate in the Idaho 4-H "Know Your Government" (KYG) Conference in Boise this past weekend. Let me tell you, it was an absolute blast! I loved it! And what's more, I think the youth loved it, too.

Well. It was here, and now it's gone. The Idaho State Teen Association Convention, or STAC - as we fondly call it, has come and gone. It was a great week of little sleep, much excitement, and lots of smiles; but what's more, is that we had some technology wins and losses to talk about. Thank you, Python!

What better way to learn, then by doing. That, after all, is the ethos of 4-H. The very esence of how 4-H teaches youth effective life-skills every day. This "photo upload app" that I've been working on relies on some of the newest, prettiest, fanciest web framework technologies available to make the common user-interaction experience very smooth so that youth may engage in digital activities easily, without having to learn new hoops to jump through. Still, it's being built for youth, by youth, so wouldn't it be disappointing if there weren't aspects that were clearly touched by youth? Clearly inspired by them? Sharing their energy and creativity?

Over the last few months, I've been working with a 4-H member to develop and build a smart, simple, and elegant web-application for 4-H members to upload photos they take while participating in a youth conference. Since I'm working with a 4-H member to develop the website, everything needs to have a focus on education, and I need to spend as little time as possible fussing with the infrastructure side of things, since that's not what we're focusing on. I decided that we should make a system using my self-hosted GitLab and Jenkins instances to automagically deploy changes so that the youth doesn't have to learn how that's done, and fight with the server all the time!

I recently attended the 2022 University of Idaho, Washington State University joint Youth Swine Field day in Asotin, WA. It's been a while since I've been very involved in swine projects in 4-H, but it's been good getting back into the swing of things. Admmittedly, I'm learning new things all the time, myself, but since the ethos of 4-H is "Learn by Doing," I'm always one for good, tangible, hands-on exercises to help engage youth while teaching. I thought it about time that I share a few of my ideas!

A step back down memory-lane, I pulled out the ol' 'Quiz Board' for a presentation!

How do you get nearly one-hundred high-school age youth to collect nearly as many photos for a competition at a youth conference? Facebook? Google-Drive? How about Python...?

I recently had the pleasure of chaperoning a 4-H conference at the University of Idaho, but I also was able to teach!