PROVIDENCE — If you’re a newb, you probably don’t even know it. Chances are, you have no idea what a newb is. But whether you’re conscious of your newb-ness or not, Sara Streeter wants to help you get beyond it.

In Internet slang, a newbie, newb, or occasionally, noob, is someone new to computer use or to a particular Internet community. Streeter, a continuing-education student in computer programming at Johnson & Wales University, is bringing together newbs with self-styled computer geeks for NewBCamp, a first-of-its-kind conference Saturday to introduce Internet novices to some of the finer points of the modern Web world.

“We need to bring people who are new to technology together with the geeks,” Streeter said.

But she said it’s not just for the senior citizen who doesn’t feel comfortable using a mouse. It’s also targeting the 20-somethings who have excellent computer skills but don’t know Web design, or the 40-year-old who remembers early 1980s programming language such as BASIC but hasn’t delved yet into the Internet social networking phenomenon.

“By the very nature of computers and the Internet, everyone’s a newbie at something. We’re not looking for a level of experience so much as an attitude,” Streeter said.

NewBCamp, which will run from 9 to 4 at the Xavier Building on the Johnson & Wales downtown campus, is what Streeter calls an “unconference,” in that there are no major speakers, and the breakouts and discussion sessions are led by regular people who have only passion and some expertise as their credentials. It is followed by a party at AS220 on Empire Street from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Registration is allowed throughout the day.

Part educational conference, part networking opportunity, Streeter said she hopes that it will be the first of many events that will put Providence’s tech community together with talented, driven people who want to learn basic or advanced computer skills.

Among the 16 hour-long sessions offered throughout the day are topics as varied as Primary Concepts in Website Design, Intro to Podcasting & New Media and Social Media for Nonprofits and Arts Organizations.

The conference is funded in part by Johnson & Wales and its School of Technology, which is providing money and space. She paid for many of the other costs with donations. There is no mandatory cost to attend, but Streeter is asking for a $10 optional registration fee, what she called a “token to say I’m investing in this and I’m going to get a lot out of it.”

She had 79 people signed up as of yesterday afternoon.

The problem, she acknowledged, is that she has advertised and spread the word in communities that are already fairly tech-savvy — she posted advertisement videos on YouTube and created a Web site publicizing the event — so people who might not be Internet conversant to begin with would not necessarily see the notices.

With that in mind, she’s hoping that if the event is successful, even among a limited community, it will start to get the word out that the resource exists and that will help bring a more diverse spectrum to future events.

“Word of mouth is what I’m depending on to get this word out, to show that we have a thriving community that has a lot to offer to the greater community,” Streeter said.

She is unsure what will come out of NewBCamp, but she hopes that it is a dialogue in the tech community and beyond it, and a framework for what the next step should be for better integrating geeks and the newbs.

“I’m not expecting that this NewBCamp is going to do it. I have a vision for a larger series of events,” she said. “I see this as a step in the right direction. The more we can talk this up, the more it will get the word out.”

dbarbari@projo.com