Thankful for our Second Training
Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving. I am very thankful for everyone who has put forth time and effort for CodeNow. Without the hard work and passion of so many individuals, our program not be possible. Thank you!
Last weekend we held CodeNow’s second training for DC-area youth. A group of ten students, comprised of four boys and six girls, attended the training. It was amazing to watch how quickly the students grasped new concepts.
On the first day we used Hackety Hack, an an open source program that teaches individuals how to create software in Ruby. It combines an integrated development environment with an extensive lessons system. Fortunately for us we had Steve Kladnik, author of Hackety Hack, leading Saturday’s training. Throughout the day we taught basic programming concepts and skills. Towards the end of the day students created a number-based guessing game that gradually grew in complexity.
On the second day, Eric Mill taught students how to use Lego Mindstorms, a line of programmable robotics/ construction toys made out of Legos. By the end of the day, three of the five teams had built and programmed robots which could complete an obstacle course, which sounds a lot easier than it is.
The students’ knowledge and self-confidence grew over the weekend which was exciting to watch! A special thanks goes to Fairfax Collegiate, Hispanic College Fund, and New Organizing Institute. We have one more weekend training and a four-day bootcamp before the end of the year. Applications are still being accepted for our next training on December 10 & 11. DEADLINE is 11/28. Click here to apply
Look forward to updating you on our progress!
Many Thanks,
Ryan Seashore
