I'm taking this course
http://www.udacity.com/overview/Course/cs253/CourseRev/apr2012 along with a
ComSci professor at my institution. He took a robotics class and found it
extremely useful.

*
*
*

Timothy A. Lepczyk*
Digital Humanities & Pedagogy Fellow
Hendrix College


On Fri, Nov 30, 2012 at 3:32 PM, Donahue, Amy <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Another little quick comment, adding to the chorus of lurkers and people
> who aren't sure if they're coders.  Someday I hope to get to a code4lib
> conference (if only to tell people in person I knew Jonathan Rochkind way
> back when), but in the meantime I've been on this list on and off (but
> mostly on) since I graduated, and it's been nothing but a wonderful
> resource, and a place I know I can always turn for that time when I have a
> tech question.
>
> But I wanted to point out a possible resource for those of us who aren't
> sure of what we know and who want to know more.  Coursera has been on my
> radar through multiple channels, but not yet on here.  It appears they do
> have some basic programming courses, as well as theory.  I'm curious to
> know if anyone has taken any of these, or has any thoughts on this method
> of learning... https://www.coursera.org/category/cs-programming
>
> Amy
> -------------------------------------------------------
> Amy Donahue, MLIS, AHIP
> 414.955.8326
> User Education/Reference Librarian
> Medical College of Wisconsin Libraries - Link. Learn. Lead.
> http://www.mcw.edu/mcwlibraries.htm
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Code for Libraries [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
> Bess Sadler
> Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2012 12:07 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] What is a "coder"?
>
> On Nov 29, 2012, at 6:13 AM, Christie Peterson <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > If this were "training" in the sense of a seminar or a formal class on
> the exact same topics, I would be eligible for full funding, but since it's
> a "conference," it's funded at a significantly lower level. I'll gladly
> take suggestions anyone has for arguments about why attendance at these
> types of events is critical to successfully doing my work in a way that,
> say, attending ALA isn't -- and why, therefore, they should be supported at
> a higher funding rate than typical "library" conferences. Any non-coders
> successfully made this argument before?
> >
> > Cheers,
> >
> > Christie S. Peterson
>
> Christie you are not the only person who can get travel funding for
> training but not for conferences, and you are not the only person on the
> fence about whether you belong in code4lib. In my mind you are exactly the
> kind of person I would like to attract to code4lib, so I very much hope
> you'll join us. Archives in particular are facing significant technological
> challenges right now, and as someone who has been known to develop software
> for born digital archives[1] I have seen how vital it is to have a common
> language and vocabulary, and a common way of approaching problem solving,
> in order to create a system that will actually work according to archival
> principles.
>
> One option to consider would be signing up for one of the pre-conferences.
> Given the background you've described and the challenges you face in your
> career, I think you could make a very strong argument that having a basic
> introduction to programming concepts would be helpful for you. Luckily
> there is a free full-day of training to be had the day before the
> conference starts! Please consider joining us at the RailsBridge and/or
> Blacklight workshops or at any of the other workshops that look interesting
> to you that you think you could pitch as training.
>
> Even outside of the code4lib context, I strongly encourage others who face
> those kinds of travel funding constraints to get creative. Some of the best
> learning opportunities of my life and the best pivotal moments in my career
> happened because members of this community decided there was an unmet need
> and they were going to do something about it. CurateCAMP springs to mind.
> The many regional code4lib meetings are in this category. And also: one
> time when a few code4lib folks were trying to get open source discovery
> projects off the ground we just decided to create an "Open Source Library
> Discovery Summit" in Philadelphia, declared ourselves invited speakers, and
> attended. And it was a very successful meeting and a very good use of
> university funds!
>
> Christie, if there is training or skills development that, if it were
> offered at code4lib, would do you some good, you are certainly not the only
> person who could benefit from it. I strongly encourage you to think about
> what training opportunities are missing in your corner of the library /
> archives world, and then have some conversations with members of this
> community about how we could provide that training together. I would love
> to hear your thoughts on the subject.
>
> Best wishes,
> Bess
>
> [1] http://hypatia-demo.stanford.edu Tell your funders you have to go to
> code4lib because hydra is the future of born digital archives and this is
> the conference where the developers hang out and you need to talk to them
> about strategic directions for their project so that it will address your
> problems. :D
>