It could be cool to have like code4lib MOOC study groups. Like if there are
people taking the same courses and they have a loose affiliation with one
another through C4L that could be a much better starting point than
randomly trying to meet people.

*
*
*

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


On Fri, Nov 30, 2012 at 9:10 PM, Ross Singer <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I started taking the "Functional Programming in Scala" course offered a
> couple of months ago, but it was an enormous time commitment. I had a
> week-long trip to the office (in the UK - my job is a long and confusing
> story) which got me so far behind (two weeks, the way the lessons ran),
> that I would have had no hope of catching up (with, like Shaun, a full-time
> job and two young children), so I had to drop out after about 3 or 4 weeks.
>
> I'm sort of conflicted about this. I understand Coursera's problem:
> courses can't be too simple, or else there's no legitimacy. But at the same
> time, every course can't be a weeder course, either. I legitimately spent
> *way* more time per week on this course than I did on *any* course in
> college (at least not this much effort /every week/), but at the end of the
> day, the amount of any practical knowledge I was gaining from the course
> was being far overwhelmed by things I actually needed to be learning
> immediately for my job and general obligations to my life and family.
>
> Maybe I just chose the wrong class, but Coursera's curriculum seems pretty
> terrible for professional development. It's great, however, if you have
> time to be a full-time student.
>
> -Ross.
>
> On Nov 30, 2012, at 4:32 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
>