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MOOC study groups is a great idea. I've dropped off on the MOOCs I tried, largely bc they cut into my social life. Social life doesn't have to be all in person and face to face, but traditional university has a huuuuuge social component. Education without classmates is not going to result in the same increase in opportunities that education with classmates will. My first legit legal work right out of lawschool was referrals from a classmate. He'd failed the bar. I'd passed. He was offerred to close out cases for someone who was relocating and needed a point person in town, but didn't have the necessary license. So, he referred the work to me. It's hard to know which is more important: Classmates or education. -Wilhelmina Randtke On Dec 1, 2012 10:42 AM, "Timothy A. Lepczyk" <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > 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 > > >