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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 >