Sign-Up

Anyone can follow a course on P2PU. Participating is the next level of engagement. The sign-up is a space where interested individuals can express their interest and background in the topic and commit to working with the rest of the participants. Please answer the following set(s) of questions if you want to become a participant or organizer.

Standard Set

This set of signup questions is common to all study groups, courses, ... in P2PU. The answers to these questions will be public once you get accepted.

Between Participants Custom Set

This set of signup questions is particular to this course. The answers to these questions will be visible to all participants once you get accepted.

Answers

• 
  Andrew Cox   Jan. 19, 2012, 3:53 p.m.

  Bio:

  Agile enthusiast and software craftsman. Constantly seeking a balanced life of mind, body and mastery.

  Location: Pittsburgh, PA

  Standard Set Answer:

  • I am working on a web application for online learning, SkillBonsai and am interested in learning more about the process of learning.
  • I hope to come away with concrete ideas for guiding the development of SkillBonsai.
  • I am somewhat interested in helping with the course organization.
• 
  Michelle Levesque   Jan. 13, 2012, 10:06 p.m.

  Bio:

  Location:

  Standard Set Answer:

  Looking at teaching web literacy for Mozilla.

• 
  Eric G   Jan. 10, 2012, 12:45 a.m.

  Bio:

  I'm an alumni and volunteer mentor with Mendicant University, a free online school/community, focused on teaching software design in Ruby, started by Gregory Brown (who is also taking this course I believe).

  Location: US

  Standard Set Answer:

  I am interested in the topic of teaching programming because I do quite a bit of it and want to get better. I hope to compare notes with others and familiarize myself more with the literature/research. I can help wherever needed with the course organization.

• 
  Gregory Brown   Jan. 9, 2012, 1:51 p.m.

  Bio:

  I am the founder of Mendicant University and author of the Practicing Ruby journal. I have a deep interest in figuring out how we can teach software development to people from all different backgrounds and all levels of experience

  Location: New Haven, USA

  Standard Set Answer:

  I am interested in this topic because for the last year and a half, I've been trying to start a free online school for software developers (Mendicant University). Previous to that, I had spent several years as the maintainer of a couple popular open source projects, and I realized that role is just as much about teaching as it is about coding. After doing a bunch of talks and trainings at various conferences with mixed results (some awesome, some pretty terrible), I decided that I wanted to approach the question of how to teach well in a more rigorous way. I've been using Mendicant University as a test bed for my ideas, but would love to see what approaches other folks are taking as well.

  By participating, I'd like to study how to improve the student experience at Mendicant University. In particular, I would like to figure out how to reach a broader student base, and learn what I can do to work with novices as well as people who have traditionally been part of marginalized groups who are underserved by the technology ecosystem.

  While I'm not sure to what extent I'll be available to help with course organization given that I'm actively teaching a course at Mendicant University in January and have ongoing responsibilities there, I would at least like to know if there are opportunities for me to help out. To the extent that I have time and the necessary skills to support this course, I will be happy to do so.

• 
  Kerri   Jan. 9, 2012, 11:46 a.m.

  Bio:

  Freelance web developer working with CMSs, php, data & back-end development. Also working with the Providence Afterschool Alliance's program, The Hub, an after school program for High School Aged Youth (hubprov.com) as their technical coordinator.

  Location: Providence, RI

  Standard Set Answer:

  At The Hub (hubprov.com) we are piloting an after school learning program and I am teaching a group of high school aged students about Drupal and Web Development. Although I am an experienced web developer, I'm struggling with the most effective way to teach those new to web development especially in the context of customizing a CMS. Part of my approach is to use "on the job" training so these students will be redevloping a a site for a real world client. I'd like to be able to expand this porgram to go beyond the hard skills of webcraft but also expand into soft skills needed in the job world  like communciation, teamwork, etc...

  I'm hoping to learn more about how to teach, resources to use, motivation.

  I can help provide insight on course organization if needed.

• 
  Ian Mitchell   Jan. 6, 2012, 1:09 a.m.

  Bio:

  Associate professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of British Columbia

  Location: Vancouver, Canada

  Standard Set Answer:

  I write research code all the time, as do my students and colleagues.  I am appalled by the lack of reproducibility of even my own code after a few years, and I often can't get my students' code to work at all.  I would like to improve this situation, both with my own students and others.  But it is a real challenge to figure out how to motivate people to learn and use these tools.

• 
  Jaelle   Jan. 4, 2012, 3:22 p.m.

  Bio:

  I am a Technology Liaison at Tulane University, where I manage a computer lab aimed at getting women excited about technology.  I also organize a multidisciplinary internship program that gives students the opportunity to use technology in assisting with faculty research projects.  Outside of my work at Tulane, I also enjoy designing websites and mobile apps.  In my spare time, I like to cook, read, travel and play video games.

  Location: New Orleans, LA

  Standard Set Answer:

  I work with many people who are interested in increasing their technical skills, but often don't know where to start.  I want to be able to help these people get excited about it and know how to get started learning webcraft without getting overwhelmed.  I'm excited to learn about other people's experiences with teaching programming to those learning outside a traditional classroom.  I would definitely be interested in helping with the course organization in any way I can.

• 
  kgardnr   Dec. 28, 2011, 3:12 p.m.

  Bio:

  Co-founder of Yibboo, interested in all things interweb. My passion is leading teams to do amazing things. You can find me on twitter for more: @kgardnr

  Location: Toronto

  Standard Set Answer:

  I'm interested in this topic for 2 reasons - 1 is I'm developing my own startup, Yibboo, which is a tool for learning and teaching. And the 2nd reason is because Greg is teaching it.

  I am gathering as many perspectives about online learning (esp. around programming/tech) to help me fine-tune Yibboo.

  Yes, I'm interested in helping with the organization, however I can be of service!

• 
  Leopoldo Teixeira   Dec. 23, 2011, 9:15 a.m.

  Bio:

  I am a PhD Student in Software Engineer at Brazil. 

  Location: Recife, Brazil

  Standard Set Answer:

  I am working to get a PhD in software engineering, and I am very interested in learning how to teach programming. I hope to get a better sense of how to teach programming to novice students. I don't know how I can help with the course organization, but I'd be willing to. 

• 
  Anonym   Dec. 23, 2011, 1:01 a.m.

  Bio:

  Co-founder of Web Start Women, Instructor at Penn, Developer at Photojojo.com

  Location: Philadelphia, PA

  Standard Set Answer:

  It was recommended to me by two people, so I figured I should check it out! My group, Web Start Women, deals with a lot of "free range" students so it's a topic close to me.

• 
  Duane Griffin   Dec. 22, 2011, 10:40 a.m.

  Bio:

  Professional programmer; full-time parent.

  Location: London, UK

  Standard Set Answer:

  I'm a professional programmer and see mentoring as an important part of my job. I also have an infant daughter who I'd like to teach to program one day. I do not feel I am very good at teaching programming at a basic level currently, and would like to improve.

  I would like to learn to teach programming more effectively, especially to beginners and less experienced practitioners.

  I'd like to help with course organisation but cannot spare much time, so it would depend on the amount of work required.

• 
  Ginster   Dec. 19, 2011, 6:14 p.m.

  Bio:

  Location: Sydney, Australia

  Standard Set Answer:

  My Uni had 15% women, 85% studying IT. I'm interested in any insights into how to change this, not only for women at Uni, but also for older women needing to do a bit of web programming as part of their jobs or for hobbies.

• 
  jazz   Dec. 19, 2011, 6:12 p.m.

  Bio:

  Location: SF

  Standard Set Answer:

  • Am currently learning to program, and also am working on a non-profit project to develop after-school web coding currculum to student
  • Gain a deeper understanding of what are effective methods of teaching
  • Depends on what is required
• 
  harv   Dec. 16, 2011, 4:36 p.m.

  Bio:

  software developer, post-secondary educator

  Location: Earth

  Standard Set Answer:

  I have a master's of Education degree in adult education specializing in online learning communities and 25 years of software development background, 14 years of it in teaching programming in the post-secondary classroom environment. This topic fits well with my academic and technical background and is an interesting experiment from a variety of perspectives.

  One of my current initiatives is to turn my training program into a free-range environment and take my students out of the classroom into an online collaborative environment where they can learn in much the same way that they will work online. The model of this site and this course will be valuable in determining how to do this effectively.

• 
  Rogelio Moreno   Dec. 15, 2011, 6:04 p.m.

  Bio:

  I'm currently a college student and I'm very interested in learning about web development and sharing what I learn with others

  Location: Panama

  Standard Set Answer:

  -This topic catched my eye because I'm currently developing some challenges (in P2PU =D) about the introduction to web development for spanish users and I think this will help me develop better content.

  -I hope to learn more about what is the best way to share what I know.

  -I can't make any commitments to that atm, but I would gladly help with whatever I can.

• 
  Terri   Dec. 15, 2011, 1:46 p.m.

  Bio:

  Location:

  Standard Set Answer:

  - I learned "free-range" myself and then had to teach in classrooms, and now am transitioning back to teaching and mentoring outside the classroom.

  - I want to be a better mentor and teacher.

  - I want to say yes, but I know realistically I'll get horribly busy.

• 
  Anonym   Dec. 15, 2011, 7:35 a.m.

  Bio:

  I am a programmer with a B.Sc. in Computer Science. Out of school since 2008, I have worked professionally on distributed database backend technology and video games. My hobby is video game music extraction and emulation; I am the author of vgmstream among other things.

  My mission is to design games in which the player learns programming. More on that topic on my blog.

  Location: Camarillo, CA

  Standard Set Answer:

  I have been interested for some time in creating games for learning programming, and as yet I have very little knowledge of how programming is learned, apart from my own experience. I hope to learn more about teaching and learning, possibly to get more ideas for game mechanisms. I do have a fairly large amount of free time lately, so I would be interested in ways I might help with the course.

• 
  Matthew   Dec. 14, 2011, 7:53 p.m.

  Bio:

  I teach Web Design and Development at Conestoga College in Waterloo.

  Location: Waterloo, Canada

  Standard Set Answer:

  I currently teach web design and development in a classroom setting at a community college.  I am hoping that I can gain insight into best practices for more teaching.  At this point my schedule does not permit me to assist with organization, but if that changes I would be happy to help.

• 
  Laura B   Dec. 14, 2011, 6:46 p.m.

  Bio:

  I'm a Computer Science teacher at an all girls' school.

  Location: Philadelphia

  Standard Set Answer:

  As a teacher, I'm always looking for new ideas about teaching and learning, especially teaching computing.  

  I hope to both learn from this experience as well as contribute what I know.  I've spent a lot of time studying the art and science of teaching, especially technology-related topics and I hope I can share some of my expertise.

  I'm not sure I have the expertise to organize the course, but if I can help in any way, I'd be happy to help.

• 
  Ms. King   Dec. 14, 2011, 5:51 p.m.

  Bio:

  Location:

  Standard Set Answer:

   

  • What made you interested in this topic? The topic itself 
  • What do you hope to achieve by participating? Get to know people's views on the teaching of programming, learn any tips I can.
  • Are you interested in helping with the course organization? Probably if I have time.