At Microsoft New England, our goal is to provide as many coding opportunities for students as possible to increase their propensity towards computer science. Therefore, we are thrilled to be a part of the third annual CodeAcross event on March 5-6, 2015, hosted by Code for Boston and held at the Roxbury Innovation Center. The goal of this year’s CodeAcross is to start building the next generation of civic hackers through a curated, educational hackathon. Join us for a jam-packed two days of civic hacking!
What is a hackathon?
A hackathon is a gathering of computer scientists, dedicated hackers, and, in this case, students who want to learn applications for this new skillset. Together, participants form teams and work towards creating a technological solution to a community issue. At past hackathons, participants have worked on issues related to youth employment, transit, infrastructure, and permitting. This particular event is run by Code for Boston, the local volunteer group of the national civic technology nonprofit, Code for America. The Code for Boston team is partnering with Resilient Coders, a code education non-profit focused on underserved youth. Code for Boston is billing the event as a “progression hackathon: a structured hacking event where novice coders and students work in teams with experienced software developers and designers on coding projects, and learn fundamental [computer development] skills.”
Can I participate?
While this year’s CodeAcross will have a heavy technology focus, this does not preclude members of the community who do not have a computer science background from attending! View the EventBrite to RSVP and determine where you might fit in best!
We are also helping Code for Boston recruit Dev Mentors for the event (experienced web developers and coders with a high level of patience and an eagerness to teach/mentor students who want to learn how to code). If you’re interested in becoming a Dev Mentor, please contact Noah Teshu at [email protected] with a resume (or link to Github / portfolio / etc.) and a brief statement about what you’d like to contribute.
What is the goal of this event?
The goal of this event is to create multiple working teams (comprised of novice and experienced coders) who will “hack” on civic problems and learn new ways to use their newfound technology skills. There will also be multiple workshops offered throughout the afternoon covering topics like:
- Ideation, Wireframing, and Intro to Design
- Source Control & Github Basics
- What is Open Source?
- Introduction to Frameworks
- Pitching & Presenting
Any questions about Code for Boston or CodeAcross can be addressed to [email protected].
We hope to see you there! RSVP Now.