What would you say to students who are considering attending camp?
I would tell them that they are not just going to a programming camp, instead they would be going to a camp that teaches much more than that, from what mindsets you should have to trying to search up the answer on search engines.
What are some things we could do better?
You can probably have more concrete information about certain things, such as Firebase. Aimlessly trying to figure out how certain things work was not the best way to spend my time here, so having the ability to get more information that's concrete could help.
What are some things we did really well?
Having everybody open up during our eating sessions made everybody there feel very opened-up and happy. Normally, without these talks, I wouldn't have been able to open up to new people. However, these talks made me feel as if we knew each other for months.
What are some things that you learned?
I learned the fundamentals of both JavaScript and HTML, both having insurmountable information. I also learned about fixed vs. growth mindsets, which will help in life greatly. Lastly, I learned how to make oatmeal in the microwave :-)
Can you tell us if hack camp changed your mindset or the way you thought about yourself or your abilities?
Though it didn't change my mindset (because a former teacher taught me about the growth mindset anyway), it did give me more insight on the subject, and it did help me expand my mindset to things I have never known before until now.
How likely are you to recommend hackEDU to your friends?
9
Is there anything we didn’t get to work on that you wanted to learn at camp?
I would have liked if we went to other programs (Xscipt, etc.), have a brief summary on it, and compare all of the programs to see their pros and cons.
Is there anything we spent too much or too little time on?
We probably spent more time on functions then I would have liked to. I also felt that we spent very little time on CSS that I would have liked.
Do you have any other comments or suggestions for us? Now is your chance to share!
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Yes I am comfortable.
What are some things you are currently most unsure about?
I am still unsure about the Firebase problem, which will probably be fixed today. I'm also unsure to my next project's ambition and goal.
If you could change 1 thing about Hack Camp, what would it be?
I would honestly adjust the time spent in Hack Camp so that we can have more time doing what we're doing for the day. I would be fine with having extended hours in the morning.
What would you say to students who are considering attending camp?
Hack Camp is not just a camp where we learn about coding but a camp where we learn about life. There is definitely the programming part, but the more broad concept is how the lessons we learn from coding translate into our daily lives. For example, coding has many obstacles--run into one just to get into another--, but that aspect gives us the opportunity to learn that in life, we will always face challenges, and the only way to grow is to overcome them. Furthermore, these lessons are not acquired purely through personal mistakes while coding, but also through the instructors' inspiring speeches/lectures/lessons.
What are some things we could do better?
The lunch times were pretty erratic during the first week but improved during the second week. For the next group of hackers, I would recommend setting a time when the hackers are hungry by observing their behavior or asking them.
Use more visuals and personifications of code from the start.
What are some things we did really well?
Because many examples were presented before me, I was able to learn and pull specific code I wanted my game/website to do. For example, I did not at all create something remotely similar to white tiles, but I did grab white tiles' example of having sprites move across a screen and incorporated what I learned from that example into my own game. In that way, I was exposed to many different games/examples that are relevant to us and those games/examples' inner workings. Therefore, I hope that more examples will be included for future hackers.
Having interesting conversations during lunch and breakfast helped with the theme that this camp is not just about learning coding but for learning life.
Visually representing code helped immensely in my understanding of the coding world.
Giving us the freedom to go at our own pace and explore our individual interests.
Playing energizers to wake us up, promote creativity, and increase hacker bonding.
Free breakfast.
Having only a few students to maximize personal teaching.
What are some things that you learned?
Organization in coding and in life is important. For example, indenting before each code/paragraph.
Creating a plan or outline for a project is important so that I know my next steps.
My life is not defined by numbers. They may define a few years of my life, but not my whole life.
What HTML, CSS, and JS are and how to remedy any problem I have with them with Google or with debugging.
Can you tell us if hack camp changed your mindset or the way you thought about yourself or your abilities?
I had always, in the back of my head, knew that we should overcome challenges and push our limits but never really lived by such thinking very much until this camp. I have learned that despite the fancifulness of dogma such as""rising up to the challenge and learning from mistakes,"" those lessons are actually extremely true. I was able to live by those lessons through coding because I did indeed face many challenges and learned from many mistakes. I have definitely learned to lessen my fixed mindset and learn toward more a growth mindset thanks to this camp.
The way Hack Camp is taught is totally opposite of what our school system is. This camp really opened my mind to the different ways that I can learn.
How likely are you to recommend hackEDU to your friends?
8
Is there anything we didn’t get to work on that you wanted to learn at camp?
In order to increase the applicability of what we learn from camp, I had hoped to learn to modify Facebook's codes. I do not know how to make more than one column in CSS.
Is there anything we spent too much or too little time on?
Looking back, I feel as if we spent a bit too much time on phaser. I think I could have managed to create the simple game I have with less time with phaser because we did not use all the things we explored in the UFO example.
Do you have any other comments or suggestions for us? Now is your chance to share!
In the camp's mere two weeks, more than in any part of my life, not in my days as a fetus, an infant, a toddler, an elementary schooler, a middle schooler, a high school freshman, a high school sophomore, or a high school junior, I have never made so many mistakes.
**Check this box if you’re comfortable with parts of your responses being used on our website! **
Yes I am comfortable.
What are some things you are currently most unsure about?
Life.
I do not know what I do not know about CSS, but that encourages exploration.
If you could change 1 thing about Hack Camp, what would it be?
The curriculum and instruction were a bit too loose in the beginning, which made most of the things I was doing fuzzy. For the future hackers, I encourage the instructors to continue experimenting with which method of teaching is the most effective. I just wish that I could do Hack Camp again in a more concrete, set lesson(but not too strict) way.
What would you say to students who are considering attending camp?
There is so much to learn from this experience. Your first project may not be successful or complete, so try not to aim for perfection but more for getting a grasp of the fundamentals of each language and later implement more complex actions or designs.
What are some things we could do better?
Time? I think there should be more of a concrete schedule for the camp, although flexibility would still be great since each camp's students are different and the pace of understanding the stuff could probably help determine how much time is necessary for each language/topic. More examples that demonstrate what does what and how that applies to the current project.
What are some things we did really well?
- Making the students feel comfortable. I personally felt that this was more than just a programming experience. I thought you all had some great stories and opinions to share. And the camp was not as intimidating as I though it would be.
- Guiding the students so that they don't give up whenever something is confusing or does not work. Preparing us for what we could do in the future when there isn't a knowledgeable person around to hold our hands.
- Not holding our hands! Thanks for making us think everything through and not just giving us the answers or ignoring the issues we were facing.
What are some things that you learned?
There is never one solution. There are many options and directions to consider in life. Not to conform to society... even though its hard to. Do things step by step and have at least a framework or plan (the house building).
Can you tell us if hack camp changed your mindset or the way you thought about yourself or your abilities?
I'm not a self-directed learner and always had this mindset that I needed a teacher or someone to guide me or introduce me to something even though I knew that I could always try it on my own or just Google it. Hack camp has shown me that I do not necessarily need someone to properly teach me something, that what I learn is mostly from failing and succeeding and how I make the most out of the experience. I guess I can see myself being more successful. Or at least now I feel that it's not the end of the world for me is I can't do something. It has also helped me further realize that I shouldn't dwell on one thing that isn't working right, especially if it is going to prevent me from continuing the project.
How likely are you to recommend hackEDU to your friends?
10
What are some things that you thought could have been better in week 1?
What are some things that you thought could have been better in week 2?
Is there anything we didn’t get to work on that you wanted to learn at camp?
How to turn our game that was created for a web browser into an app we could play with on our phone? I think that would have been fun to play around with.
Is there anything we spent too much or too little time on?
Too little time in the beginning explaining some parts of Phaser. Exploration was great, but isn't very great when you get stuck and cannot understand how something works. It doesn't help when you don't know much about something you want to implement into a game.
Do you have any other comments or suggestions for us? Now is your chance to share!
Keep talking about life! I thought it was really insightful to hear about your perspectives on life and the advices you had for all the things we talked about. Keep it random. Doge was an interesting topic. I didn't expect doge and dantats to dominate the camp, but that was awesome.
Check this box if you’re comfortable with parts of your responses being used on our website!
Yes I am comfortable.
What are some things you are currently most unsure about?
How I would want to make use of Phaser. It's great but hard to understand. Some parts of styling in css that were similar yet different, like alignment.
If you could change 1 thing about Hack Camp, what would it be?
A more interactive curriculum. More collaboration between students, more noise. It's another way to learn, working with other students and asking them for help on similar parts of the code.