Month / September 2017

by Roslyn

National Learn to Code Day

On Saturday, I took part as a mentor in National Learn to Code Day with Ladies Learning Code. There were about 50 learners of all ages. The topic was “Using Data to Solve Problems: An Introduction to Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for Beginners”, led by Solmaz Shahalizadeh, the data team directory at Shopify in Ottawa.

The topic seemed like an oxymoron at first – how can beginners possibly cover in one day what could easily span multiple graduate courses? But actually, it worked great, and I think everyone learned a lot.

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by Roslyn

How to learn to code

I just read a great post by Jessica Duarte on teaching beginners to code. It is all so true. Especially #5, making mistakes:

You [the instructor] have to ride out the mistakes. Make them often. Let the class fix them.

It’s essential for students to see and experience the process of working through mistakes. Right now, I am starting to use git and Github for our manakin research at the Smithsonian. A major benefit is that it allows us to make mistakes safely.

Duarte is organizing the 2017 National Learn to Code Day on Intro to Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. I look forward to helping out with the Ottawa chapter in on September 23!