After some of the success we've had with the 21st Century Youth Project, we frequently receive requests to offer courses for college students and adult learners. Many people we've come in contact with have great app ideas, but need an instructor guiding them throughout the process. Additionally, we have folks that want to become more technical, so they can work with folks that are. And lastly, we come into contact with people that are considering career changes or re-entering the workforce, and need tech skills to make that happen. In the past, we didn't have a permanent space to call home, since we had been working with school districts and their facilities.
Now that we have a technology and entrepreneurship incubator, BLUE1647 we thought it was the perfect time to debut classes, Code Chicago. This dynamic educational series will provide a diverse group of participants with a chance to learn about what's driving mobile Android, iOS, and web technologies. Through these 12-week courses ($1500/course), students will also receive a blended learning environment which consists of weekly (three hours per week) classes face-to-face, and supplemental instruction facillitated through the web. It will also be used to reinforce everything we cover in class.
Code Chicago is also devoted toward helping to develop what the organization itself sees as an “untapped market” regarding lowering barriers for those wanting relevant in-person instruction, and to the long-term potential of the students themselves. In addition to providing talented individuals with technical guidance, the program also seeks to help build up communities in and around the Chicago area. We hope this will enlarge the market of people that can affect change and solve problems in our communities, but also come out with cool apps that solve everyday problems for everyone. Our programs will be tightly integrated into our hackathons, meetups, weekly hack days, and our other entrepreneurship programs offered at BLUE1647. Last week, we had a Correctional Facility Data Camp, and we will strongly encourage our students to participate in these sort of events at BLUE1647 and anywhere else they can have practical application.
We don't view each "class" as an isolated class. We are offering a sequence of classes, in hopes that students continue to receive instruction, engage with the BLUE community, and work with our students of the 21st Century Youth Project and outside community. After our intro class, we'll have an intermediate class, and see where this can go. This model helps us to continue to support and provide FREE classes with the 21st Century Youth Project.
Apply now at http://codechicago.com/apply-now
Coming soon to BLUE1647: classes in hardware, game design, and networking.
Press release below:
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“Code Chicago” prepares for an official launch, unveils their 2013 Spring calendar
Moving past teaching basic programming, the “Code Chicago” series provides participants with an opportunity to delve headlong into web and mobile programming.
February 12th, 2013
This spring, Chicago-area high school, college, and adult learners will have access to a fundamentally groundbreaking educational opportunity. Branded “Code Chicago”, this program, hosted at the BLUE Tech Incubator (providing complementary co-working space for students), is designed to provide beginners (and advancing students) with a hands-on opportunity to learn more about programming for both web as well as mobile devices. The City of Chicago Mayor, Rahm Emanuel, recently stated regarding BLUE, "I congratulate the founders of BLUE on an innovative, exciting venture. The technology sector in Chicago is a growing, crucial area that will have an enormous impact on the City's economy in the future. I am pleased that organizations like BLUE are focused on improving the diversity of the sector and ensuring that as our economy grows it reflects the diversity and vibrancy of the city's people."
This dynamic educational series will provide a diverse group of participants with a chance to learn about what’s driving mobile Android, iOS, and web technologies. But the fun doesn’t end there; throughout the course of this amazing 12-week program, students will also receive a blended learning environment comprising online course support, and get a chance to actually create a functional web or mobile application! Students will learn the importance collaboration plays in technical development, and will be confronted by certain challenges, which push them towards further developing their “strategic vision”. In other words, this series of courses is as much devoted toward teaching fundamental programming concepts as it is building future leaders and “thinkers”.
“Code Chicago” is also devoted toward helping to develop what the organization itself sees as an “untapped market” regarding lowering barriers for those wanting relevant in-person instruction, and to the long-term potential of the students themselves. In addition to providing talented young individuals with technical guidance, the program also seeks to help build up communities in and around the Chicago area by empowering students within these populations with career opportunities. Upon successful completion of the program, students also become part of an Alumni Network, providing further mentorship, internship and job opportunities along with on-going support. In other words, the hope is that these students will use some of their acquired transferable skills, and future successes to help build up the areas which they originated from. It’s a brilliant concept that echoes the old Chinese saying, “…teach a man to fish and he will feed himself for a lifetime”.
Apply now at http://codechicago.com/apply-now
Here’s a snapshot of the 2013 Spring Schedule:
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COURSES
Intro to Ruby on Rails
Begins April 6th, 2013 / Ends June 22nd, 2013
Hosted at BLUE Incubator
Saturdays, 12:00pm – 3:00pm
Designed for beginners, this course will give you a solid foundation in Ruby on Rails. Ruby is known as one of the most beginner-friendly programming languages and Rails has quickly become one of the most popular frameworks for web application development, and powering sites (like Twitter and Groupon). This course will teach the fundamentals of Ruby on Rails and how to build a basic web application. Students who enroll in this course will all produce a Rails app and also have access to online course videos and modules at no extra cost. This course is BYOL: bring your own laptop.
Intro to Java and Android Mobile
Begins April 6th, 2013 / Ends June 22nd, 2013
Hosted at BLUE Incubator
Saturdays, 12:00pm – 3:00pm
Designed for beginners, this course will teach attendees how to develop applications for the Android OS. This Android training class is 70% hands-on, 30% lecture and you do not need to own an Android Mobile device to take this course. Students’ will use a software emulator to run the Android apps created. Students who enroll in this course will all produce an Android Mobile app and also have access to online course videos and modules at no extra cost. This course is BYOL: bring your own laptop.
Intro to iOS Development
Begins April 6th, 2013 / Ends June 22nd, 2013
Hosted at BLUE Incubator
Saturdays, 3:00pm – 6:00pm
Designed for beginners, this course will teach attendees how to build iOS 6 native applications for iPhone and iPad using Objective-C and Apple's Cocoa framework. This iOS Development training class is 70% hands-on, 30% lecture and you do not need to own an iPhone or iPad device to take this course. Students who enroll in this course will all produce an iPhone Mobile app and also have access to online course videos and modules at no extra cost. This course is BYOL: bring your own laptop.
Intro to Web Design
Begins April 6th, 2013 / Ends June 22nd, 2013
Saturdays, 3:00pm – 6:00pm
Designed for beginners, and specifically for people employed in non-technical roles, this course will empower people in any function or industry to learn the tech skills needed to advance in their chosen careers – faster. This hands-on course will help students build a foundation in the skills needed to create websites using HTML and CSS. Students will also learn how to turn a designer’s vision into reality (by taking PSD files and turning them into a fully-functional website!), and communicate more effectively with developers and other technical people in their organization. Students who enroll in this course will all produce a Website(s) and also have access to online course videos and modules at no extra cost. This course is BYOL: bring your own laptop.
ONE-DAY WORKSHOPS
Introduction to User Interface Design with Photoshop
Begins May 4th, 2013
Saturday, 12:00pm – 3:00pm
Price: $40
Learn how to use UI design to create experiences that are not only aesthetically pleasing, but also ones that induce an emotional response within the audience in attendance. This workshop is designed for novice Photoshop users. This course is BYOL: bring your own laptop.
Website Fundamentals: Introducing HTML
Begins May 11th, 2013
Saturday, 12:00pm – 3:00pm
Price: $40
Learning HTML – the language behind every webpage you visit – will give you new skills to work within content management systems such as WordPress, while also providing the foundation you need to begin building your first website. This course is BYOL: bring your own laptop.
Introduction to Responsive Mobile Design
Begins May 18th, 2013
Saturday, 12:00pm – 3:00pm
Price: $40
The web has evolved. It isn’t something we engage with only on desktops and laptops. Today, most people engage regularly with the web on a mobile device. As a result, the way we think about web design and architecture has completely changed. A strong understanding of why and how to optimize websites for mobile devices is a valuable skill for people in a variety of different roles and industries. This course will give students the skills needed to design and create a responsive website for phones, tablets, and beyond using the latest HTML5 and CSS3 techniques. This course is BYOL: bring your own laptop.
About Code Chicago
Code Chicago (www.codechicago.com) is a series of hands-on, 12-week mobile Android/iOS and web (Ruby on Rails) programming courses, where every participant will work with one another and join in the spirit of collaboration and learning. The program provides a blended learning environment comprising online course support, and is structured to emphasize group collaboration, which is at the very heart of most modern project developments. Upon successful completion of the program, students also become part of an Alumni Network, providing further mentorship, internship and job opportunities along with on-going support. The goal is to familiarize students with the intricacies of these programming platforms, while at the same time, fostering inspirational thinking, which will create future opportunities.
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