Geekwise Academy
by irms
The Big, Fat Idea
[ 16-26 year-olds, please take the survey. ]
There are some of us in the Valley that think we can do tech education, specifically for web development, better. We think we need more geeks — good ones — to help push our region in the right direction.
You see, there’s about to be a big gap in the industry. We can already see the beginning of it. People who are not developers are having ideas (some of them are good!) and want to build the next big thing. Instead of hiring out to software firms, or potentially spending tens of thousands of dollars to have their idea built, the smart first step is to get a rapid prototype out there and see if the idea floats.
The Problem
We’ve seen a lot of this happen: Entrepreneurs — people with good intentions and high hopes — get stiffed, or are disappointed by engineering firms that take their idea, their money, and their time to build a half-baked version. Before the entrepreneur has the opportunity to get started, they’ve already spent their seed money on crap.
What. A. Waste.
What these people need is someone who can be their nerdy champion. They want to see their idea out in the wild, and you can be the one to put it out there.
Time and again we witness that the best way to see if something is going to work is to try it. The idea is to fail fast, rethink, iterate, and go at it again. Why spend $50k *just to see*?
Instead, here’s what should happen
- Find a qualified and dedicated geek
- Pay them to build a fast prototype that can be expanded upon later
- See where it takes you.
Our idea is to create a class that is specifically tailored to produce those geeks.
The Solution
We may end up adding and removing depending on interest, but here’s what we’d like the class to look like:
- You don’t need to know a lot about web development, but you should be familiar with using the internet and be a regular computer user
- You’d be taught by people who actually work in the field
- You’ll learn basic website construction
- Some sysadmin stuff (like installing a new webserver on *nix from scratch) would be covered
- You’ll learn an open-source server-side language so when you want to go home work on your new skills, you won’t have to buy a bunch of licenses.
- We’d rotate in guest speakers to talk and teach about the things they do best
- We’d line up actual clients for you to work with
- We’d teach you how to safely work with clients
- You’ll learn how to do team development using source control
- You’ll learn how to draw up basic, necessary documentation without giving yourself, or anyone else, a headache.
By the end of it all, you’d have the knowledge, and the practice to be some of the best web prototypers in the Valley. Not to mention, you’d be tapping into the network of people we know to get you started.
Another benefit? Once done, you can build your own ideas. Believe me, if you don’t have ideas of your own that you want to build, you certainly will when you learn to think like a developer.
This class/academy is still in early-idea stage, so we welcome your comments. If you think you can help, or would like to be involved, let me know.
If you’re 16-26 years old, take the survey here. It’s pretty short.
Wow…you just think these things up in the middle of the night? Amazing!
Great post and great idea. I definitely don’t fit in the age bracket, but I was thinking recently how we might be able to have a user/tech group to teach each other (and the community) certain specific skills if the demand is there. Hopefully http://59daysofcode.com will connect people and encourage this to kick off.
Irms,
I think this is a great idea!
Where do I sign up?
How do I help?
Michael
Phil, Michael,
Thanks for the thumbs up.
Right now the most important thing is to spread the word and get people to take the survey! The more feedback we receive, the better plans we can make.
You guys rock.
Thanks for reading!
irms
i really hope you follow through with this idea, its a really amazing idea! i know alot of kids who would be intrested in this!
Hi Viginia, thanks for the feedback! Be sure to tell anyone you think would be interested, and have them fill out the survey.
Thanks!
irms
I love this idea. I work in education and I am trying to help educators in our area get kids ready for working in technology. I truly believe the Central Valley can have a lot more going on with web development. Here, here.
Okay, I don’t even come close to that age range; heck, even my only child does not fall in that range any more. However, this really old person (in your book) totally agrees with you. The valley, and especially Fresno, need more thinkers like you doing things like this. I taught high school for 21 years and saw so much potential, but so many of those with that potential either had no where to go, or that’s exactly what they did-GO. They left Fresno, never to return. Let’s keep the brains here and grow the economy.