code4lib - What beginners teach us

Keynote given on 2/10/2015 at the code4lib conference

Transcript

1. What beginners teach us
   Selena Deckelmann
   @selenamarie
   Staff Data Architect, Mozilla
   

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2. photo by courthouselover
   

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3. The adult section
   

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5. I could go there.
   

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6. Discovering
   what’s possible
   

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8. http://bit.ly/1fQEXeF
   

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9. http://github.com/mozilla/socorro
   

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15. http://bit.ly/1fOgBSB
    

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16. “In the beginner’s mind there
    are many possibilities, in the
    expert’s mind, there are few.”
    -Shunryu Suzuki
    

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17. I am a beginner teacher
    

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18. full of possibility
    

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19. the one thing...
    Next time you answer
    a beginner’s question
    

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20. take a moment and consider...
    How will the beginner feel
    when they hear your
    answer?
    

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21. I’ve been involved in FOSS
    Since 1995
    

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22. PyLadies
    Get women who code together
    In September 2012, I joined...
    

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23. our first project...
    A Coursera Class
    

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24. Walk away
    or
    Figure out how to teach?
    

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25. beginners:
    Open to possibility
    and overwhelmed
    by choice
    

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26. TMTOWTDI
    the best part of beginners mind
    adventure, possibility, inclusive
    

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27. but...
    

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30. our job as teacher is to answer...
    “What do I do next?”
    

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31. And to consider:
    How do people feel while
    they’re taking the next step?
    

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32. What does learning how
    to program feel like?
    

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34. When experience is a
    dead end
    

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38. When PyLadies
    succeeds
    

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42. Engineering
    experiences
    

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43. “The unwritten first chapter”
    Big goals
    Early wins
    In-person connections
    Cultivate a learning environment
    

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44. Tools for engineering
    great beginner
    experiences
    

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45. From Hacker School:
    No “Well, Actually...”
    No Feigning Surprise
    

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46. pairing
    best instructors are
    those that just learned
    

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47. 1:3 ratio
    instruction to doing
    

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48. listen carefully
    learn from how students rephrase
    and ask questions
    

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49. PyLadiesPDX
    412 women
    1-2 meetings per week
    

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50. • New skills
    • Peer support
    • Structure and routine
    • Confidence
    What PyLadies say they get:
    

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51. How have I benefited
    and what have I learned
    from teaching?
    

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52. write better code
    write better docs
    gain perspective
    

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53. recruit diverse
    members to your
    communities
    

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54. adainitiative.org
    openhatch.org
    pyladies.org
    

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55. and...
    

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56. an informed public
    

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57. Julie Horvath’s blog post
    http://julieannhorvath.com/2013/07/09/a-different-perspective.html
    

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58. “I didn’t grow up
    thinking I could do
    anything I wanted to.”
    

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59. I see this every day teaching adults.
    

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60. People don’t know
    what’s possible.
    

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61. Where I belong,
    where I can go
    

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62. make a better world!
    

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63. teach!
    <3
    

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64. What beginners teach us
    Selena Deckelmann
    @selenamarie
    Staff Data Architect, Mozilla
    

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65. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-
    ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license,
    visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ or send a letter
    to Creative Commons, 444 Castro Street, Suite 900, Mountain
    View, California, 94041, USA.
    All photos are © by owners.
    PyLadies photos shared with permission.
    Kalispell public library photo shared with permission, not for
    commercial reuse.
    

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