On 11/26, Robin A Donatello wrote:
Hi Andrea,
The R-Users group at UC Davis have a “Meet and Analyze Data” group that is as
you described. A regular place and time where people come to sit, work on stuff
in a shared coding atmosphere.
A small correction: the R-Users group runs one session, and "Meet and Analyze
Data" is another one (that we run in the lab). So we have at least two sessions
at UC
Davis =]
Luiz
At Chico State we call it “Community Coding”. It has had a slow growth, but has
worked great for two of the faculty that participate (both from Statistics) to
serve as an extra set of Office Hours.
It worked best for us when we had regular seminar/workshops going on at the same
time/place. I.e. we host community coding from 2-4pm on Tue & Thu. Last Spring
we held seminars and workshops nearly weekly during 1 of those 4 hours.
Where we’d like to improve
· Get faculty from CS (and in general all over campus) to advertise and
participate more.
· Offer light refreshments (snacks) – but our location is all the way
across campus from offices where the goodies would be held, making
transportation a pain.
· Creating a “class” out of it (1 unit credit/no credit) just like we
have for our Math Tutoring lab. I.e. you show up for like 10 times during the
semester and you get credit. This helps with habit forming.
· Solidifying the space. We have a pretty good room in the Library
(centrally located, open work tables, large monitors at each table that people
can connect into and share their screen) , but we have to ask each semester to
reserve it, it’s not guaranteed, and it’s not confirmed/open to us until the
2nd week of the semester.
I think a potential barrier to students is the impression/idea that they’re
just going to work among other students, and if they get stuck there’s no one
to help them. I think a big bonus/pull (at least for us) is to say that yes,
there will be someone there who can help. Perhaps not directly on the coding
problem you have, but more in general. e.g., I don’t know C++ but I can help
you think through a problem, or help you google an answer. So I would say yes,
having an “expert” present for at least part of the event time I think Is
pretty critical. Peers learn best from other peers, but until you build habits
and word of mouth that this is a good resource, you need to have “expert”
backup.
Good luck!
-Robin
Robin Donatello, DrPH
Assistant Professor
Holt 202
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
California State University, Chico
www.norcalbiostat.com<http://www.norcalbiostat.com/>
CSUC Data Science Initiative
http://datascience.csuchico.edu<http://datascience.csuchico.edu/>
From: Denton, Andrea Horne (ash6b) <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, November 26, 2018 11:37 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [discuss] Hosting a code-in?
Hi all,
Wondering if anyone has experience, especially in an academic environment, in
hosting an event where people gather to work on their own code. We would
provide the setting (quiet space and access to coffee and snacks) and timeslots
for people to “get away” to get work done.
This would not be a shared coding project, but rather people working on their
own, with perhaps some networking breaks where people could share their
projects, goals, challenges, and accomplishments. We’re also wondering if
coding support could or should be a feature of this event (e.g. from our data
specialists).
Anyone done this, and if so, what worked and what didn’t?
Thanks,
Andrea
Andrea H. Denton, MILS
Research & Data Services Manager
Claude Moore Health Sciences Library
PO Box 800722
University of Virginia Health System
Charlottesville, VA 22908-0722
[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
434-924-9985
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