Bootcamp week 1/9: Check!

The first week is done! And – as expected – it went by in no time. 

Contents of this week

The content of the week consisted of a colourful mixture of Javascript, HTML and CSS basics, in particular refreshing the most important points from the prework and aligning the level of knowledge within the cohort.

Really new towards the end of the week was the introduction to object-oriented programming, especially constructor functions. These will be further deepened this weekend.

The week will end on Friday evening with important rituals like

• "Ironbeers" (drinking beer together ;) )
• A short quiz challenge (per kahoot)
• Exchange with the other two cohorts UX and Data Analytics, who started their bootcamps at the same time

Typical daily routine

We start at 9 a.m. with a common stand up - in addition to questions to help us get to know each other better (i.e. what is your favorite TV show of all time, which superpower would you choose and why) we always go through 3 questions.

1. How do you feel about yesterday?
2. Were you are able to do your Pull Request (also refers to the submission of the homework from the day before)
3. Are there any blockers

The lecture then begins at around 9.30 a.m. with a repetition of selected contents of the last homework. It is accompanied by some short codealongs or exercises and usually ends in the late afternoon. Afterwards, we the students have to complete tasks on our own to review the learned materials of the day. It is quite normal to spend time in front of the screen until 9 p.m. or later.

Our cohort of 15 people is supported by a lead teacher and three additional teaching assistants. If help is needed during the processing of the tasks, someone is usually on hand.

Learnings

The most important lessons for me this week were

• How pair programming works (some of the homework was to be done this way)
• How to integrate automated tests directly into the programming process (we use jasmin, more insights will be given next week)
• How object-oriented programming is implemented in Javascript.

The Cohort, my family for the next week

One of the most fascinating things to get to know this week were my fellow students, who could not be more different. From a journalist who is reacting to a job loss with this bootcamp, to an engineer who saw no future in his industry because of their short sighted morals and is now striving for more independence, to a nurse who wants to empower herself by training to organize her own working hours so that there is still enough time for the other important things in her life.

I have heard many very exciting and unique stories. I have great respect for their courage to take these steps and am very happy to spend the next 8 weeks with them!

Outlook

Next week, the first major project is going to be introduced – that is, over a period of several days, all the knowledge gained so far will be bundled and worked towards a concrete goal. I am curious what this will be and will report on it again next weekend!

Brackground

• My github
• My repl.it
• My notes