CodeDay is a 24-hour event open to students of any age and level of coding experience.
Learning to code can be intimidating—that’s why some are encouraging students to start as early as possible. But now, thanks to StudentRND and its global event, CodeDay, the process may become a little bit easier.
With the inaugural CodeDay Iowa slated for early next month, student coders of all ages and skill levels from across the state will gather for a little more than 24 hours to socialize, learn and “build something awesome.”
Iowa State University student Brett Neese and Hatchlings software developer Mike Naughton helped organize the first CodeDay Iowa, which will be hosted at StartupCity Des Moines from 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 9, to noon on Sunday, Nov. 10.
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We caught up with Neese to learn a little more about bringing CodeDay to Des Moines and why learning to code at a young age can be crucial:
Silicon Prairie News: Why did you decide to help bring CodeDay to Des Moines? How have you seen a demand for the event in central Iowa?
Brett Neese: There’s a lot of STEMy-things going on in Iowa, from Hyperstream to Iowa STEM. But when a friend of mine held a CodeDay in Portland, I knew I had to bring the model to Iowa. It sounded like just the piece we’re missing right now—a link between STEM education and the broader Iowa startup, tech community. One of the major problems facing Iowa right now is a lot of people are working in various silos—we need less of that, and I realized that I’m probably one of the few people with his nose in just the right places to pull it off.
Three years ago, I couldn’t imagine anything like what was happening in Iowa could be happening in my home state. I wanted out—San Francisco was where it was at! When I stumbled into and got started working with the tech community in Iowa (via SPN, actually), a lot of things in my life changed for the better. But I realize how lucky I got, and I remain passionate about “paying it forward,” because quite frankly, I’m getting older and would rather not be the youngest person in the room anymore.
SPN: The CodeDay process seems somewhat like a shorter Startup Weekend for younger people. What’s the value for students to sign up for CodeDay?
BN: CodeDay is an incredible learning experience. It’s sort of like Startup Weekend, but the goal is different: instead of a 56-hour pitch competition, it’s simply “learn how to build something cool in 24 hours.”
When I went to my first Startup Weekend, I was thrown in the deep end. I survived, but I didn’t feel like I was being very useful. By shifting the focus, CodeDay is a lot less competitive and a lot more newcomer-friendly.
Plus, just like Startup Weekend, there’s food, drinks and like-minded people to hang out with. Some of the people I met at my first Startup Weekend a couple years ago remain my good friends today. Our hope is that every student will go home with a full stomach, a cool project, a new skill and maybe a new friend or two.
SPN: What if students have little or no experience coding? Can they still sign up for and enjoy CodeDay?
BN: Absolutely, yes. StudentRND, the national organization that helps run CodeDays across the country, is flying in a facilitator from Seattle to help run workshops for those who don’t have experience. I’ve seen some of what they want to do and it’s awesome, cutting-edge stuff; easy to pick up, but incredibly recent and “hot” technologies.
The point of CodeDay is to “learn by doing.” There’s a lot of cool hackathons and coding competitions, even in the Midwest, but they’re really competitive and don’t facilitate learning, especially for beginners, in the way that CodeDay does. That’s one of the reasons I love this model.
SPN: Why do you think it’s important for younger students to get involved in tech early?
BN: When I was in preschool, my parents took me to a special program called “Computer Tots,” where I learned to use a computer, keyboard, play games, etc. For better or worse, I haven’t left my keyboard yet. That’s an experience a lot of my peers didn’t have.
At the same time, I constantly wonder why I haven’t done more at a younger age. I had the talents, but failed to utilize them. There’s a lot of people going around saying that “errybody should learn to code.” I disagree. I think it’s about finding your passion, and in my case at least part of that involves building things using technology. I don’t believe that tech should have a minimum age (and I’m always a bit too loud when I’ve run into situations where it does.)
SPN: Being a veteran attendee of hackathons and Startup Weekends, what are your top tips for attending an event like CodeDay?
BN: Be careful not to try too hard. I’m really ambitious, and as a result I always attempt to bite off quite a lot more than I can chew—a little bit of this is healthy, but in the end, you should be gagging, not choking. Focus on something small, but knock it out of the park. The timing is hard—try and use your talents in the best way rather than trying to acquire too many new things—maybe that doesn’t apply to CodeDay so much, but it definitely applies to hackathons in general.
Many people try and make great big things that do all kinds of things, and by demo time, they only have one of them built. Instead, focus on one small problem. Worst comes to worse, fake it until you make it.
Credits: Event photo from StudentRND on Facebook. Brett Neese photo from Twitter.
