DevCause’s Post

I’m finishing my 4th week at CodeSignal and it’s been a whirlwind of new people, ideas, and culture. I’m traveling home from my first onsite with them and I’d like to reflect a bit on what brought me here. Back in 2013, web development was seeing a bit of a revolution as we moved from static, back-end, technologies to heavy front-end focused “Single Page Applications” (SPAs).  My good friend Dennis Burton and I were doing a lot with these budding technologies and trying to figure out a fun and exciting way to teach the concept to others. We came up with a full-day CodeMash Conference workshop (hundreds of learners) with an accompanying application called Choose Your Own Application.  It took inspiration from the well-loved childhood book series to let the learner make choices as they built a full-blown application.  The learner was given the opportunity to choose their frontend framework (Backbone or Knockout… it was 2013), their language (JavaScript or CoffeeScript… see 2013), their backend framework (Node.js, Rails, or ASP.NET), and their deployment platform (Heroku or Azure).  There were dozens of permutations.  It was a LOT of content.  A LOT to test. The experience was VERY well received.  I was so honored and humbled by the number of people who learned that day.  After it was done, we asked: can we scale this to other content paths?  We laughed it off and said “nah, that was fun but it would be too much work”. If you know me, I get my energy from helping other people learn things.  That’s why I joined Khan Academy and stayed with them for 8 years.  Ultimately, it’s what led me to take the Director of Content and Content Platform at CodeSignal.  Although it’s not _exactly_ the same thing, I’m a part of a team now that is scaling the ideas behind Choose Your Own Application.  CodeSignal Learn (https://lnkd.in/gXHuMEKQ) is the most innovative technical learning platform I’ve seen yet.  We’re developing content at a VERY fast pace and we will for a very long time. Unlike static video or blog-base learning, we have a PRACTICE-based platform with an AI teacher/tutor named Cosmo (a space corgi!).  It’s all about mastery-based learning inside the browser IDE and Cosmo guiding you the entire way.  The entire experience is in a single place. I have only been here 4 weeks and I’m already extremely proud of what we’re building.  Watch this space.  We have some amazing content coming your way.

"You can't have technology without creativity." Meet Kashawna Brantley from Cycle 42, who is a Software Developer. 25 Years! That's how long we've been growing our galaxy of stars, and Kashawna is one of them. Click the link below to watch her interview, in which she shares how she learned about i.c.stars and her journey to becoming a Software Developer. https://lnkd.in/eju5zBVm

Want a few tips for success? Each year we host a summer orientation for our incoming seasonal team to help set them up for success at the club this summer. Here are a few things they learned last night: - Be Interested, Not Interesting - Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance - Be Present What are other tips that you would give to young team members?

There’s nothing like seeing a company's vision come to life and knowing we played a small part in that journey. Here’s a sneak peek at some of our recent work 🚀

Lets start new project…

Today I’m celebrating 1 year of being WOAW’s CEO 🎉 Taking on this opportunity actually changed my life in a massive way. Looking back over the last 12 months, it’s surreal to think how much we’ve achieved. Some of it is the more generic - satisfying, yes - but generic stuff. • More than doubled revenue • Produced better work for clients than ever before • Offered new services But beyond the surface, there’s been so much more. • Formulated an exciting plan for the future, which we’re all aligned on • Cultivated a group environment which encourages creativity and happiness • Changed our structure and processes to make us stronger and more efficient • Experienced massive highs and some really difficult challenges • Expanded our network - our friends of WOAW - which boasts some of the brightest minds and  most talented people imaginable • Internally, we’ve challenged each other and held one another accountable • I’ve developed as person in ways I’m really proud of • Had a fucking good time In some ways it feels crazy it’s only been one year. In others it feels like a lifetime of work has gone into it. Here’s to the next year and all we’re aiming to achieve. Who’s in for the ride? 🙋♂️

New project is about to start

New chapter is start

🎉 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸𝘀: 𝗖𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝟰𝟬 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗿𝗴𝗼𝘀𝘆 🎉 💡 In the spotlight today is Neil, our Technical Manager at Argosy! 💡 Curious about what Neil’s day-to-day looks like? Check out his story to learn about his backstory and discover how our tech guru navigates his daily responsibilities!