DEV Community: Nicole Kern

This #GivingTuesday, help code newbies give back – and get some website work done for free!

Nicole Kern — Fri, 22 Nov 2019 14:58:17 +0000

Next week starts one of the biggest shopping weekends for the holiday season.  Beginning with Black Friday on Nov. 28th, and followed with Cyber Monday on Nov. 2nd, in total Americans are expected to spend over **[$12 billion while shopping online.] (https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/black-friday-ecommerce/#why-black-friday-is-a-big-deal-for-businesses)** 

Back in 2012, **92nd Street Y** and the **United Nations Foundation** decided to do something different. They introduced and popularized the idea of **[Giving Tuesday](https://www.givingtuesday.org/about)**, a day meant to inspire people to give back to their communities in the spirit of the holiday season, after the days of shopping and consumerism have wound down. It worked - **[the #givingtuesday movement website estimated nearly $400 million] (https://www.givingtuesday.org/blog/2018/11/givingtuesday-2018-surpasses-billion-dollars-online-donations-its-inception-most)** was donated to nonprofits and charities during Giving Tuesday in 2018, and expect to surpass that during this year’s Giving Tuesday on **December 3rd.**

Giving Tuesday isn’t only about donating money, though. One of the best ways to give back is to find places in your community to get involved and make an impact. Of course, the Codecraft Foundation is always welcoming donations and community involvement to help continue its mission to bring computer science education to underrepresented students in Brevard. But for this year’s Giving Tuesday, we’d also like to share a new way you can work with us to give back to Brevard - by becoming a community partner for the Fibonacci Program.

What’s the Fibonacci Program?

Back in June, we partnered with Brevard Achievement Center, a nonprofit aiming to provide people with disabilities the opportunity to break into the workforce and achieve personal success. Together we launched the Fibonacci Program, a first of its kind workforce development and on-the-job training initiative, designed to prepare high school aged students, either with learning disabilities or on the autism spectrum, for careers in rapidly growing and sustainable fields, such as web development and information technology (IT).

The first student cohort learned specific skills, like the core web programming languages HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and became Google Analytics certified. But throughout the program, they learned so much more. Each of the seven students worked collaboratively with one another, gave weekly demos of their work in front of the class, and practiced engaging with businesses in a professional setting - all soft skills that are crucial for success in the workforce.

It had a huge impact.

Over the eight week program, five Brevard companies partnered with students and gave them access to the back-end of their websites. Students learned to analyze Google Analytics reports for statistics, breaking down how often users visited their website, how long they stayed there, and what content they looked at the most.

By the end of the program, students were able to create comprehensive reports that allowed companies to better understand their website traffic, helping guide their marketing and SEO (search engine optimization) strategy. Students left with a certification in advanced Google Analytics, as well as portfolio of web projects to show potential employers.

During the final Demo Day in July, students presented their final work to their community partners, parents, and peers. Students showed off websites for fictional companies, virtual magic 8 balls and web pages about their favorite movies, and well-earned Google Analytics certifications. But most importantly, the students that started the Fibonacci program had undergone a dramatic transformation. Both students and parents recognized the newfound confidence in their work, as well as their willingness to interact with other students and professionals with enthusiasm.

So here’s the thing.

The Fibonacci program didn’t end there. The first student cohort was so impactful that the team decided to support the continuation of the Fibonacci Program with new Phase 1 cohorts in Fall 2019, as well as Spring 2020.

In September, Codecraft Works and the Brevard Achievement Center launched Fibonacci Phase II, which provides the next level of workforce training fully online. This flexible work environment allows them to continue attending school while participating in the program.

Here’s where you come in.

As part of their program capstone, each student is looking for small businesses and/or nonprofits in need of WordPress website redesign or development. The Fibonacci students will develop, create, or update a web presence for you for free in order to build their portfolio and business experience while giving back to their community!

To apply, simply follow the links below to view the web portfolios of Phase 1 students and navigate to their application web forms. Apply to your favorite or apply to them all - totally up to you!

Selected companies will be announced on Giving Tuesday, and work will begin immediately. Reach out to **hello@codecraftworks.com * for any other questions.

Looking to get into Machine Learning? Meet AWS DeepRacer!

Nicole Kern — Fri, 08 Nov 2019 14:58:48 +0000

This weekend, we’re hosting an AWS DeepRacer Workshop (for free!) at our Melbourne HQ. But before then, we figured we’d clue you in on just what DeepRacer is in the first place, and why we think it’s so cool.

So, what is it?

DeepRacer was created by Amazon Web Services, a division of Amazon that offers cloud computing and application programming interfaces (APIs) for individual developers, companies, and everyone in between. It’s a 1/18th scale autonomous race car, with a built in HD camera, an Intel Atom processor, and WiFi connection. Basically, it’s a high-tech mini monster truck.

The DeepRacer car uses technology called reinforcement learning — an area of Machine Learning. Reinforcement learning involves creating some sort of goal or objective for an algorithm, or “agent”, and either rewarding or penalizing the agent on a trial and error basis.

Think of it like training a puppy — when the puppy doesn’t follow a command, you don’t give it a treat. But when it does follows a command, you give the treat as a reward. Over time, the puppy learns to sit or shake on command, because it understands that by doing so, it will maximize the chances of receiving a treat. Just like a puppy, reinforcement learning encourages agents to maximize their chances of receiving a reward, and in return, allowing it to actively learn, adapt and improve in an interactive environment.

Cool, but how is DeepRacer involved?

With reinforcement learning, users can train DeepRacer cars to drive on predefined race tracks, completely independently. Using the camera, the car drives around the track, predicting when to steer, speed up, and slow down to make turns and other maneuvers based on the reinforcement model controlled by the user.

If the car stays on track, the model is rewarded. But if it veers off the track or makes other blunders during its run, the user withholds the reward. Over time and through many iterations, users can continuously improve the path the car takes, shaving seconds off the car’s finish times.

In fact, getting the car to complete tracks as fast as possible is the goal of the AWS DeepRacer League, the world’s first global autonomous racing league. People around the globe compete to get their cars to be the first to complete tracks, both in online circuits and public events.

If you’re interested in learning more about AWS DeepRacer, be sure to join us on Saturday, November 8th at our Melbourne HQ for a free workshop with Robert Green, a systems engineer at Alstom, a solutions architect for Amazon Web Services, and President of Central Florida Cloud. Middle school, high school, and college students, parents, or anyone interested in tech will get a grasp on Machine Learning through this fun and hands-on STEM workshop. Click here to learn more, and click here to RSVP and let us know you’ll be there!

Thinking of a career in tech? Look to cybersecurity, first.

Nicole Kern — Thu, 31 Oct 2019 15:44:29 +0000

While Halloween is right around the corner, it’s not the only thing happening in October that we’re excited about. October is also Cybersecurity Awareness Month, a month long collaborative effort between industry leaders and the U.S. government designed to bring attention to online safety and security. It aims to not only help Americans understand how to stay safe while online, but also draw attention to the cybersecurity field as a whole.

As big-name companies like Target and Capital One make headlines for suffering the effects of widespread security breaches, it’s no surprise why the cybersecurity field is growing 32% per year — much faster than average for most industries. The damages resulting from cyber attacks is projected to hit $6 trillion annually by 2021. Companies are creating cybersecurity jobs faster than they can fill them, in an attempt to put a stop to cyber attacks before they even happen. And as a result, cybersecurity and information security is becoming an increasingly accessible and incredibly lucrative field.

Fiona, pictured on the right.

Fiona M., a former Codecraft student and intern turned cybersecurity major, discovered just that while thinking about her future. “While I initially planned on going into computer science in general, I found the unique challenges and specific coursework for cybersecurity fit my interests better than general CS,” Fiona said.

Fiona first considered cybersecurity as a career path after joining Codecraft’s CyberPatriot team, sponsored by Northrop Grumman. CyberPatriot, a program and competition series developed by the U.S. Air Force Association, trains middle and high school students to be in charge of securing and defending simulated virtual networks. During competitions, students are tasked with finding and fixing network vulnerabilities, and simultaneously competing with hundreds of other teams across the country.

While competing in CyberPatriot, Fiona found a field that changed her idea of what a career in tech could look like.

“The more I learned about the cybersecurity field and the possible jobs I could have, from vulnerability research and reverse engineering to participating in building secure systems, the more excited I got about it.”

Since then, Fiona has received the National Science Foundation CyberCorp Scholarship for Service, which covers her college tuition in full and even provides a stipend, in exchange for a commitment to work in cybersecurity at a government agency once she graduates.

Fiona wants to see others follow a similar path, as it’s a way to make a difference while still breaking into an emerging field. “We are increasingly dependent on technology, and everyone has a right to have their data kept securely and accurately.” Fiona said. “The work done in cybersecurity is incredibly important, and I want to be a part of securing technology now and for the future.”

If you’re interested in learning more about cybersecurity, Codecraft Works is a great place to start! Click here to learn more about the CyberPatriot program hosted at Codecraft, and feel free to get in touch at hello@codecraftworks.com.