DEV Community: Tasha Penwell

Amazon Sumerian Digital Badge

Tasha Penwell — Fri, 07 Feb 2020 13:27:26 +0000

Learning about AR/VR and Mixed Reality with Amazon Sumerian is a lot of fun. The digital badge is an added incentive for a lot (including myself). The video series of me navigating it can be found at https://youtu.be/wt-7OWB-4jY. I'm recording it as part of the Create-Build-Learn we're doing but also it's amazing how the act of teaching and recording yourself going over it helps reinforce the concepts. My students say they find it easier when I record me going over the lessons so they can refer to later or if they miss class so thought I'd extend that to this as well.

Dumb Computer Messes Up Simple Sandwich

Tasha Penwell — Fri, 21 Jun 2019 22:42:48 +0000

This morning I played role of deaf, dumb and blind (2 are already true - 1 is debatable by some 😉) by taking the role of a computer in making a PBJ sandwich as part of a video talking about one of the things we do w/ Girls Who Code. Here's part of the video - things got a bit messy. 🤪🤪

Learn How the Cloud Can Help Your Business

Tasha Penwell — Wed, 19 Jun 2019 04:21:22 +0000

Last week I completed my first presentation on cloud computing. This session in particular focused on how cloud computing can help small businesses operate more efficiently and effectively. The technology also allows organizations to grow by focusing on their products and services and not the technology needs.

I focus on three cases studies of businesses that use the cloud - SmugMug, Zillow and Lyft.

Points that I focus on:
Reliability
Availability
Reduce latency time
Cost savings with auto-scaling

When preparing for this presentation I had a goal of being informative but not instructional. I couldn't resist ending the presentation sharing how Amazon Web Services is providing resources like AWS Educate CSforALL and Girls Who Code

It Is YOUR Story - Write The Next Chapter

Tasha Penwell — Sun, 16 Jun 2019 18:04:19 +0000

Your story is one you can write the next chapter all the way to the end. Your story from the beginning to today may or not have been the one you wished. There may have been some twists and turns that were unexpected in terms of loss, unemployment, financial, relationships and overall stability but today is a new day.

A new day brings a new opportunity to write a few lines in your next chapter. Not impulsively, not recklessly but with a goal in mind. A goal to grow and enjoy the reading for the rest of the story that is all about You!

Take a step toward your next great chapter and write the ending you will love.

Read a book that inspires you
Take a class that teaches you
Meet people you can learn from
Find your spark and flame it

Since I'm talking about stories, I want to share a recent blog from Hocking College highlighting one of my students and her journey. Check out her story at https://blog.hocking.edu/stubbornness-persistence-take-student-from-farmer-to-computer-science-major

As a little addendum to this story, I want to share that she still loves farming and if you have the pleasure of knowing her or follow her on social media you'll see she's still very much about nature, farming and growing her own food. She's writing her chapters after an injury that combines skills that she's learning and a personal passion of hers. She's found her spark. Organizations and companies like Farmers Business Network https://www.fbn.com/ are just one example of combining two worlds to write your story.

Ask yourself this...What story do you want read on your life?

Why Coding and How To Get Started

Tasha Penwell — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 13:28:37 +0000

Last night we hosted our first Summer Session of Girls Who Rock and Code at Hocking College. Reshma Saujani and her team did a great job making a book that is a great and entertaining read introducing the basic of what coding is and answers the question of "Why Coding". If you're looking for a great way to get involved w/ the community of coding and make an impact on those around you I HIGHLY recommend this organization. We've been hosting it here at Hocking College and it's such a great way to be re-inspired and for my computer science students who volunteer with the organization it looks great on their resume and the experiences they are gaining are invaluable!

Here's the link if you're looking to host or know a girl who'd love to join a chapter in your area https://girlswhocode.com/!

Girls Who Rock and Code this Summer

Tasha Penwell — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 14:39:27 +0000

Girls Who Rock and Code is a great way to spend the Summer if you're in the Athens county area of Ohio. If you're not familiar with the organization Girls Who Code you should check it out at https://girlswhocode.com/. It's a great way to get girls interested in coding and give them something to do during the Summer!

If you are interested in getting started and need some help on the sources used and what to do - feel free to reach out!

The resources are already out there - it's up to us to use them and share our love of learning cool stuff!

Tips on Passing AWS Exam the First Time!

Tasha Penwell — Wed, 05 Jun 2019 19:40:04 +0000

I had a couple of people ask me on tips to passing the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud Practitioner exam so I made a little video on resources I used and tips I learned.

Resources like...
☁️ A Cloud Guru
☁️ AWS Whitepapers
☁️ AWS Certification courses

Tips like...
🤓 Write down (not type) your notes
🤓 Make your own flash cards
🤓 Read those Whitepapers!
🤓 Do those quizzes daily

There’s a new resource I learned about a week before my exam called ExamPro with Andrew Brown but didn’t get a chance to check it out before this past exam. I will when prepping for next one though!

I also have a couple of upcoming presentations discussing...

👩‍💻 Cloud Computing for Small Businesses (how can use the AWS Cloud)

👩‍💻 Looking Up Into the AWS Cloud (how can teach about the AWS Cloud)

Tips for Passing AWS Certification

Tasha Penwell — Wed, 05 Jun 2019 15:11:37 +0000

I had a couple of people ask me on tips to passing the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud Practitioner exam so I made a little video on resources I used and tips I learned.

Resources like...
☁️ A Cloud Guru
☁️ AWS Whitepapers
☁️ AWS Certification courses

Tips like...
🤓 Write down (not type) your notes
🤓 Make your own flash cards
🤓 Read those Whitepapers!
🤓 Do those quizzes daily

I also have a couple of upcoming presentations discussing...

👩‍💻 Cloud Computing for Small Businesses (how can use the AWS Cloud)

👩‍💻 Looking Up Into the AWS Cloud (how can teach about the AWS Cloud)

https://youtu.be/-iSEEMdjhek

What Would You Do If You Had a Million Dollars?

Tasha Penwell — Sun, 26 May 2019 20:29:43 +0000

Last week I was on vacation so no newsletter but here's this week's edition to #BytesAndBits! Talking about....

🤓 What I learned from the TogetherDigital Meetup. Ask yourself "What would you do if you had a million dollars?"
🤓 My role as only 1 of 3 persons in Ohio who are part of Amazon Web Services Cloud Ambassador program
🤓 Fun #computerscience activities happening this Summer at Hocking College

Read about it at https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/2446169/Computer%20Science/Bytes%20and%20Bits%205.26.2019%20.pdf?utm_campaign=Admissions&utm_source=email!

whatwouldyoudoifyouhadamilliondollars