RailsBridge Workshop w Black Founders Beginner and Intermediate Levels

Installfest + Workshop

Fri 3/15/2013
Start time: 7:00 pm PDT
End time: 7:00 pm PDT

Come learn ruby on rails with RaildBridge and Black Founders on March 15th and 16th @ WestEd.


Note: Your spot isn't guaranteed unless you fill out the registration form that we email you, so it'll make life much better if you make sure that your Meetup.com email address actually gets to you.


**Please read to the bottom of this message even if you hate reading.**


Super big thanks to our sponsor and host: WestEd


Friday, March 15th, 2013


7pm-9pm: Software Installfest (REQUIRED)


Please plan on being there for 30-90 minutes to get all software installed. (Every install is a unique snowflake, and some snowflakes take longer to install software on than others.) See the bottom of this description if you're wondering if you have to attend the installfest.


Saturday, March 16th, 2013


9:00am-4:30pm: Workshop


5pm: Join us to have a celebratory beverage and talk shop at a nearby pub TBA!


Sign up process: Attendees should be the official RSVP-er, with a +1 for their guest(s). Everyone is welcome at Railsbridge, but we strongly encourage people of African (black) and Hispanic decent to attend this special RailsBridge event co-hosted by Black Founders (www.blackfounders.com) to increase ethnic diversity among the Ruby on Rails development community.


Transportation: WestEd's office is located in downtown San Francisco, on Harrison Street. If you are taking transit, use the Montgomery Street BART/MUNI stations. If you're driving, there are several parking garages in the area as well as metered street parking. Bikes are not allowed in the building and there is very limited bike parking (i.e. parking meters) outside.


Workshop Description: This workshop is intended to reach out to people of African descent who are interested in learning Ruby on Rails and encourages ethnically diverse participation and everyone is welcome to attend who wants to learn Ruby on Rails -- ask your friends if you aren't sure who might be interested!


In this workshop, we'll take you through the steps to build a web application using Ruby on Rails. Total novices can start with an Intro to Programming, while experienced programmers can jump right into Ruby, Rails or try pairing. By the end of the workshop, you'll have an application on the internet that connects to a database and reads and writes information.


We'll meet up on Friday to install all of the software you need, and then spend Saturday learning and writing code. Total novices, system administrators, developers in other languages, and folks who attended our previous workshops are all welcome. We'll have different classes separated by experience level.


Each participant needs to bring their own laptop and power supply.


We'll have pizza Friday night during the Installfest, and breakfast and lunch on Saturday. Vegetarian options will be available.


It's necessary to do ALL of the following to complete registration:

1) Confirm that the email address you have listed in Meetup is actually one that you check on a regular basis. (We'll be sending updates, notifications, and to-dos prior to the event, and you'll lose your spot if you fail to respond in a timely manner.)


2) If you have a Mac, download and install Xcode on your laptop before coming to Installfest on Friday. (Xcode is the software that creates a coding environment for you to tinker with during the workshop.) Xcode is a very large file that takes 2-3 hours to download. Doing it at work on Friday is totally legit, waiting until Friday night at the installfest is not. The installfest instructions for getting Xcode are here: http://installfest.railsbridge.org/installfest/install_xcode.


3) Fill out the Registration Form that we email to you. It will provide us with details about your operating system, the type and level of programming experience you have, and other questions. You must fill out the Registration Form before 5pm on Monday 3/11/13 so we can get the final list of attendees and allow waitlisters to take open spots.


Please note: The security at the WestEd building is very tight and your name needs to be on the list we provide to guards in order for you to be allowed inside. Please fill out the registration form (via email) so we have this.


If you need childcare, please comment on this meetup form so I can start working on arranging it.


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Saturday's schedule approximated:


9-9:30am: Check in, coffee, bagels


9:30ish: Opening presentation / divide into classes


10am: Break into small groups


12:30pm: Lunch


1:30pm: Back to small groups


4:30pm: Closing presentation


5pm: After party at nearby bar



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(from the FAQ at workshops.railsbridge.org/resources-for-students)

Q: Do I have to attend the Installfest?

A: Yes! The Installfest is a crucial part of the weekend, even if youve already gone through the instructions independently. There are a ton of moving parts when setting up a development environment, and the reason that were able to get through the curriculum on Saturday is that every single student has had their dev environment checked and has been awarded a sticker for their successes. There are also enough changing parts that even if youve been to a workshop in the past, you should attend the Installfest to get re-verified, because this stuff changes almost constantly.


Q: What is the curriculum?


A: We will be offering the beginning and the intermediate levels of the curriculum at this Railsbride. You must take the beginning curriculum at least once before you "graduate" to the intermediate curriculum. Let us know via the emailed registration form which curriculum you want to take, as many beginners choose to go through beginning curriculum multiple times to get more comfortable with it.

44 volunteers!

56 students!