Today we welcome Marc Harter of Applied Data Consultants as our guest. When I first moved to this town, one of my students told me about this guy named Marc that he worked with. This Marc apparently had an amazing knowledge of web technologies, and most of it was self-taught. A little later I got an email from Marc asking if he could audit some classes so he could learn more. I—given my insatiable desire to see what other people have in their fridges—suggested that we instead get together regularly at his house. I’d share what I knew about C++ and Haskell, and he would help me learn guitar. We met a few times, but it turned out that I just couldn’t keep up with his fervor for learning.

So, we have with us this afternoon a professional learner. But he’s also a published author, a musician, a father of three, and a husband of one. Marc, thanks for stopping in to see us.

Also, this is our last meeting. We will have no final exam in this class.

Enjoy your break!

P.S. It’s time for a haiku!

What’s nice about school:
You have time to learn the stuff
Once the homework’s in

Today we welcome John Huss of Integrated Computer Solutions as our guest. John brings us the perspective of working for a small company. You’ll have to excuse me for using this class as an opportunity to reunite with old friends. John is a friend I haven’t seen since 2003. He and I were classmates at the University of Northern Iowa, just like you folks are classmates. The importance of your classmates post-school is hard to underestimate. I even married one of mine.

Fourteen years was a long time ago, but I remember respecting John for his ability to be a good student without getting in trouble with the teachers. I have a faint memory of getting the chalk or eraser thrown at me by one of our professors. I think John was beside me when that happened. In fact, I think the professor missed and hit John instead. Is that what happened? If so, I’m sorry.

But what I remember the most about John is seeing him up on stage at various campus events playing the bass guitar. And he’s still playing. Like all of us, he has many facets. Software developer is just one of them.

Next week, our guest is Marc Harter of Applied Data Consultants.

Here’s your TODO list for next time:

• Our theme for next week is women in technology. You may not think this is an issue. Could you be one of these fellas?
  

  Please read the following articles:

  • How Our Engineering Environments are Killing Diversity: Introduction
  • Why Is Silicon Valley So Awful to Women?
  • This is Water (this last article, referenced by the first, is not explicitly about women in technology, but it is about accommodating diversity by stepping outside of yourself)

  There are many unrepresented groups in our field—not just women—and these readings address only a fraction of diversity issues.

• Discuss these articles in your small group Slack channel. Consider answering these questions:
  • When we comment on diversity, the internet seems to want to polarize us into bigots or snowflakes. How can we talk about diversity issues without the discussion going off the rails?
  • What ideas from the readings are most interesting, disturbing, confirming, or life-changing?
  • Are there points you disagree with? Initiate a respectful debate.
  • What experiences from your life align or do not align with the articles?
  • What questions might you ask our guest?

  Please make at least two separate posts sharing your own coherent thoughts. Additionally, check out and respond to the posts of at least three of your channelmates. Complete these before next Tuesday at noon.

See you next class!

This week we welcome Brian Hogan from Digital Ocean. How did I meet Brian? Well, back in 2012, I was teaching CS 330: Programming Languages for the first time ever, and I was looking for someone to come in and share about a language that few of us knew. A few students recommended this guy who worked in LTS. I sent that guy an email, and that guy was Brian. He visited our class and showed us the beauty of Ruby. He made no attempt to sell it to us; he simply showed us its elegance and power. Since that time, Ruby has become my default language.

I can’t say for sure, but I think Brian has the same war going on inside of him that many of us do. He loves technology, but he loves working with people just as much. In fact, he left his role as a developer at LTS to go be in the classroom for a few semesters. But a few years ago, he received an offer from Digital Ocean that allowed him to be both a developer and teacher. That’s where he is today.

Next week, John Huss of Integrated Computer Solutions will be our guest. John brings us the perspective of working for a very small company.

Here’s your TODO list for next time:

• Our theme for next week is coding bootcamps. As you enter positions where you will hire people, these bootcamps will be something important to consider and evaluate. Please read or listen to the following articles and podcasts:
  • Developer Bootcamps and Computing Education
  • As Coding Boot Camps Close, the Field Faces a Reality Check
  • Why Are Coding Bootcamps Going Out of Business?
• Discuss these articles in your small group Slack channel. Consider answering these questions:
  • What ideas from the readings are most interesting, disturbing, confirming, or life-changing?
  • Are there points you disagree with? Initiate a respectful debate.
  • What experiences from your life align or do not align with the articles?
  • What questions might you ask our guest?

  Please make at least two separate posts sharing your own coherent thoughts. Additionally, check out and respond to the posts of at least three of your channelmates. Complete these before next Tuesday at noon.

See you next class!

This week we welcome Mike Citak from Solomon Partners. Mike has been in Wisconsin before—he got an English degree at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Then he found his way down to Iowa, where I had the honor of being his teacher in a class a bit like our CS 145. I shouldn’t tell you this, but one of the things that Mike did in that class was ask for more homework. He felt like too many ideas were jammed into too few assignments, and that made concepts more difficult to learn. I agreed, but I said I don’t have time to grade more stuff. Nevertheless, his comment is what ultimately led me to my current practice of giving out unit tests so that you can get feedback on the correctness of your work more quickly. Do not blame Mike if you don’t like them.

Mike brings us the perspective of a consultant. Instead of being tethered to a particular company and a particular salary, he takes on short-term contract work. He’ll discuss with us the costs and benefits of this different way of working.

Next week, Brian Hogan of Digital Ocean will be our guest. He has specifically requested a portion of his time be in an AMA (ask me anything) format, so please consider what questions you might have about cloud services.

Here’s your TODO list for next time:

• Our theme for next week is cloud computing. Please read the following articles:
  • How AWS came to be
  • Why Amazon’s Data Centers Are Hidden in Spy Country
  • An Introduction to Cloud Hosting
• Discuss these articles in your small group Slack channel. Consider answering these questions:
  • What ideas from the readings are most interesting, disturbing, confirming, or life-changing?
  • Are there points you disagree with? Initiate a respectful debate.
  • What experiences from your life align or do not align with the articles?
  • What questions might you ask our guest?

  Please make at least two separate posts sharing your own coherent thoughts. Additionally, check out and respond to the posts of at least three of your channelmates. Complete these before next Tuesday at noon.

See you next class!

Today we welcome Jonathan Gardner from Cisco as our guest. Jonathan and I were fellow graduate students down in Knoxville, Tennessee. Graduate school is a pretty sweet place, because everybody that’s there wants to be there. Not only did we have computer science interests binding us together, but we were also on the same team: us vs. the undergraduates in the classes that we TA’d. There was also frisbee and hacky sack. And just plain old lunch. That little community taught me a lot and made me laugh a lot. Jonathan even gave me an invitation to his wedding, even though he’d gotten married before I ever met him. The invitation was a yo-yo with a picture of him and his wife Sara. I still have it.

But we too parted ways. Jonathan graduated and got a job, and I moved back home. Yet thanks to the internet, he’s here to tell us how things have been going at that job. This talk will be conducted entirely over Google Hangouts. It may fail miserably—let’s find out!

Next week, Mike Citak from Thomson Reuters will be our guest. Unlike many of our guests, Mike is by design a non-salaried employee. He will share with us what that means and why he prefers it.

Here’s your TODO list for next time:

• There are no readings for next week. The Blugold will be awarded by attending.

See you next class!

Today we welcome Dan Ernst from Cray to our class. He’s going to lead us in a discussion about where our industry is headed in terms of hardware. You probably think Dan is a complete stranger, a separate human being whose life has run completely independently of yours. Like two processes on two different computers. But I beg to differ. If you were ever in the JAMF Lab your in your first years at UWEC, you might have seen a 3D grid of LEDs on the counter taking up a lot of space. That thing was one of Dan’s footprints, for Dan once held an office just down the hall. He served as a faculty member here before being lured away by his dream job at Cray.

Before that he got his PhD in computer engineering from the University of Michigan. Before that he got his Bachelors in computer engineering from Iowa State, just like Ashley from last week.

Next week, Jonathan Gardner from Cisco will be our guest.

Here’s your TODO list for next time:

• The 10th annual Chippewa Valley Code Camp takes places this Saturday from 7:45 to 5 PM at CVTC—which is just up the hill. Attend, learn some stuff from industry speakers, and receive an extra credit Blugold by writing up a response in a direct message on Slack. If you plan to attend, you need to RSVP as soon as possible.
• Our theme for the week is .*. Find an article of your choosing on some technology-related topic that has changed your thinking or might benefit others.
• Discuss your article in your small group Slack channel. Consider answering these questions:
  • What ideas from the readings are most interesting, disturbing, confirming, or life-changing?
  • Are there points you disagree with? Initiate a respectful debate.
  • What experiences from your life align or do not align with the articles?

  Please make at least two separate posts sharing your own coherent thoughts. Additionally, check out and respond to the articles of at least three of your channelmates’. Complete these before next Tuesday at noon.

See you next class!

Today we welcome Ashley Nelson from General Mills. She’s going to share with us about her task of keeping up a large-scale infrastructure. I had the honor of having her as a student in ComS 227. The class met in Carver Hall, and the room had tables—tall ones. She set in the middle section, but a little to the right. I think.

Sadly, as often happens with teachers and students, I never really heard from her again, because I left Iowa State University, where she got her degree. That is, until a few months ago, when a mutual friend told me she was doing amazing things that my students would benefit from hearing about. Thus she stands before us this afternoon.

Next week, Dan Ernst from Cray will be our guest.

Here’s your TODO list for next time:

• Our theme for next week are the benefits and costs of easy information—as facilitated by technology. Please read the following articles:
  • Is Google Making Us Stupid?
  • Why The Internet Is Not Making Us Stupid
  • Why I Am a Sociomediapath
• Discuss these articles and any related articles that you want to bring into the discussion in your small group Slack channel. Consider answering these questions:
  • What strategies do you have for staying on task?
  • What ideas from the readings are most interesting, disturbing, confirming, or life-changing?
  • Are there points you disagree with? Initiate a respectful debate.
  • What experiences from your life align or do not align with the articles?

  Please make at least two separate posts sharing your own coherent thoughts. Additionally, respond to at least three of your channelmates posts. Complete these before next Tuesday at noon.

See you next class!

Today we welcome Zach Forster from Epic. Before that, Zach paid the bills by grading CS 163 homeworks. I pleaded and pleaded with Zach to attend graduate school. We went to the University of Minnesota once to attend a graduate school open house. I failed to enlist him. He said that he wanted to work. And here he is, working for the premiere provider of medical information software.

Next week, Ashley Nelson from General Mills will be our guest.

Here’s your TODO list for next time:

• Our theme for next week is the retention and transience in the workplace. Please read the following articles:
  • The quitting economy
  • The Psychology of Employee Retention
• Discuss these articles and any related articles that you want to bring into the discussion in your small group Slack channel. Consider answering these questions:
  • What ideas from the readings are most interesting, disturbing, confirming, or life-changing?
  • Are there points you disagree with? Initiate a respectful debate.
  • What experiences from your life align or do not align with the articles?

  Please make at least two separate posts sharing your own coherent thoughts. Additionally, respond to at least three of your channelmates posts. Complete these before next Tuesday at noon.

See you next class!

Today we welcome a team of panelists from Jamf to discover the software engineering process. These folks have been welcome partners. During my first summer in Eau Claire, I was looking to gain some experience with iOS, so they hired me on as Dr. Intern. They’ve hired an overwhelming number of our students. And they have invested an incredible amount of energy and resources into making Eau Claire a more livable community.

Next week, Zach from Epic will be our guest.

Here’s your TODO list for next time:

• Our theme for next week is the difficulty of developing software. Please read the following articles:
  • No Silver Bullet (written in 1986, this paper is considered a classic—but that doesn’t mean you can’t disagree with it or refine its propositions)
  • The Coming Software Apocalypse
• Discuss these articles in your small group Slack channel. Consider answering these questions:
  • What ideas from the readings are most interesting, disturbing, confirming, or life-changing?
  • Are there points you disagree with? Initiate a respectful debate.
  • What experiences from your life align or do not align with the articles?

  Please make at least two separate posts sharing your own coherent thoughts. Additionally, respond to at least three of your channelmates posts. Complete these before next Tuesday at noon.

See you next class!

Today, Hannah Miller of the University of Minnesota will share with us about a different sort of future: graduate school, which may lead to academia, a research scientist position, or who knows what.

Hannah and I collaborated on a research project several years ago. Our mission was to build a social network for individuals with aphasia. On that project, I felt like we were actually doing good directly for the world. It was a great feeling. Hannah graduated from UWEC, landed a gig at the University of Minnesota, and is somewhere on her path to a PhD. Just don’t ask when she’ll finish. Never ask that of a graduate student.

Here’s your TODO list for next time:

• Our theme for next week is the tension between collaboration and isolation in our workplaces. Please read the following articles:
  • To be creative, work alone
  • Are People More Creative Alone Or Together? Trick Question
  • The Open-Office Trap
• Discuss these articles in your small group Slack channel. Consider answering these questions:
  • What ideas from the readings are most interesting, disturbing, confirming, or life-changing?
  • Are there points you disagree with? Initiate a respectful debate.
  • What experiences from your life align or do not align with the articles?

  Please make at least two separate posts sharing your own coherent thoughts. Additionally, respond to at least three of your channelmates posts. Complete these before next Tuesday at noon.

See you next class!

P.S. It’s time for a haiku!

The workforce needs me
Like volcanoes need virgins
Hey look, lunch is free