Over 150 eighth-graders at Omaha’s Monroe Middle School learned the fundamentals of coding Monday for the international Hour of Code. Hour of Code is a one-hour introduction to computer science designed to prove that anyone can learn the basics of coding. Shane Barsell and Erin Lassiter of AIM Institute guided students in Paula Limbach’s eighth-grade computer apps class through a code-instruction game called Minecraft Voyage Aquatic.
In Minecraft, users drag blocks of commands from a toolbox into a workspace to control LEGO-like figures through a simple cartoon world. Students learn the logic behind the inner workings of software and receive helpful tips and encouragement along the way. (If their character drowns due to an error in the code, for example, the game will display the message “Something’s not right yet. Keep trying!” Coding requires patience, after all.)
“Usually the kids enjoy Hour of Code a lot,” Limbach said. “It’s a nice little break from doing Word or Excel or Powerpoint. Even now, a kid just said, ‘Oh, I’m gonna want to do this later.'”
During her first-period class, Limbach’s students tried to see who could finish first and win a pair of earphones. They were also free to explore the different games and tutorials offered on the Hour of Code website, some of which involved writing out actual code.
Jaden, for instance, chose to go the harder route. Because he was already familiar with the basics of HTML and CSS—two coding languages that make up the building blocks for websites—Jaden chose a game that required writing Javascript and Python. He’s been studying with a friend recently who knows five programming languages. If there were coding classes at school, he said, he’d definitely take them.
“It’s a really good skill to have,” Jaden said. “I’m just trying to get a jump on the future.”
Clad in a Vans hoodie and skateboard shoes, Jaden wants to keep learning how to code so he can build a website to host his music, graphic design, and business ideas. He spends most of his time outside of school playing video games and making music on his Studio One software. While he isn’t sure exactly what he wants to focus on, he said his aunt told him he should put himself out there and try as many different things as possible. That way, he’ll eventually figure out what to do. (Can confirm: this is good advice. Listen to your aunts, kids.)
Jaden became interesting in coding through playing video games and making his own music. “I’ll take samples from Disney movies and make my own beats with them,” Jaden said. “I’ll play video games and be better than like half of the people who do it professionally.” He figures if he can get good at programming now, he’ll be great one day—maybe even make his own games.
Hour of Code is available year-round in over 45 languages and accessible to anyone. If you want to check it out for yourself, visit the Hour of Code website.
He wanted to know “how the things that control us work.”
He took a 12-week Java class at AIM Code School. Then he took another one on web development.
And then, everything began to fall into place.
Over the years, Eric Swanson has gone from marching the storied lawns of West Point to playing guitar and spinning records in Omaha nightclubs, from owning his own medical staffing business in Pennsylvania to hosting an intensive summer coding camp for underserved youth.
Now he’s a Happiness Engineer at Flywheel, a WordPress hosting site headquartered in downtown Omaha.
When he speaks to us at a Harney Street coffee shop, his voice blooms with enthusiasm: for his job, for technology, for teaching, and for AIM’s role in developing the tech talent ecosystem here.
“For whatever’s going to happen techwise in Omaha, AIM is going to be central and integral to it,” he says. “The startup costs here are so low, and the resources are so high, that things are about to blow up. And AIM plays an overarching role in that.”
Once he knew he wanted to understand the technology he used everyday, Eric vacillated on the best course to follow. He couldn’t decide whether to attend another local code school or the AIM Code School.
“As soon as I met the faculty (at AIM Code School), it was: ‘This is the one for me.’”
Eric found the classes intense, supportive and convenient. Like other AIM Code School students, he developed a strong rapport with his instructor, Kent Smotherman.
“Kent’s an awesome teacher. His teaching style really resonated with me. He loves what he does, and you can tell. There would be off-days when he would be doing volunteer work at the Omaha Chess Club, and I’d be like, ‘Kent, dude, I’m stuck on this. And he’d say, ‘Come on out.’ There were a lot of times outside of class that I would meet up with him to try to grasp the concepts.”
With knowledge and connections developed through AIM Code School, Eric landed an opportunity to teach the Highlander summer code camp for underserved youth. Highlander is a tech educational collaboration between the AIM Institute and Seventy Five North, a revitalization corporation developing sustainable mixed-income communities in North Omaha.
The idea was to take 16 at-risk youth and turn them into junior developers. Eric wrote the course curriculum in about three weeks, keeping in mind some of his students could barely turn on a computer at first. The camp ran from Monday through Friday, eight hours a day, for eight weeks during the summer.
He feared disaster. “I thought, they’re not gonna come. Or if they did, they’re just gonna be like, ‘Whatever,’” he says. “Never happened. We didn’t lose a kid. They were there like clockwork.”
Students learned HTML, CSS, and the principles and psychology of web design. They participated in the Agile methodology and built their own websites. Many shifted the direction of their lives.
“That course changed so many of my preconceptions,” he adds. “By the end, seriously, they could go toe-to-toe with anybody from a development standpoint.”
One of his main goals was to cultivate a class of at least fifty percent young women or young women of color. The course exceeded that goal. Eric was inspired by how powerfully Highlander affected the young women’s outlook on themselves and on the society that had tried to keep them from realizing their potential.
“For a lot of these girls, they had just never been exposed to the idea that they could do tech. So when they found out that they were good at it, they were just floored. Everything they had been told up to that point was a lie to them. They were all, ‘Wait a minute. I can do this.’ Just the level of talent, it was always there. Nobody told them that they had it. There was nobody ever put a yardstick up to figure out how much they had. But it was there, man. It was there.”
He removes his horned-rim glasses and rubs his eye with the heel of his hand. “I even get choked up thinking about it.”
Eric’s AIM Code School web developer instructor, who also worked at Flywheel at the time, recommended he apply for a Happiness Engineer position at Flywheel. But, still stinging from prejudicial attitudes he’d encountered during his job search, Eric doubted his chances.
“Before, any time I went for an internship, I would be so super-qualified, and never get a call back. I think for me, I was like a box to check.”
But the way Flywheel interviewed him felt so easygoing he wasn’t even sure he was being interviewed. The company just kept asking him back to hang out. For a while, he thought they were going to ask to partner with him on the Highlander code camp if he ever taught it again.
Finally, he scored an interview with CEO Dusty Davidson on the same day as his Highlander class graduation. A few hours later, a Flywheel representative called to tell him he had the job.
“When I regained consciousness,” he jokes, “I thought, why do they want to hire me? They saw something in me that I didn’t know was there.”
“But all of this starts with AIM,” he continues. “AIM Code School gave me the skills I needed. My instructors liked me and really came through for me. I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing if there wasn’t an AIM.”
As an innovative not-for-profit that grows, connects, and inspires the tech talent community, AIM is happy to have played a role in Eric’s success. It’s why we do what we do. So if you want to change your life, deepen your understanding of a world increasingly driven by technology, and participate in the enormously valuable tech workforce, the AIM Code School is the perfect place to start a journey that, like Eric, you may never want to return from.
Have you ever printed out an assignment on paper for school? Obviously, sure.
How about a violin? Ever printed a musical instrument before?
Maybe not so much. But with a 3D printer and about $70 worth of materials, you can print your own playable acoustic violin, called the Hovalin. It really works, and if you know how to play, it sounds great. (And if you don’t know how to play, you can make one and learn! The complete instructions and blueprint are available for free from the Hova Labs website. Don’t try this without a parent or teacher’s supervision, though.)
A violin is just one of countless items that can be 3D-printed. In fact, you can print pretty much anything with a 3D printer.
Also known as additive manufacturing, 3D printing is the process of creating solid objects from a digital file, often using lasers. 3D printers add layer after layer of material (such as plastic, metals, concrete, ceramics, paper, and even chocolate) until the object is formed. It’s called an additive process because the machine is adding material, rather than carving it out.
Kids aged 7 to 17 are learning how to use a 3D printer to make all kinds of objects with help from the AIM Brain Exchange. The Brain Exchange offers free tech educational experiences to youth, with the goal of sparking curiosity and interest in technology.
Since January, students involved in AIM’s Upward Bound after-school program have been learning how to 3D print their own objects. They’ve made name tags, medallions, cartoon characters, and jewelry boxes. They design their objects in Tinkercad, a web-based computer-aided design program, and then print them out with the help of Brain Exchange staff. This can be a time-consuming process. One object, a medallion featuring a galloping horse, took over three hours to make.
Tenth grader Savannah was deep in focus on her Chromebook. Before this design session, she had already printed four objects, including a lightning bolt striking from a brain, and a heart with a pair of glasses that she plans to use as a logo.
“What I like about you,” Brain Exchange staff member Lana told Savannah, “is you just dive right in, and if it’s hard and you make mistake, that doesn’t stop you. You just keep going.”
“A happy little accident is never a mistake,” Savannah said, quoting painter Bob Ross.
If you want to experience what the Brain Exchange has to offer—from 3D printing to underwater robots and more—sign up for a family-friendly weekend class! Click here to find a list of upcoming events.
(Originally published August 22, 2018)
AIM Institute is excited to announce a major evolution to our Careerlink platform.
The all-new member portal is here with redesigned features to make it easier than ever for employers to find and hire the right candidates.
Here are some of the enhanced features on the new system:
“You can easily switch between the current and new interface at any time,” explained Scott Rowe, AIM’s Vice President of Digital Innovation. “All of your data will appear in both interfaces, and your company’s Careerlink users can even use the different versions at the same time while still collaborating on your hiring efforts.”
To check out the new portal, just login to your Careerlink account and click to switch over to the new interface:
(Originally published March 20, 2018)
The Nebraska Department of Education has approved Interface: The Web School courses to be eligible for GI Bill benefits, which provide education reimbursement and other benefits to service members following their service to the military.
Interface is one of just two code schools between Denver and Chicago to offer classes in web technologies that are eligible for GI Bill benefits.
“Meeting the growing demands for tech talent on the Silicon Prairie requires expanding access to education and career development training,” said AIM Institute President and CEO Kandace Miller. “AIM Institute is proud to work with the VA to help increase veterans’ access to life-changing training and education.”
As part of the non-profit AIM Institute, Interface School develops tech talent through hands-on educational programming and professional development training in the latest web technologies.
Veterans are now eligible to receive GI benefits to learn high-demand skills in web development, data science and computer languages in an accelerated format.
“Interface School is honored to serve veterans by providing technology training that can help them gain an edge in today’s rapidly changing job market by helping them learn and refine in-demand skills,” said LaShonna Dorsey, AIM Vice President of Business Development and Tech Talent, and Interface co-founder. “We’re excited to work with the VA to open doors that will help veterans pursue new opportunities in their lives through our courses.”
Interface: The Web School and Contemporary Analysis (CAN), a company specializing in predictive analytics, formed a teaching partnership called the Omaha Data Science Academy.
The 24-week certificate is now eligible for GI benefits. It is designed to build on existing data science knowledge, and leverage it for a competitive edge in the workforce.
“The skill sets of data scientists are one of the most highly paid skill sets in tech. Military veterans are a special type of person, trained to have high tenacity and discipline to find solutions when not readily apparent. The two together make something special,” said Nate Watson, president of Contemporary Analysis. “Now, vets can use their GI Bill to learn data science skills taught by the real-world data scientists of the Omaha Data Science Academy. This gives them a leg up on their competition for jobs both here and around the country. Not only do Omaha and Lincoln companies win by having world-class talent to recruit from, but vets win by getting relevant, real-world training. Win/win!”
Kent Smotherman, AIM Director of Adult Tech Education, is looking forward to working with more veterans, and helping them enter the tech talent pipeline. It’s an important aspect of TechHire, a national initiative expanding learning opportunities, transforming hiring practices and building inclusive tech communities, which Omaha is a part of.
“It’s exciting to be able to offer veterans the opportunity to learn skills that will not only help them develop professionally, but also help our community advance as a tech community through their contributions,” said Smotherman, who has more than 34 years of development experience.
The GI Bill provides education benefits for service members who have served on active duty for 90 or more days.
In addition to providing benefits for traditional college degrees, it also offers options to veterans for accelerated non-college training programs such as Interface School.
Veterans applying to Interface Web School will need to complete VA Form 22-1999 as part of the enrollment process. The VA facility code for Interface is 3-5-0008-27. Anyone with questions can contact us here.
For more information on VA Education Benefits, click here.
