Code Camp: from ideas to realities

Have a notebook full of cool project ideas but never got around to actually building one out? Want to get a senior project under you belt before finishing high school? This is the course for you!

This camp is all about taking your ideas and turning them into working software. After this 1.5 week camp, you'll be off to a strong start to your project, and potentially even finished with all the features you initially had in mind!

Why take this course?

This course guides you through the process of building your own project, and fosters the incredibly creative skillset needed to turn an idea into reality.

Additionally, this camp is a fantastic starting point for a high school capstone project. During each session of the Motif Academy Code Camp, students with outstanding projects may be invited for further mentorship opportunities throughout the school year.

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But I don't have enough Computer Science experience!

What many people don't realize is that you don't have to take computer science for several years to get started on your own projects. The vice-versa is also true: just because you took computer science for several years doesn't necessarily mean you have the skills and confidence to build your own project!

Instead, getting better at building side-projects is a lot like gaining the confidence and familiarity to design and build your own Lego models:

• you first learn how to visualize the model you want to develop,
• then you find the right blocks for the job & learn how they're used, and
• then you learn how to connect those blocks so that it matches your design!

Similarly, in software:

• you plan out your system in a schematic diagram,
• then you find the right software components and APIs for the job (much like fancy Lego pieces!), and
• then you connect them together in your own way to make your idea come to life!

Software is also similar to building Legos in that the more you experiment with different ideas and models, the better you understand the possibilities at your disposal! One small difference is that it's easier to make a living writing software than designing new Lego models. :)

Camp Expectations and Application Process

This camp will require substantial effort from students outside of camp instruction time if they want to complete their projects. Since completion of the projects is a primary goal of this camp, we will be looking for students who are ambitious and motivated to complete their projects as a selection criteria.

I will personally review each application and get back with acceptance decisions by June 24th.

Class Times and Topics

Motif Academy code camp has two sessions this summer. Each camp runs for one and a half weeks from Monday to the following Wednesday (no classes on weekends).

• 7/15/19 — 7/24/19
• 8/12/19 — 8/21/19

We'll cover the following topics:

1. Front-end development (building websites for user interfaces)
2. Back-end development (using a database for application data, and/or writing server-side logic, and/or calling other APIs)
3. Topics based on student-proposed projects (See a list of example topics in the course syllabus PDF on the left)
   

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Have any questions? Send me an email (allan <at> usermotif <dot> com) and I'll get back to you within 24 hours!