Events (6)

Code In Place 2021

As a Section Leader for Code In Place 2021, I met weekly with up to 10 learners over 5 weeks learning Computer Science for the first time. We spent an hour together reviewing lecture concepts, lecture exercises and assignment problems.

We used Stanford’s Karel robot with Python to learn some foundational concepts, and covered a number of fun topics like accepting user input, image manipulation and data structures. Section Leaders were supported by Stanford lecturers, teaching assistants, and other section leaders.

Each week to prepare, I’d review most of the lectures and complete exercises and assignments. This helped me facilitate a discussion and anticipate some of the learners’ questions. To help manage time and build community, I prepared a slide deck, icebreaker questions, and discussion topics for breakout rooms.

It was a great experience overall!

Statement of Participation Certificate

Rails Girls and RailsBridge

Andy volunteered as a photographer for Rails Girls in Baltimore, MD March 20131.

He volunteered at a similar event called Rails Bridge in Boston, MA January 2015, as a photographer and mentor, held at the General Assembly space. These organizations help increase diversity in tech.

“RailsBridge workshops are a free and fun way to get started or level up with Rails, Ruby, and other web technologies.” ― RailsBridge

“Our events focus on increasing diversity in tech, so that people of all backgrounds can feel welcome and comfortable in our industry.” ― RailsBridge

RailsBridge Boston 2015 Marketing Material RailsBridge Boston / General Assembly, 2015. Photo by Andy Atkinson

RailsBridge Boston 2015 Participants RailsBridge Boston / General Assembly, 2015. Photo by Andy Atkinson

RailsBridge Boston 2015 Participants RailsBridge Boston / General Assembly, 2015. Photo by Andy Atkinson

Overnight Website Challenge

“Pairing volunteer technologists with nonprofits during a 24-hour hackathon.” ― Overnight Website Challenge

Andy was part of a 10 person team for the Overnight Website Challenge event, helping the non-profit organization Resource Center of the Americas (closed 2017) build a brand new website. A content-management system was introduced (Radiant CMS) along with custom design and template. Blog post with more details.

Node Knockout

Part of a 4-person team competing in a 24-hour programming competition, building an app using Node.JS. Node Knockout blog post with more detail.

MinneSpark

May 2010 — MinneSpark Cash & Services Winner. More Details:

Train Brain is a simple app serving a real need: more convenient Metro Transit train schedule access on iPhone. While Train Brain has been on the market for a while now, developer Andy Atkinson’s focus will be on “delivering a completed Bus Brain iPhone app as the next step.”

  1. Photo credits and coverage at Technically Baltimore ↩