curriculum_notes.md

Custom Curriculum

• Short, focused classes
• Clear goals from the outset
• Measurable progress & outcomes
• Tangible takeaways

Subjects

• Ruby
• OOP
• Git
• Vim
• Unix
• HTML/CSS
• Javascript
• Sinatra
• Rails
• Rspec
• jQuery
• Project Management
• Web APIs
• Markdown
• YAML
• JSON

Project Ideas

Easy

• dice roller
• bowling kata
• self referential line counter
• recursive line counter
• data structures
  • linked list
  • queue
  • binary tree
  • graph
• roman numeral kata
• data conversion (csv -> html, html -> csv)
• madlibs
• credit card validator
• subdomain validator
• reimplement attr_reader/writer/accessor
• simple delegator

Medium

• blog
• cryptogram maker
• todo list/task tracker
• rock paper scissors ai
• account verifier (api practice. "user exists on github")
• data structures
  • hash table
  • heap
  • priority queue
• supermarket pricing kata
• secret santa
• mastermind
• connect four
• math captcha
• short unique filename generator
• huffman encoding
• cookie parser
• repl
• typewriter text printer

Hard

• blackjack
• data structures
  • avl tree
  • red black tree
• quine
• roguelike dungeon crawler
  • level editor
  • item editor
• etsy bulk editor (api practice)
• solitare cipher
• ascii art image generator
• lost cities game
• employee scheduler
• current temperature (api practice)
• richochet robots

Really Rather Large

• web crawler
• search engine

Classes

Ruby: Ruby Homework

• what: short, repeatable exercises
• goal: problem solving at the microscopic level
• resources: code wars, exercism, alex
• length: 4 weeks, 4 per day, 5 days a week (<20m per kata)
• due date: 80 completed by Oct 1

Object Oriented Design Theory Class

• what: principles for designing good programs
• goal: finish reading POODR
• resource: POODR, sandi metz on confreaks, destroyallsoftware, peepcode
• length: 1 month
• due date: Oct 1

Beginner Capstone

• what: large project involving multiple moving pieces and changing requirements
• goal: design, refactor, expand, maintain the Math Wizard game
• resources:
• length: 2 months
• due date: Nov 1

Udacity Intro to Programming

• what: introduction to programming. 1st year of college, build a search engine.
• goal: basic data structures, problem solving techniques
• resources: udacity
• due date: ?

Intro to Web

• what: introduction to html, css, and http concepts
• goal: familiarity with most common html tags, css attributes, and understanding of http protocol
• resources: code academy intro to web

Indefinite Classes

Introduction to Vim

• what: pick one new command per day to learn
• goal: basic proficiency in vim
• resources: vimtutor, vimadventures
• length: <10m

Introduction to Unix

• what: pick a new unix command, concept, or trick to learn per day
• goal: comfort at the unix terminal
• resources:
• length: <10m

Typing Speed

• what: type faster for less delay in getting words on the screen
• goal: 50% increase in wpm as measured by typing.io
• resources: typing.io
• length: indefinite, 10m per day

Special Topics Course

• what: short, deep dives into different technologies and problems
• goal: become familiar with a multitude of topics, vocabulary. awareness of problems and solutions.
• resources: confreaks. railscasts. peepcode.
• length: indefinite, 2 per week, 4 weeks.

Build a Blog Again and Again

• what: build a blog as a repeatable kata
• goal: learn sinatra. then rails. then javascript. then markdown.
• resources: peepcode. sinatra wiki. all the rails resources
• length: 1 day, lather rinse repeat