

Hackathons are like gyms - rjvir
https://medium.com/hackathons-anonymous/7ebcd6bfda26

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zan2434
I love the idea that a hackathon is a more supportive environment for learning
than the typical school or even home. However, I urge those who are learning
to code at hackathons to take the time afterwards to more comprehensively
understand the concepts you picked up in the rushed environment of a
hackathon. Rushed learning can result in some serious deficiencies and gaps in
knowledge that will be an impediment to future productivity.

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gailees
I think the biggest bottleneck by far in this space is getting people inspired
to learn. More than it being rushed learning or comprehensive learning, the
biggest benefit hackathons have is to get people learning to begin with :)

not to mention the great community that springs up out of it!

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pulak
Not so sure. I like learning at a pace in which I'm really understanding the
technologies that I'm picking up. For PennApps, we do a series of tech talks
over the course the week before the hackathon, and I encourage students who
don't know how to code to attend those talks. I think "learning" at a
hackathon can leave a lot of gaps in knowledge, which is not necessarily
terrible but not the strategy I would immediately advise.

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gailees
I think the hackathon is more for helping people dive in and go from 0 to
something. After that, learning more comprehensively is definitely crucial.

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tylermenezes
Trying to get new people to come to hackathons is why we started CodeDay.

It's actually an extremely effective way to give new people a wide basing in
computer science and, more importantly, get them excited.

I'd love to see more marketing to new people in regards to hackathons.

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rjvir
It surprises me that organizations like Code.org don't take advantage of
hackathons to spread their message.

Why hasn't this happened yet?

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mjmayank
check out www.tjhackathon.com. We're planning on expanding to various
locations to do just that.

Code.org so far has just been a bunch of big names putting their name on
something to make noise. Very little real change from what I've seen.

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hephaestus_t
Obviously there are gaps in what you can learn at a hackathon. You guys need
to stop beating the point there. However, provide a situation in which you can
learn as much as you do so quickly as you do at a hackathon, and I guarantee
you can't.

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thedanyaal
Hackathons have changed my life. It is what took me to the next level in my
coding ability, it helped me find out what I was passionate about, and I met
some of the coolest people I have ever met.

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gailees
would you have been in CS without hackathons though?

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amdsaleh
hackathons are like gyms

