Professional Documents
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CODETN
MANUAL
01
PLAY
BOOK
EDUCATE: CREATE: REFRESH
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I . About CodeTN
a . CodeTN Staff Your Support Team
b . CodeTN Organizational Values
c . CodeTN Format
II . Volunteer Commitment & Logistics
a . Procedures for Volunteer Absences
b . Fingerprinting and Background Checks
c . Timeliness
d . Professionalism & Commitment to
Organizational Values
e . Media / Speaking with the Press
III . CodeTN s Curriculum
a . Curriculum Structure
b . Teaching Tools
c . Curriculum is a Guide , Not a Script
IV . School Logistics & Procedures
a . How to Work Within Your School Based
Team
b . Student Procedures
c . Keeping Lesson Notes & Giving Feedback
V . FAQ ' s
ABOUT CODETN
Welcome to the CodeTN community -- we're grateful you've
joined us!
Founded in 2014, CodeTN is a non-profit organization that aims to
equip students in under-resourced schools with the fundamental
coding skills and professional experiences that together create
access to careers in technology.
We bring our tuition-free program directly to schools, where
classes are taught by software developers on a volunteer basis.
In its first year, CodeTN served 85 students in 8 high schools in
Knoxville, Tennesse. In the 2014-2015 school year, CodeTN
expanded to serve approximately 115 students across 12 high
schools in three counties in Tennessee. This year, we hope to
expand to 16 schools in TN to serve approximately 150 high school
students, with plans to slow engage a handful of middle schools.
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CODETN TEAM
CodeTN s team is dedicated to
ensuring that this program is
transformative for our students
and a positive , impactful
experience for our volunteers .
CodeTN positions itself as a
grassroots , volunteer - shaped
organization and relies on your
participation and feedback for its
success .
CodeTN s team is listed below .
While you will interact frequently
with every member of the team ,
you will meet most frequently with
the team ( Sponsor , TechPro ,
students ) at your local school . The
Program Manager will be up - to date on your team and its progress ,
and act the go - to - person for
questions , problems , and
resources .
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Caleb Fristoe
Program Manager
caleb.fristoe@codetn.org
Erik Rutledge
Program Support
erik@codetn.org
Answer Bot
OUR
VALUES
II. EMPOWERMENT
CodeTN is committed to
empowering our students with
the experience and expertise
to define their futures. This
empowerment helps level the
playing field for our students
that, in turn, promotes
diversity and inclusion in the
technology industry.
I. HUMILITY
We value the experiences and
perspectives that each of our
students and volunteers bring
to our organization. We
express this admiration
through: the way we support
our students learning and
discuss their experiences, the
way our volunteers work
together in the pursuit of our
mission, and the way we
interact with our partner
organizations. We humbly
engage in self-reflection in
order to ensure that our work
continues to deepen the impact
we make.
III. CREATIVITY
IV. COLLABORATION
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TECHPRO
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TEACHER
Supervisory
TTheESpecialist
CHPROS
If youre a volunteer (A.K.A. TechPro) then chances are
youve seen the value and potential of CodeTN and
want to help in taking it to the next level. If the
teachers help make the development and assembly of
the competition possible, then you most definitely
make the technical execution and deployment of the
student work possible. Your time is valuable so we
want you to know exactly what youll be getting into.
Here are a few of the roles and responsibilities of the
TechPro:
Historically TechPros have spent
between 3-5hrs per week with their
teams, which includes both in-person
and online meetups
The main role of a TechPro is to be the
go-to technical expert that can aid and
coach students through more rigorous
or complex problems. It is not their
responsibility to code or produce a
product for the student, but rather to
guide and share potential solutions
around such problem sets.
Familiarity with with deployment and
team sharing on Cloud9 IDE: this will be
our main tool for developing as teams
and you as the tech pro will manage
and administer the space
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TTheEConnector
ACHERS
As teachers , you are the lifeblood of the CodeTN
competition . Without you there is no
competition . But here s the thing , you don t have
to be an expert developer , programmer , or code
genius to join . In fact , all you have to do is what
you already do : lead , encourage , be inquisitive ,
and help students get the right tools to succeed .
Here s a quick snapshot of a few things you
might run across during the competition :
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STheTCreators
UDENTS
At CodeTN we are all about education and
creation . Nowhere is that personified more than
in the lives and actions of the students . They
are the reason our project exists . We want to
equip and inspire them with the necessary tools
and environment to pursue development as a
career . They are the creators . Here s a little bit
about what they should walk away with :
Individual Outcomes
A solid understanding of the organized parts and functions
of a dynamic website
A realized project that they hand coded
Increased knowledge around a text - based coding language
The ability to work with others in a team environment , as
well as working within their identified project roles
The ability to manage due dates and task management as a
team
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THE TEAM
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VOLUNTEER EXPECTATIONS
Volunteers should plan to attend each of the agreed upon
sessions. However, job commitments sometimes prevent
some volunteers from attending. Please work within your
school based teams to ensure that there is sufficient
coverage for your class. Also, see below for further
information on procedures for volunteer absences.
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CURRICULUM/INSTRUCTION
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SCHOOL
PROCEDURES / LOGISTICS
A. How to Work within Your School Based Team: Each school team will
have at least one TechPro and one Team Sponsor (teacher). This team is
responsible for deciding amongst themselves how best to delegate roles
and responsibilities throughout your project. Most common roles and
responsibilities are listed below (may be shared/combined/rotated as
your
team decides).
B. Student Procedures: Volunteers should make sure that students follow
the following procedures during each class:
Computer Distribution: For volunteers working in schools with a
pushcart of laptops, please check you email over the next few weeks for
computer distribution procedures.
Saving Work : All students will be working with web - based platforms .
Please ensure that students create logins for the platform you are using
and that they save frequently. Students will sign up for Github accounts
and will learn how to use Github. This way, student work will also be
saved to Github.
Wrap Up 5 Minutes Early : Please be sure to allow students five minutes
at the end of class to save their work. This is especially important at our
school-day programs because students must leave on time to go to their
next class after school programs have more flexibility.
C. Keeping Lesson Notes & Giving Feedback: At the end of the second
session each week, please have one volunteer from your team write notes
on the class in the Google document for your school provided by your
program manager. Your notes will inspire curriculum revisions as well as
inform CodeTNs Program Managers of any significant issues that he/she
should help you address.
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FAQ'S
What should I do if a student hasnt shown up for two days in a row?
In the first instance, you should reach out to the teacher sponsor to alert
him/her of the students absence. Sponsors are responsible for following
up with the student if they are absent. If the student has shared his/her
email address and the school allows volunteers to directly contact
students, volunteers should consider emailing the student to encourage
him/her to attend the next class. If the student continues to be absent,
please contact your teacher sponsor.
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CODETN is
a project
of