SIMVO

Learn the electrical processes that go on inside a computer’s hardware (RAM & CPU), and how high-level code is the gateway allowing them to control these electrical processes with language they can understand.

Become fluent in Python, JavaScript and the OS level language bash/zsh. More importantly, learn how a language is just a tool, and that multiple languages can achieve the same objective. It is emphasized how understanding what you are doing is more important than memorizing programming syntax, which can always be searched up.

Learn the data structures that were invented to enable people to represent real-world phenomena with computer code. Also learn how algorithms bring software to life, by allowing data to be exchanged and transformed as needed to solve the problem at hand.

Learn to combine all the above into an application building process. By integrating additional technologies like HTML, CSS, React and Flask, learn how to turn an idea into a working app with real-world impact.

Understand how different software categories exist in the various technological contexts. From installed applications to services delivered over the internet, learn where each type fits into the bigger picture of the modern world.

Learn how networking allows independent software processes to communicate with each other, and how Servers and APIs are the way one makes software available for use by another individual or application.

Learn how the internet connects billions of software entities, servers, and APIs together, and how they can get the software they write to participate in this system. This is how one goes from finishing programming an app to deploying it for widespread usage by people around the world.

Students are introduced to the development of Software, Platform and Infrastructure as a service, which allow people to develop, deploy, scale, and manage their technology more productively. Students learn how much power is available to them via these platforms and will have the ability to start using them for their own projects.

Students are taught that intelligent research is the key to their agency. They learn that when they encounter roadblocks, they must explore online resources such as Stack Overflow and Chat GPT to find the answers they are looking for. They are taught not to be discouraged when stuck, as persistence is an integral part of the development process.

Throughout the course, the student is encouraged to think about why certain decisions were made over others. Based on understanding the objective, they learn that no solution is perfect, and they must compare benefits and tradeoffs when committing to a way forward. This is essential for the student to realize they can indeed trust in their own abilities.

Students are taught that it is not about memorizing endless concepts, but about figuring things out for themselves. They are encouraged to learn by doing, to be curious, to challenge themselves, and to strive for complete understanding when accomplishing a task.

Although self-reliance and resiliency are emphasized throughout the course, students are also exposed to the essentialness of participating in a developer community. By helping others and receiving help too, they learn how powerful a group of engineers can become if they work together towards a common goal.