When Courtney and I were putting together our spike sessions (hour+ learning sessions for our fellow students) she playfully accused me of writing clickbait for our descriptions.

I didn’t disagree. I wanted people to show up. In the course of my time at Turing, collaborating with Courtney and others, I wrote eight session descriptions and had a collective attendance of about 100 people. (Meaning, the attendance for each session added up, not unique people attending.)

But I really believe in clickbait that has integrity. If I make a promise in my description, I am committed to delivering on that promise.

I will admit, they can be a little silly.

Here are some:

Armstrong Posse

First session: Why Blockchain Will Change the World (Or Won’t)

There’s a lot of hype going around about blockchain, with everyone from Fortune 100 companies to anarchists proclaiming the revolutionary power. From cryptocurrencies to uncorruptable voting systems, blockchain is going to solve all our problems, right?

Right. But what is the blockchain? In this first meeting of Armstrong we’ll look at all the revolutionary potential. And we’ll cut through the hype and give a simple definition anyone can take to a happy hour.

Join us to brainstorm what we want to accomplish as a research team this module; the questions we want to explore and what we’d like to build. All are welcome!

Second session: Getting Dirty with Blockchain Development

The Ethereum blockchain has a superpower - it allows us to code the blockchain using a language called Solidity. In this Armstrong led spike, we’re going to introduce Ethereum and Solidity and get messy with setting up our environment, writing a simple script, and diving into an application.

You’re not an expert and we aren’t either. Join our team as we move together from what we know to exploring what, as Dumbledore would say, are the thickets of wildest guesswork. It’s adventure time and everyone is welcome.

Third session: Gimme (d)App: Diving into (distributed) Application Development

So we can code the blockchain? Awesome solve all the world's problems … wait what does that mean? How do you design and build a blockchain app?

This week we’ll have special guest Mike Schutte talk and answer questions about the design decisions they made when creating their capstone project, Sourcery, which tracks supply chain data.

What principles drive (d)application design? How do you make a React front end, a Rails backend, and a blockchain app play well together? Please join us for a fascinating discussion that touches on the deep challenges of application design when working with a new technology. Prior experience with these frameworks is not necessary. Bring your questions, everyone is welcome!

Fourth session: (d)Apping to Prevent Dictatorship: Building a Voting Application

Ya gotta watch out for those pesky dictators and corrupt politicians who are looking to steal your rights and grab the power from the people. How dare they?

Let’s dare them. Just try to mess with the block chain. Tomorrow we’ll be hearing about how voting on the blockchain can preserve our freedoms and we’ll build a voting application.

After saving democracy from tyrants, we’ll head to the Viewhouse at 5:30 to drink deep the drafts of freedom and talk blockchain technologies with local alumni. Everyone is welcome!

GearUp

Privacy vs Security: If You Were In Snowden’s Shoes, Would You Be A Hero (or Traitor)?

What would I do when presented with the facts of the U.S. security apparatus’ surveillance capabilities? What would I have done? We’ll look at the debate between security and privacy by putting ourselves in Snowden’s shoes.

After that, we’ll present a case closer to home - how should we use our users data? Is it okay to sell it to advertisers? As developers, we likely will have access to sensitive personal information. What do we do with that power?

Join us for a lively conversation at the heart of what we do as technologists - the ethical (or unethical) use of data.