Johns Hopkins Engineering Coding Boot Camp

I can't say enough positive things about my experience in this program. It required a ton of time and effort, more than I ever anticipated, and I think it could have been unbearable had it not been for our amazing instructors. They made the class relaxed, fun, and something I always looked forward to. Stetson and Donald always went out of their way to make themselves available for us both in and out of class. They treated us like equals and we did not have the typical teacher-student relationship. They were more like friends to us, which made class so much more enjoyable. I don't think either of them have had prior teaching experience and I was really impressed with their patience with all of us as we struggled to learn some really tough concepts. They explained things very clearly and worked with each of us individually to keep us on track. Thank you Stetson and Donald for an incredible experience and something that will jumpstart a whole new chapter for me. And thank you Gemini and everyone else who worked hard to make this a seamless process for all of us students. You guys care so much and it shows. Read less

I’ve broken down my review by: Pros, Cons, Ongoing problems, & Recommendation.  
Pros:

• the class was hosted in-person so it was easy to share code & work with fellow students.
•  the instructor is very knowledgeable  & goes above and beyond to update the Trilogy materials and help students as much as humanly possible.

Cons: it’s as if I paid to be a guinea pig & be told that they’re working out the kinks.  It’s a significant investment; I didn’t pay for them to fix their problems.  Also,  there is no material to review like nearly all learning environments; it’s just a bunch of code- nothing to read about why ‘x’ does this function, or even just the concept of it.  it seems like we’re paying to fix their broken code, whether we actually learn anything or not, so they can resell it as ‘updated’ code.  the class is taught by giving you a bunch of coding files that either work, are intentionally broken, or broken unintentionally.  the material seems as though they hired a bunch of programmers to make a bunch of files, then they approached universities & hand-selected from those files based on what the university thought the local demand.  Essentially, they’re recycling outdated files between all of the universities lending their name, relying on instructors & students to update & fix them so they can be recycled again.  But we’re paying to learn; not to spend so much time fixing files that we miss out on half of the material per section.
Point by point:

• the program seems to blame the instructor for the material being flawed. However, Trilogy/2U emphasizes they hire professionals actively working in the industry; they can’t be expected to resolve issues/ it’s as if a professor was told to use a textbook that was missing pages upon pages.
• the class materials, a bunch of code, some with ‘read me’ files but most without, are full of errors.  The excuse was that it’s something we’re going to be required to do in the real world.  I know we’re supposed to learn troubleshooting but you can’t troubleshoot what you haven’t learned. 
• Many hours of the class were & are spent figuring out what we’re trying to do since the materials were so hastily put together.
• The program had prework that required installation of programs, however, we  tested it until the class discussed the content.  But issues surfaced requiring hours of troubleshooting instead of learning.
• There are no materials to actually learn, like a typical class.  There are powerpoints, but they’re usually limited to a handful of slides for a whole topic, like Node.js; that use stock images without ever discussing the actual logic.
• The class switched to online after COVID-19, but they claimed it was success without asking for our feedback. But there were & are significant issues with connections, communication, etc.  You’d learn more by buying a monthly subscription with an interface designed for online learning.
• The contract outlines 250 contact hours of coding skills, (2) TAs, & (1) instructor.  You also can attend up to 4 times virtually, which seems to acknowledge that it’s not an ideal learning method.  Yet, the remainder of the class (4 months) is online & there’s only 1 TA.  Additionally, the website says that there are tutors, but they send you a contract saying the tutors are not included & may end at any time- which seems to go against their contract.

Ongoing problems:
Since it’s virtual & the code is not complete & virtually no reading materials, using a laptop to watch a shared-screen & type out the code is impossible.  Yet, the Student Success manager recommended I buy a monitor & create a fake Zoom account to use my phone & laptop to share files when I can, & to watch videos on the other.  Additionally, they attempted to blame the students for having issues with their code, suggesting the instructor may have issues, & blaming me for not using a tutor to learn concepts (hint: as part of the tutor contract, you have to ask SPECIFIC questions, share your code, & limit it to 50 minutes per week; not to ask conceptual questions).  

Recommendation:
I would avoid it unless they update their curriculum, provide more material, fulfill their contractual obligations, & stop blaming the instructors & students for their shortcomings. Furthermore, the program by Trilogy/2U claims to be leaders in online education but the class was set up first using free video conferencing apps, & free ‘Slack’ accounts; not an interface designed for online learning.   Read less

The Data Analytics Boot Camp at Johns Hopkins Engineering introduced and challenged me in learning various programs to explore full-stack data visualizations. Our instructor was knowledgeable, supportive, and creative in teaching the programs to accommodate different learning styles, and testing our newly acquired skills. It was a great online education experience and would recommend it to others. Read less