CodingDojo| USA |codingdojo.com

Share a short description about your company:

CodingDojo  is a nation-wide school with over 9 campuses in the U.S. Since 2012, CodingDojo has graduated more than 4,500 students with diverse backgrounds and helped them get jobs in companies like Google, Apple, Microsoft, Expedia, PayPal, Facebook, etc. CodingDojo believes that anyone, with proper training environment and grit, can learn to code.

How does your current role allow you to make a difference to the education and learning space?

Over the last 10 years, I was able to test and refine CodingDojo's curriculum and education methodology. With multiple locations, multiple instructors, and new cohort of students starting every month, I had unique opportunities to test new approaches to education and test various ways of accelerated learning using technologies. Through these experiments, and by often teaching students directly, I was able to apply lean methodology to education, developed assessments to quantify student's learning and progression over time, and learned how to best use technology to scale education.

What are the key trends you believe have the power to transform the way we learn?

1) Lean education: I believe just as lean methodology significantly improved manufacturing and even how startups are done, same methodology can be applied for education. Using quickly iterations, I believe education can also go through the cycle of Build, Learn, Test. 

2) Concept based learning vs Tutorial based learning: People love tutorials that show how things are made step by step, although I believe tutorial based learning does not lead to mastery. Mastery comes much faster from concept based learning where students are taught various concepts and where they have to connect the dots themselves to create new things. I believe we all know this but the internet is filled with a lot of tutorial based learnings and presents students with too much information.

3) Using technology to identify where to invest in people instead of using technology to filter people - I believe that as much as technology is wonderful, it can't replace 1:1 relationship building between an instructor and a student. I also believe that technology are built too often to filter or replace people, when it should be used to empower people and identify where to invest in people. After all, I believe all organisations are not the sum of its technologies but just the sum of its people.

Why is it important for all players in the EdTech ecosystem to continuously connect, network and learn from each other?

When you think about joining London EdTech Week and EdTechXEurope Summit this year, what are you looking forward to?

I look forward to sharing lessons learned with other educators, and also to learn from them and see how I could help their organisations.

Who would you like to meet at the event?

HR managers and hiring managers of software developers in large tech companies. I am particularly interested in learning and connecting with those facing shortage in tech talent and want to see how we could collaborate or help each other.

Join Michael and our 150+ thought leader speakers at EdTechXEurope 2019 on 18 June 2019 - reserve your place now >>