How is the Learners Meetup doing in Berlin? Pretty good!

In April we introduced a new Learners Meetup format and we’re really happy how things are developing.

The Learners Meetup in a way is the essence of what OpenTechSchool is about: people from all backgrounds and experience levels, especially absolute beginners, are coming together to learn and talk about technology. We are creating a community out of learners and coaches, novices and experts of all fields and interests.

The barcamp-style part of the event we started in May turned out to be a great way to get people to talk to others about topics they’re interested in. Small groups of two to eight participants that share the same interests including at least one expert get together. After 15 to 20 minutes one person per group summarizes for everybody what the group was talking about. Everyone gets involved that way and talking usually continues after the official ending.

Topics that were discussed included

  • The difference between Ruby and Python (turned out it is basically in culture :))
  • Reverse-engineering
  • Different types of databases popular in the Java world
  • How to do paralax scrolling effects?
  • How do I start a programming career?
  • What is the “best” language for beginners (sorry, depends)?

What would you like to talk about?

Mingling

Visit the meetup.com pages of the last two events for participants’ comments and some more pictures.

We will continue this and come up with more ideas how to connect people. Next step is to get participants more involved in organizing the event.

Check the Berlin page for the next meetup which should be 3 July. Hope to see you there!

If you have an idea for a talk you’d like to hear or give, please submit an issue to our github repository


This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at http://blog.opentechschool.org/2013/06/how-the-learners-meetup-is-doing-in-berlin.html