Self guided study group

General
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A bit about myself

I’m new to Algorand development and have found it to be a steep learning curve. I want to create a community that removes the barrier to entry for those interested in learning, regardless of their technical background. In my experience, this can be achieved through the collaboration of other like-minded people.

When I decided that I wanted to learn how to code in 2018, I started my journey by creating a weekly Python meetup at my local brewery in the San Francisco Bay Area. I was introduced to so many concepts, tools, and technologies. It wasn’t long until I was reserving large sections of pubs, helping others with Python, and meeting professional developers. It grew to 600 members in one year.

I want to attempt to start something similar for learning Algorand development, but virtual. I have a self guided study group in mind that I want to share with you…

Algorand Bites

A github repo consisting of a collection of pre-defined challenges (not tutorials). They would start out simple, and continually progress in difficulty. (Each challenge would look something like this). Challenges would be designed to be self paced, and be finished in less than an hour.

Make it social… this is where the magic happens

Every Saturday, a video conference would be held with a corresponding breakout room for each challenge. Participants would enter their desired room to discuss the solution with others. This is a great way to progress as a developer because you can learn, teach, and make friends in the process.

Since it’s self paced, you can:

  • Proceed on to the next challenge/ breakout room for the following week
  • Enter into the same room next week and become a mentor

Here’s what I have in mind for week 1:

Using an official Algorand SDK:

  • Generate 2 new wallets
  • Send ALGO to first wallet using the Algorand Dispenser
  • Send 10 ALGO (via testnet) from first wallet to second wallet

I’m not sure on whether the challenge should restrict users to one programming language such as Python, or to allow them to choose any language.

If you like this idea, feel free to add ideas for challenges below. I will put them together in a github repo and begin endorsing the community on various social platforms

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I like the idea and the social aspect.

Since you mention the study group would be in Python I suggest you to keep an eye on PyTEAL and PyTEAL-utils once the time is mature for coding Smart Contracts.

Also, this could be a useful repo to gather information and share your work and results (in addition to the Developer Portal).

Since the first challenge you propose is focused on creating wallets, I will suggest you clarify the concept of Algorand Account, since I found it helpful when I first started my journey.

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Thanks @cusma, I created the first challenge with a list of these resources to help people get pointed in the write direction: algorandbytes/description.md at main · connorjcantrell/algorandbytes · GitHub

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When you guys get to PyTeal, I would like to join those sessions. Email me at javix98@gmail.com

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