Hello again AP,
I’d like to make clear that discord bots serve as a simple front-end application that do not require the knowledge of two separate languages. Think of it less as “Discord Bots” and more-so in-depth dives into Python and the Algorand Python SDK.
The discord bots are a sort of white board to present what we’ve learned in the simplest possible way; I plan on creating a second tutorial series where we actually build web applications, but developing a front-end in JavaScript on top of the “backend” we’re creating for the discord bot would be too much to crunch into the current curriculum. The value is not in the open-sourced discord bots, but the learning process leading to them, which can be interchangeably used with any application that allows a Python backend.
Again, the emphasis of the tutorial series is moreso on Python and the Python Algorand SDK, and I wouldn’t fixate too much on the discord bot aspect in terms of the value it brings. Regarding the statement about the current tutorials available, if you don’t mind I’ll copy and paste what I mentioned in my response to your GitHub comment:
“I’m a big fan of the @algodevs YouTube channel. However, I’ve struggled to implement the content they cover and have mostly learned independently aside from a question here and there to seasoned developers.
Firstly, I noticed that there are no videos on the Algorand Python SDK on their channel. They do cover the Algorand Javascript SDKs in three separate 10-minute videos titled: 1. Deploy and Call Algorand Smart Contract, 2. Creating ASA and Asset Transfers, and 3. Creating Accounts and Payment Transactions.
I respect them and have nothing but wonderful things to say about what they’ve showcased on their YouTube channels; however I believe that for beginners, watching a 10-minute video with 200 pre-written lines of Javascript isn’t the most effective way to learn. My videos, except for the basic setup, are over an hour long and go into each line of code in great detail. I think complex concepts need thorough explanations, not just presentations.
Take, for example, setting up a group transaction, which isn’t covered in their videos. To understand this, a beginner would need to know what a list is, the importance of a GID and how to access a transaction’s class attributes, and the concept of a class itself. Group transactions are just one of many topics that aren’t readily available and can’t be easily grasped by simply reading documentation or watching a 10 minute Javascript video, especially for newcomers.”
Edit: I wanted to comment on the milestones you mentioned as well—I am completely comfortable with setting biweekly milestones instead of expecting a one-time sum, but did not want to overcomplicate the process since I have already released 3 episodes out of the 10 proclaimed episodes in the proposal and am close to completing the 4th episode. The reason I did release 3 episodes and open source all content on my github was to manifest this bode of confidence without requiring an additional milestone process, and to embody my experience, and the teaching methods I use as a prime example of the content expected.
Edit Edit: Another comment I did want to address which I spoke about on another platform, was that although there are a few developers ready and able to create things for free, this isn’t a scalable or reliable solution long-term. We shouldn’t say “We do not need someone to create a lecture series on this, because I know Person A and Person B might do this for free”. We should be respecting these developers time and holding their experience to a higher value—we must equalize the learning curve so that the burden of completing work for free that can be easily completed by others is deincentivized. This leaves room for them to complete more complex tasks, and pave the road for new developers to work towards doing the same.