5 ms·

Building a Community for High Schoolers Who Code

62 points by zachlatta 12y ago

brimtown 12y ago
Good call on ditching the extended pregnancy metaphor. Previous post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7970809 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7970809
- aroman 12y ago
  Hah, in retrospect, I agree. I guess I couldn't resist the pun. That change was actually made by the editor at Facebook, who did an excellent job of helping condense my original post and adapting it for a wider audience. I also added in the bit about "what are hackers and hackathons?": If the words “hacker” and “hackathon” evoke mental images of scary-looking criminals breaking into computers, I can assure you we're nothing like that. Hackers, in the original spirit of the term, are programmers and designers who use technology to build things — not destroy things. Hackathons are events where hackers of all kinds come together to collaborate on new projects and compete for prizes, often on college campuses.
  - jmgrosen 12y ago
    You should try some "real" hacking some time! That is, the kind the scary-looking criminals do, but for good (or simply fun). CTFs are probably the best way to get started -- check out PicoCTF, one specifically for high schoolers. The starting challenges might be easy for someone with programming knowledge, but the higher-pointed ones require some real domain-specific knowledge ;)
prezjordan 12y ago
Really, really cool to see the hackathon scene develop like this - due to nothing other than the extreme dedication and hard work of a select few. I'm still not exactly sold that hackathons are the best way to learn, but they're certainly not the worst. Great to see more and more people find safe environments like this to play around with different tech and, equally importantly, network with others. Congrats on building such a cool community, it's all very inspiring.
- RaphiePS 12y ago
  (shoutout to Dave Fontenot in particular)
viclou 12y ago
HS Hackers has taken over my life -- in a good way. ♥
jmgrosen 12y ago
Of course, there are those of us that don't use Facebook... ...but I guess we're in the minority :) Cool effort, in any case. I'd definitely join if I used FB.
- krrishd 12y ago
  I'm a part of the group, and I barely ever touched Facebook prior to joining. Now pretty much my whole News Feed reads like a more personal HN. Either way, HS Hackers has a ton of meetups, so far in NYC, Philly, and soon SF: http://hshackers.org http://hshackers.org and http://nyc.hshackers.org http://nyc.hshackers.org
  - jmgrosen 12y ago
    Eh, I suppose I could do that; I did have a Facebook account for a couple years, but I deactivated it a couple months ago, mainly over privacy concerns[0]. I could create a new account specifically for this, but I'd be worried that I'd accidentally leave myself logged in and be tracked around the net. (Do I sound a bit paranoid yet? Sorry about that.) Unfortunately, NYC and Philly are nowhere near me, and SF is still an impractical distance away. LA might be doable! [0] I really do have to recommend Julia Angwin's excellent book Dragnet Nation: http://www.amazon.com/Dragnet-Nation-Security-Relentless-Surveillance/dp/0805098070 http://www.amazon.com/Dragnet-Nation-Security-Relentless-Sur... It's very mind-boggling how much we are tracked by online entities (the book mostly covers companies, not the government), and after reading that book, I took some steps to protect myself from them. (My paranoia is justified! I think...)
    - krrishd 12y ago
      Your paranoia is very justified, I actually have a friend who built a completely fake identity specifically to join FB and be part of the group, he uses Tor and everything. Meetup-wise, it won't be long before something is organized in LA, a lot of the members are actually based in LA (including the current admin).
aarohmankad 12y ago
Find the group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PennAppsHS/?fref=nf https://www.facebook.com/groups/PennAppsHS/?fref=nf
raphaelrk 12y ago
As a member of this group, I have to say it's one of the best communities I've ever been in, for a lot of reasons. 1) Inspiration. From members winning Thiel fellowships to members asking where they can begin, you feel a sense of motivation. The scholarship present in the group is astounding. The OP, Zach Latta, started a nonprofit that helps people start programming clubs. If he can do that, what's stopping me from starting a programming club at my high school? In fact, the group's inspired me to do a lot of things I never would've tried if I hadn't joined- attending a hackathon, founding a programming club, making myself a website, and much more. 2) The network. Members are always posting about hackathons and meetups. Lots of the members know each other, and I probably have mutual friends with most of the members. Along with that, I think the caliber of the members is unrivaled in a group of its size. There are innovators and entrepreneurs, designers and coders (none of those mutually exclusive), and all around amazing teens. Being able to talk with them is incredible. Not only are there amazing teens in its membership, but industry leaders. Some big names include Sam Altman and Alexis Ohanian. Having their profile show up in the group sends tingles down your spine. As high schoolers, sometimes we hear cheesy lines like "you could be sitting next to the next Bill Gates." In this group, not only are you posting next to the next Bill Gates, but the real one too. 3) Quality posts. I suppose after all the fawning I've done so far this goes without saying but the posts are great. As in any group there can be argument and incivility, but the quality of that group in my view is almost as good as that of Hacker News. (That might be because lots of the membership reads Hacker News). The posts can vary in topic from hackathons to new tech, from free namecheap coupons to members' projects, but one thing is consistent: they show how great a community of high schoolers can be. No lord of the flies or Brave New World genius island, no. Its unparalleled, and a wonderful thing to be a part of. If you're a high school student and you're not already in it, join. Disclaimer: I might have cloudy vision on some aspects. The community's not perfect but for one made up of 1800 high schoolers and counting, it's exceptional in every aspect.
- aroman 12y ago
  Wow — thank you so much for sharing that. I'm really glad the community has been so valuable to you. It's been great to have you, Raphael :)
- 12y ago

62 points by zachlatta 12y ago

Good call on ditching the extended pregnancy metaphor. Previous post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7970809 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7970809

aroman 12y ago
Hah, in retrospect, I agree. I guess I couldn't resist the pun. That change was actually made by the editor at Facebook, who did an excellent job of helping condense my original post and adapting it for a wider audience. I also added in the bit about "what are hackers and hackathons?": If the words “hacker” and “hackathon” evoke mental images of scary-looking criminals breaking into computers, I can assure you we're nothing like that. Hackers, in the original spirit of the term, are programmers and designers who use technology to build things — not destroy things. Hackathons are events where hackers of all kinds come together to collaborate on new projects and compete for prizes, often on college campuses.
- jmgrosen 12y ago
  You should try some "real" hacking some time! That is, the kind the scary-looking criminals do, but for good (or simply fun). CTFs are probably the best way to get started -- check out PicoCTF, one specifically for high schoolers. The starting challenges might be easy for someone with programming knowledge, but the higher-pointed ones require some real domain-specific knowledge ;)

prezjordan 12y ago

Really, really cool to see the hackathon scene develop like this - due to nothing other than the extreme dedication and hard work of a select few. I'm still not exactly sold that hackathons are the best way to learn, but they're certainly not the worst. Great to see more and more people find safe environments like this to play around with different tech and, equally importantly, network with others. Congrats on building such a cool community, it's all very inspiring.

RaphiePS 12y ago
(shoutout to Dave Fontenot in particular)

viclou 12y ago

HS Hackers has taken over my life -- in a good way. ♥

jmgrosen 12y ago

Of course, there are those of us that don't use Facebook... ...but I guess we're in the minority :) Cool effort, in any case. I'd definitely join if I used FB.

krrishd 12y ago
I'm a part of the group, and I barely ever touched Facebook prior to joining. Now pretty much my whole News Feed reads like a more personal HN. Either way, HS Hackers has a ton of meetups, so far in NYC, Philly, and soon SF: http://hshackers.org http://hshackers.org and http://nyc.hshackers.org http://nyc.hshackers.org
- jmgrosen 12y ago
  Eh, I suppose I could do that; I did have a Facebook account for a couple years, but I deactivated it a couple months ago, mainly over privacy concerns[0]. I could create a new account specifically for this, but I'd be worried that I'd accidentally leave myself logged in and be tracked around the net. (Do I sound a bit paranoid yet? Sorry about that.) Unfortunately, NYC and Philly are nowhere near me, and SF is still an impractical distance away. LA might be doable! [0] I really do have to recommend Julia Angwin's excellent book Dragnet Nation: http://www.amazon.com/Dragnet-Nation-Security-Relentless-Surveillance/dp/0805098070 http://www.amazon.com/Dragnet-Nation-Security-Relentless-Sur... It's very mind-boggling how much we are tracked by online entities (the book mostly covers companies, not the government), and after reading that book, I took some steps to protect myself from them. (My paranoia is justified! I think...)
  - krrishd 12y ago
    Your paranoia is very justified, I actually have a friend who built a completely fake identity specifically to join FB and be part of the group, he uses Tor and everything. Meetup-wise, it won't be long before something is organized in LA, a lot of the members are actually based in LA (including the current admin).

aarohmankad 12y ago

Find the group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PennAppsHS/?fref=nf https://www.facebook.com/groups/PennAppsHS/?fref=nf

raphaelrk 12y ago

As a member of this group, I have to say it's one of the best communities I've ever been in, for a lot of reasons. 1) Inspiration. From members winning Thiel fellowships to members asking where they can begin, you feel a sense of motivation. The scholarship present in the group is astounding. The OP, Zach Latta, started a nonprofit that helps people start programming clubs. If he can do that, what's stopping me from starting a programming club at my high school? In fact, the group's inspired me to do a lot of things I never would've tried if I hadn't joined- attending a hackathon, founding a programming club, making myself a website, and much more. 2) The network. Members are always posting about hackathons and meetups. Lots of the members know each other, and I probably have mutual friends with most of the members. Along with that, I think the caliber of the members is unrivaled in a group of its size. There are innovators and entrepreneurs, designers and coders (none of those mutually exclusive), and all around amazing teens. Being able to talk with them is incredible. Not only are there amazing teens in its membership, but industry leaders. Some big names include Sam Altman and Alexis Ohanian. Having their profile show up in the group sends tingles down your spine. As high schoolers, sometimes we hear cheesy lines like "you could be sitting next to the next Bill Gates." In this group, not only are you posting next to the next Bill Gates, but the real one too. 3) Quality posts. I suppose after all the fawning I've done so far this goes without saying but the posts are great. As in any group there can be argument and incivility, but the quality of that group in my view is almost as good as that of Hacker News. (That might be because lots of the membership reads Hacker News). The posts can vary in topic from hackathons to new tech, from free namecheap coupons to members' projects, but one thing is consistent: they show how great a community of high schoolers can be. No lord of the flies or Brave New World genius island, no. Its unparalleled, and a wonderful thing to be a part of. If you're a high school student and you're not already in it, join. Disclaimer: I might have cloudy vision on some aspects. The community's not perfect but for one made up of 1800 high schoolers and counting, it's exceptional in every aspect.

aroman 12y ago
Wow — thank you so much for sharing that. I'm really glad the community has been so valuable to you. It's been great to have you, Raphael :)
12y ago