testimonials.html

---
layout: testimonials
title: Testimonials
---

<section id="annegret-spranger" class="testimonial">
  <h2 class="name">
    <img src="{{site.baseurl}}/images/testimonials/portrait_anne.jpg" alt="anne" class="close-up">
    <strong>Annegret Spranger</strong> 
    <b>Community Manager at Photocase, Learner</b>
  </h2>

  <h3 class="question">How did you hear of OpenTechSchool and what did you think about it at first?</h3>

  <p class="answer">Shumeng and Bea told me about it and I think it’s great! OTS offers a fun way to start coding or to take your skills to the next level. Learning how to code also means learning how to build stuff and turn your own ideas into reality!
  </p>

  <h3 class="question">How about your previous experience and knowledge of anything tech related?</h3>

  <p class="answer">I started learning how to code with Codecademy at the beginning of this year. It was my New Year’s resolution for 2012! In April I attended RailsGirls Berlin and made my first steps in Ruby on Rails, which was a very fun and inspiring experience.</p>

  <h3 class="question">What did you choose to try and why?</h3>

  <p class="answer">The JavaScript workshop, because I already had some experience with JS from the Codecademy courses.</p>

  <h3 class="question">What is you opinion about the workshop you attended? And what do you plan to do after it?</h3>

  <p class="answer">It was great! A new dose of inspiration and motivation. I learned a lot of new things, met awesome people, and got even more excited about JS! I want to keep on learning. It’s just much more fun to learn how to code together with other like-minded people.</p>

  <h3 class="question">What is your most fun learning experience?</h3>

  <p class="answer">What I really like is that feeling of instant gratification. You write a piece of code, hit "run," and... (hopefully) success! It works! I find that very motivating. Also, playing the Black Jack game I built myself using JavaScript was cool.</p>
</section>


<section id="duana-stanley" class="testimonial">
  <h2 class="name">
    <img src="{{site.baseurl}}/images/testimonials/portrait_duana.jpg" alt="duana" class="close-up right">
    <strong>Duana Stanley</strong>
    <b>Software Developer at Soundcloud, Coach</b>
  </h2>

  <h3 class="question">When and how did you get in touch with tech?</h3>

  <p class="answer">I was studying psychology and interested in what "thinking" is, so I thought computer science would be a good thing to know more about. I ended up spending too much time at the university and just wanted a job, and being a software developer seemed like a good option.</p>

  <h3 class="question">Is coding a part of your working life today? Do you also have personal projects?</h3>

  <p class="answer">I write code daily, as part of enhancing and maintaining the SoundCloud website. As a personal project, I am writing an app called "lunch roulette" which will help people at my company to meet others in a fun way. After that I have a language-learning app I want to work on.</p>

  <h3 class="question">What inspires you to teach at OpenTechSchool?</h3>

  <p class="answer">Education should be free and learning is lifelong. It’s a way for me to give back to the community.</p>

  <h3 class="question">Could you tell us something about coding you still don’t know and want to learn more about?</h3>

  <p class="answer">Too much I could answer here! But one deep thing I’d like to know is how programming languages are implemented and executed by a computer.</p>

  <h3 class="question">What was your most fun experience while coaching?</h3>

  <p class="answer">Just seeing how people view programming with fresh eyes is fun. Programming is magical; we shouldn’t forget that.</p>
</section>


<section id="frank-cifarelli" class="testimonial">
  <h2 class="name">
    <img src="{{site.baseurl}}/images/testimonials/portrait_frank.jpg" alt="frank" class="close-up">
    <strong>Frank Cifarelli</strong>
    <b>Musician and copywriter at Native Instruments, Learner-to-be</b>
  </h2>

  <h3 class="question">How did you get to hear about OpenTechSchool and what did you think about it at first?</h3>

  <p class="answer">Through a friend. I was really excited to hear something like this was being organized. It’s always been hard for me to know how to make first steps into this world as a relative beginner without getting a degree in computer science or design.</p>

  <h3 class="question">How about your previous experience and knowledge of anything tech related?</h3>

  <p class="answer">I use my computer for the daily needs of life and to compose and mix my own music, but those activities involve a different level and a different kind of awareness of the workings of computers than what I could learn at OTS.</p>

  <h3 class="question">What would you like to try? Why?</h3>

  <p class="answer">I’m very interested in markup languages like HTML5, CSS, and Javascript, but would also like to understand coding language on a deeper level. I’d like to manipulate sites I currently work with in order to optimize them for my needs.</p>

  <h3 class="question">Once getting in hands-on contact with tech, what’s the role that you would wish it to have in your life in the future?</h3>

  <p class="answer">By understanding what goes on "behind the scenes" of applications whose operations I take for granted, I become a participant and a more autonomous user.</p>
</section>