WebTech Superheroes Code

Inspiration

WebTech Superheroes Code social hub is a place where people passionate about web technologies learn and share experience.

What it does

We are creating an enhanced learning experience for students that learn Web Technologies. All by using project-based learning, homework that is evaluated automatically with tests, hands-on exam. And courses uploaded on YouTube.

The main goal of the project is to facilitate the distance learning experience in the context of the pandemics. We envision an online laboratory that integrates modern cloud-based technologies to facilitate collaboration between teams and the creation of working products. We plan to provide the setup open-source so that other universities can use it.

Attending the laboratory is important for students to interact, exchange ideas, work on tutorials, and get guidance from the assistants. Creating a productive work environment is one of the biggest challenges when learning to develop web applications. This has become harder with the limitations of face to face interaction in the University with the Covid-19 crisis.

As a student, you need to spend a lot of time to configure all the tools and editors on your personal computer. Keeping a consistent environment across students is hard. Because of the diversity in hardware, operating systems, and software versions that you can have.

An alternative solution is to use cloud-based platforms. We aim to combine several open-source technologies to create an online laboratory where students can form teams, develop products, work on homework, and even take online tests.

Challenges I ran into

Setting up the infrastructure for hundreds of students is expensive. Especially when you want to have a quality learning environment. We need to tackle this challenge by finding the right income strategies.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

We have a working proof-of-concept based on Theia IDE that we can use to build on. We have built in the past years a knowledge base of courses and resources for the students. And we built a community online. We formed a team, described the prototype and defined business model together.

We have a functional platform that can be improved and have an impact on the education sector.

What I learned

Creating a digital learning experience. Working remotely. Pitching practice. Being part of the EU family.

What's next for WebTech Superheroes Code

Validate solution during Web Technologies Course I am teaching. Improve the user experience. Reach out to technical universities in Europe as potential customers. Increase the development team and build partnerships.

Built With

• docker
• javascript
• node.js
• react
• theiaide