Bloc (code school)
Bloc is an online interactive platform that offers a variety of online coding bootcamps in several areas including web development, mobile development, and design.
It also adopted the apprenticeship model where students are paired with an experienced mentor who provides support and guidance throughout the curriculum using Skype.
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Bloc homepage on April 13, 2015 | |
| Founded | February 9, 2012 |
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| Headquarters | San Francisco, United States |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Founder(s) | Roshan Choxi, Dave Paola |
| Industry | Internet |
| Employees | 11 - 50 |
| Website |
www |
| Available in | English |
| Current status | Active |
History
Bloc was founded in February 2012 by Roshan Choxi and Dave Paola.[1] They met at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2008, before moving to San Francisco where the company is currently headquartered. Subsequently, Paola and Choxi began tutoring students over Skype in 2012, then later introduced Bloc at the Launch Festival in San Francisco.[2] The company raised $250,000 in seed funding in May 2012, $2 million in another seed funding in December 2013[3] and $6 million in Series A funding in November 2014.[4] The latest round of funding was Harrison Metal with First Round Capital.
Courses
Bloc has a total of 5 courses, and they are separated into 2 phases, foundation and building real projects phase. In the last 2 weeks of the courses, students and their mentors will work on a capstone project of their choice. All courses cost $5,000.
Rails Web Development
In the Foundation Phase, students will design, build, and ship their own version of web app. Mentors will guide students on how to use HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, Ruby on Rails, and SQL to build the app.[5] In the Building Real Projects Phase, students will build web apps including versions of Wikipedia, Google Analytics and Digg.[6]
Frontend Web Development
In the Foundation Phase, students will learn the foundation of frontend development by building a clone of Rdio, a streaming music service.[7] In the Building Real Projects Phase, students will learn frontend frameworks and libraries including jQuery, AngularJS, and JavaScript testing frameworks.
User Experience Design
In the Foundation Phase, students will learn the fundamentals of design and the essence of problem solving, while creating brands and websites using Illustrator, Photoshop, HTML, CSS and Javascript. Students will have an understanding of responsive design while learning how to launch their finished projects using Github.[8] In the Building Real Projects Phase, students will build projects such as mobile app concepts. Students will learn the principles of user experience and create user flows and wireframes for a web application to understand how these personas can affect the final product. In the last 2 weeks, instead of the usual capstone project, students will build their personal brand and portfolio using the skills acquired from the course.
Android Development
In the Foundation Phase, students will set up a developer environment using Android Studio, Github, and their own Moto G android phone. After gaining an understanding of Java programming concepts, they will also code their first app and deploy to their test phone. In the Building Real Projects Phase, students reinforce their Android developer skills by choosing from a menu of apps to build.
iOS Development
In the Foundation Phase, students will set up a developer environment using Xcode6, Git and GitHub. Fundamental programming topics such as variables, loops, arrays and objects, are explored using both Objective-C and Swift. Students will then learn how to build real apps, test-driven Development, debugging and launching their apps.[9] In the Build & Ship Phase, students take on open-ended projects with the help of their mentors, learning how to work with APIs, game dynamics, iCoud integration and mobile back-ends.
Scholarships
Bloc offers 2 scholarships, the New Relic Diversity Scholarship in Software Development and Design and the Veterans Scholarship in Software Development and Design.
New Relic Diversity Scholarship in Software Development and Design
In 2013, Bloc and New Relic created this ongoing scholarship to promote diversity in software development and UX design.[10] This scholarship caters to females, veterans of the U.S. military and ethnic minority groups underrepresented in the software engineering field. Recipients of the scholarship will receive $500 partial scholarship toward any Bloc program. Since its inception, it has handed out over 1000 scholarships.
Veterans Scholarship in Software Development and Design
Targeted at the U.S. military veterans, this scholarship aims to help by equipping the U.S. veterans with the necessary tools to launch their tech careers. Recipients of the scholarship will receive $500 partial scholarship towards any Bloc program.[11]
See also
References
- ↑ "https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/bloc-2". www.crunchbase.com. Retrieved 2015-04-14. External link in
|title=(help) - ↑ "S.F. startup Bloc offers a new way to learn coding online". Retrieved 2015-04-14.
- ↑ Perez, Sarah. "Online Code School Bloc Raises $2 Million For Its Web Development "Apprenticeship" Program". Retrieved 2015-04-14.
- ↑ "Bloc Raises $6 Million Series A Round Led by Shasta Ventures". Retrieved 2015-04-14.
- ↑ "Bloc | The World's Largest Online Web Development Bootcamp". Bloc. Retrieved 2015-04-14.
- ↑ "Bloc | The World's Largest Online Web Development Bootcamp". Bloc. Retrieved 2015-04-14.
- ↑ "Bloc | The World's Largest Online Frontend Developer Bootcamp". Bloc. Retrieved 2015-04-14.
- ↑ "Bloc | The World's Largest Online UX Design Bootcamp". Bloc. Retrieved 2015-04-14.
- ↑ "Learn iOS Programming with a Mentor | Bloc". Bloc. Retrieved 2015-04-14.
- ↑ "Bloc | Programming Bootcamp Diversity Scholarship". try.bloc.io. Retrieved 2015-04-14.
- ↑ "Bloc | Online Dev Bootcamp Scholarship for Veterans". try.bloc.io. Retrieved 2015-04-14.