Learning Technologies

Virtual Tools

Zoom will be the main platform we will be using for tutorials, office hours and question-and-answer sessions. We will be asking project teams to set up their own platforms for interactive hacking. We will have technical support people available to assist.

What if I am not permitted to use these tools?

We recognize that some employeers and agencies do not allow people to use Zoom. At this time we have not been able to find any other universally-accessible platform to replace Zoom. We encourage you to contact us if you are concerned about your ability to access our event.

Will my laptop work for this hackathon?

All participants will be required to have their own laptop. The absolute minimum requirement is any laptop with a functioning web browser so that you can access our shared cloud computing resources. We will also teach you to install software on your own computer. For that we recommend the following:

  • Windows Vista or newer, MAC OS X 10.7+, or Linux (Ubuntu, RedHat and others; CentOS 5+)
  • 32-bit or 64-bit
  • Minimum 3 GB disk space to download and install software

If you do not have a laptop, please contact us and we might be able to loan you one during the event.

Will I need to learn a specific programming language to participate?

We welcome all participants regardless of their programming background. In order to teach our content in a consistent way we need to select one programming languge. We have chosen Python because it is free and open source, and has many libraries suitable for efficient manipulation of a variety of different types of data.

What can I do in advance to prepare?

We require all participants to work through the following lessons in advance of our event. The lessons are brief and will ensure that we are all set up and ready to work when we arrive.

Setting up your laptop and getting access to computing resources

How do I ask questions about the Hackweek?

If you have technical or general questions about the Hackweek, we are here to help. First, you can use the General channel on Slack.