I think with this program, you really get what you put into it. This bootcamp gives you the tools to learn more about whatever you want on your own, get a job as a junior developer, or do some freelance work. The thing I liked most about BCA was their focus on projects. Every week you work either in a team of two or on your own to create an app or program. In the beginning, you're just creating command line apps, but eventually you make web apps that run in browsers. This makes the classes centered around solving problems and learning skills directly relevant and useful for creating apps. The main thing I think the class could improve on is how class time is spent in later lectures. Sometimes an entire app would be explained all the way through without much interaction from the class or with limited demonstration of what is happening in the big picture. Early on in the class, lectures include plenty of ~15 minute "labs," which allow students to try out new skills and test their understandings. Later, these labs don't really happen anymore. I think perhaps this could be fixed by focusing each lecture on a narrow and specific individual skill or way of solving a problem, along with an example and a way for the class to try it out on their own. Alternatively, projects could take up more and more of the week as the class goes on, and lectures could be specifically centered around getting the class started on certain parts of their apps. That being said, I think that BCA will rapidly improve, allowing them to fit even more into their already fairly comprehensive curriculum. These bootcamps are very new and people are still learning the best methodologies around teaching them. If you want to learn to code in a short amount of time with a great group of people and avoid the headaches of figuring everything out on your own, this is the best option. |