Hunter College – For two semesters, I was an adjunct instructor teaching fundamentals of Computer Science. It was an independent work where I had a lot of flexibility with the curriculum. The class was divided into four modules: computer history, software/programming, hardware, and network concepts. I wanted to stress the fact that while computers are relatively recent devices, the idea which stands behind them is old as the first numerical system. Our problems with raw computations require help whether physical (counting tables, abaci, Napier’s bones etc.) or mental (logarithms). For instance, the purpose of logarithm was to replace grueling operations of multiplications and divisions with more pleasant of addition and subtraction (highly appreciated by astronomers at the time). As the class progressed more technical topics were introduced like building simple binary device using half adders and full adders, evolution of operating systems, and basics of programming. I have also used the opportunity to explain the function of the internet and confusion with world wide web, a concept which is highly misunderstood by the people (from my experience). For the curious, the syllabus for the class is available here.
The Graduate Center – Every month during the academic semester, I conduct Kentico workshops for students, staff, and faculty. Kentico is a content management system used to manage the institution’s website. Since there is a large number of editors and frequent rotation of people, constant training is required. Kentico is a lesser know CMS. The technical literature is scarce and community limited. Thus, every knowledge (that mostly comes from personal experience) is valuable. The upcoming workshops are usually available two weeks after the start of the semester and can be found here.
South Bronx United – For a semester, after work, I was a volunteer at non-profit organization operating predominately in Bronx which purpose is to help students with immigrant background to get into college. Many of those students were coming from families whose members never attained higher education. Initially, I was tutoring high school mathematics; later, I had an occasion to teach computer programming. While the material was not rigorous, the work was giving me a lot of pleasure. It was also a great opportunity to meet and exchange experience with other fellow volunteers who were coming from diverse backgrounds like academia, engineering, or finance etc. You can read more about our work in this 15/16 annual report.