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Lambda Launch material is now updated and available in Canvas. As of August, all material shown in Training Kit is deprecated. School is much more than a school. It’s a community. It’s a job placement agency. We’re a group of highly-motivated individuals striving to make entry into the tech industry more accessible by providing educational opportunities to underrepresented and underserved individuals.
At the end of this module, you should be able to:
- identify school mission, vision and values.
- integrate with the school culture and understand the code of conduct expectations.
- clearly articulate why they have chosen to attend Lambda School.
- know who to ask for help and how to ask for help at Lambda School
- identify what a growth mindset means and how it applies to everyday life at Lambda School.
- identify the school services available to support their educational and personal goals and how to access them.
- develop a spirit of independent learning through self-direction, self-reflection, and advocacy.
- see themselves as a professional employee and understand the necessity to develop the social and academic skills needed for a professional employee.
Knowledge will give you power, but character respect.
Bruce Lee
Review each preclass resource before class.
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The vision of Lambda School is to unlock everyone’s potential, regardless of circumstance. The mission is to be the best place in the world to launch a new career. These values were written for the leadership, instructors, and staff at Lambda School. We are sharing them with you here to show our dedication to meeting our vision and mission. The core values are;
- Student Obsessed- This isn’t about helping students get jobs, this is about making them unbeatable in the market, challenging when others around you aren’t also being student obsessed, staying awake until your student can sleep.
- Act Like an Owner- This isn’t making sure something is running smoothly. It’s about being maniacal about finding ways to continually improve, own mistakes and make your function better than anyone has ever done it. Ever.
- Organize Chaos- This isn’t about making something that lacked organization before less messy, it’s sweating over the details to lay the concrete foundation, systems, clear accountability, data-driven results, and cross-functional excellence to make sure there’s no mistake something works great over and over again.
- Nothing Sacred- This isn’t about being open to change. It’s about not accepting mediocrity anywhere in the business. Expect everyone and everything to be world-class.
- Go for It- This isn’t about trying, it’s about taking risks, going big or going home. Make Elon blush.
This set of values means that operations at Lambda School will be different from any other school you have attended. Things will change and sometimes they will change often and rapidly. The changes will occur based on data and feedback from students and future employers. The change is to make things better. At a typical school, they would wait and make the change in the next cohort or the next school year. At Lambda school if it is a needed change it happens now. Being a future professional in the technology industry, you will need to be comfortable with change. But, we are student obsessed, so if the changes are not serving you, please reach out to your program manager or the student success team and let them know. Your feedback is valuable.
Blog Post about Feedback from Austen Allred, CEO of Lambda School
#Lambda School Student Guide The most up to date policy, procedures and information can be found in the Lambda School Student Guide
Lambda School is challenging by design. We move quickly and each day builds upon the previous. To ensure your success, we’ve outlined several guiding principles to follow.
- Participate - we expect each student to actively participate in the course by attending all lectures, having an online presence during course hours, engaging with instructors and team leaders, and collaborating with other students.
- Complete All Coursework - The best way to get better at coding is more coding. We expect students to complete each and every assignment given as part of the course, as the concepts learned in one assignment are a building block needed for future assignments. Even if you know a concept, repetition is key to solidifying the foundation of your knowledge.
- Ask for Help - If you feel lost or are stuck on an assignment, it’s your responsibility to reach out to your instructors, team leaders, or fellow students for help. We can only provide support if let us know. We may not always give you the answer, but we will provide you with the tools to derive the answer on your own.
- Integrity - Asking for help and researching online is a key part of learning, however, you cannot use code you did not write. Do not shortcut your education by cheating. Ask for clues, not code when seeking help. If you put in the effort, you will reap the reward.
- Plagiarism - If a student is caught copying code from staff or other students, or submitting work that is not their own; a member of Student Success will evaluate the situation and based on findings, the student may be withdrawn from Lambda School.
- Respect - We are fortunate Lambda School students and staff have extremely diverse backgrounds. Contribute to creating a positive experience for everyone by being respectful in your communications (sarcasm translates poorly via text and online chat), and keeping politics confined to the #politics channel in Slack. Do your part to make Lambda School a welcoming place to learn by encouraging your fellow classmates, offering support, and listening to others.
- Professionalism - Lambda School is a professional environment. We expect students to act accordingly. Punctuality, timeliness, accountability, and open communication are crucial, not only for your success here at Lambda School, but also in your careers afterward. The professional expectations we require of our students are the same your future employers will expect of you. A good rule of thumb is: if you wouldn’t do or say a thing in front of an employer or colleagues at your job, don’t do it here at Lambda School. Additionally, professionalism includes protecting internal intellectual property.
- No Harassment Policy - Lambda School is a place to learn. We aim to create an environment of mutual trust and the absence of intimidation, oppression, and exploitation. Students and staff should be able to work and learn in a safe, yet stimulating atmosphere. As such, Lambda School will not tolerate any form of harassment, verbal or physical conduct, designed to threaten or intimidate others, which includes but is not limited to the following: Verbal harassment includes comments that are offensive or unwelcome regarding a person’s nationality, origin, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, pregnancy, sexual identity, marital status, age, body, disability or appearance, including epithets, slurs and negative stereotyping. Nonverbal harassment includes distribution, display or discussion of any written or graphic material that ridicules, denigrates, insults, belittles or shows hostility, aversion or disrespect toward an individual or group because of national origin, race, color, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, pregnancy, appearance, disability, sexual identity, marital or other protected status.
- Communication - You are expected to regularly communicate with your team leaders regarding daily progress. Failure to remain in contact with team leaders, instructors, student success, or any other staff, may result in being withdrawn from the program.
Violations of the Code of Conduct may result in deferral or removal from the program. If removed from the program for Code of Conduct reasons, your income share agreement or tuition refund will be prorated as described in the ISA FAQ section of the User Manual.
If you think there is something that is preventing you from being successful, communicate with your instructors and Project Manager.
A clear sense of purpose enables you to focus your efforts on what matters most, compelling you to take risks and push forward regardless of the odds or obstacles.
Knowing your “why” is an important first step in figuring out how to achieve the goals that excite you and create a life you enjoy living. We want to solidify your choice to join Lambda school and reinforce your career goal of becoming a developer, designer or data scientist.
Your “why” is a deep-seated purpose that is the source of your passion and inspiration. You may not know what yours is or how to express it in words. Your “why” is what has brought you to this point. If you were content in your current situation, you wouldn’t be committing to going to Lambda School since it is going to take a lot of your energy and time.
Your first answer that may come to mind when asked “What’s Your Why?” it may be “to get a better job”. This is a good place to start, but we have to dig a little deeper to find out all the ways this would improve your life and how that fits into the impact you want to have on the world.
What part of a better job is the most crucial to you?
- Will the increased salary help with your financial security and allow you to provide for yourself and the ones you love?
- Will the professional work schedule and flexibility allow you to spend more time doing what you enjoy?
- Do you just feel that you have more intellect to offer an employer and aren’t fulfilled in your current job?
- Do you want to be surrounded by other people that are successful and doing what they love?
- Do you want to set a good example for friends and family that you can positively change your situation?
These are just some examples and your “why” might not be any of these things. But, hopefully, it gives you some inspiration for discovering your personal “why”.
“He who has a why can endure any how.”- Friederick Nietzsche
Whether its social media, video games or Netflix there are a lot of tempting distractions when you are in front of your computer all day. A quick break to relax may be useful but a half-day deep dive is not how you probably want to be spending your precious time. Being reminded of your “why” and the big changes you are trying to make can be just the thing to have you get back to work.
It can be easy to lose sight of why you are working so hard when you have a bad day, week or month. It is good to remind yourself why you are doing the hard work and the benefits you will have at the end of it. Trust your initial decision and motivations to start this journey and refuse to quit.
Employers want to know that you are passionate about your work. If you can clearly explain your why and how their job is everything you’ve been working towards it will make you stand out. If the problems your employer is solving in the world match with your purpose that is a powerful thing.
Who you ask for help depends on what type of question you have.
A great starting point for most questions is your team lead. If you have an instructional question posting in your course help channel in Slack would be appropriate. If you have a non-instructional question using the /frontdesk command in Slack to submit a question to student services would get you an answer.
Lambda School is focused on your success and all of our processes are geared toward helping you succeed. We also want you to be a competent professional that has critical thinking skills, knows how to learn, and is great at problem solving. The material you are learning will be difficult and you will struggle. Here is a framework on solving a problem that you can use to create a great question or possibly solve your problem along the way.
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Clearly define the problem- In order to solve the problem, you need to be able to describe it succinctly. No handwaving. Vague, overarching problems are not solvable. So before you can even state the problem you may need to gather supporting information. If you can’t, that becomes your first problem to solve.
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What is your desired outcome?- Do you want a link to a useful resource or someone to talk you through the example again? What is going to be the most helpful answer for you? This outcome statement becomes your north star as you brainstorm solutions.
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Brainstorm potential solutions- Take some time to think about how you might solve this problem. What resources do you have available?
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Ask the question- We have a guideline of a 20 minute rule. Work on your problem for 20 minutes by clearly defining it, figuring out the desired outcome and brainstorming solutions. If your problem is not solved in these steps then it is time to reach out for assistance. Instead of a generic “I can’t do this, I don’t even know where to start” you should have a “In the last section of this piece of code I don’t understand this particular part and would like assistance finding this particular resource”. This makes your question easier to answer for instructors, team leaders, and staff. It also shows that you took the time to try to think critically and problem solve before asking. No one wants you to be stuck, frustrated and contemplating quitting. But, we do want you to learn how to learn and be resilient when things get hard.
The concept of a growth mindset was developed by psychologist Carol Dweck and popularized in her book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.
A mindset is a self-perception that people hold. Believing that you are either “intelligent” or “unintelligent” is a simple example of a mindset. These mindsets have a profound effect on learning, skill acquisition, and professional success. Dweck’s work centers on the distinction between “fixed” and “growth” mindsets. People with a fixed mindset believe their basic qualities and talents don’t change over time. Those with growth mindsets understand that their abilities could grow through learning.
Lambda School’s vision is to unlock everyone’s potential, regardless of circumstance. This requires a growth mindset to accomplish. The organization of the school’s schedule, grading procedures, and flex program are all built so we can encourage a growth mindset. We encourage you to try hard things and know that your abilities can grow through guided practice.
We are all on a continuum of fixed and growth mindsets. Those with a growth mindset enjoy challenges and recognize failures as opportunities to improve. They know if they keep working hard, trying new strategies, and persevere that they can eventually learn anything.
It can be useful to know what your fixed mindset triggers may look like.
- When faced with a challenge do you feel overly anxious or does a voice in your head warn you away? The human brain enjoys cognitive ease and equates it it to safety and familiarity.
- Do you feel incompetent or defeated when you don’t succeed at a challenge on the first try? You may look for an excuse, such as not enough time or poor instruction to explain away your failure.
- Does critical feedback make you feel defensive, angry or crushed?
It is best to accept these thoughts and feelings and then work through them with a growth mindset. Notice, we didn’t say you shouldn’t feel this way, that is just human nature, what matters is that you work through them and continue to learn and grow. The point isn’t to get it all right away. The point is to grow your understanding step by step.
Learn to identify the school services available to support their educational and personal goals and how to access them.
Lambda School is “student obsessed” which means we will do everything possible to help you succeed. You have to be right there with us putting in your best effort, asking good questions and not giving up. If after getting extra support you still are struggling with grasping the material you will have option to repeat an entire unit. An explanation of the process for making those decisions is shared below.
There is a standard rule at Lambda School that you should try to solve a problem on your own for twenty minutes and then seek help. This seems to be the right amount of time to define the problem, research on your own and try a couple different tactics. After 20 minutes you are wasting precious time and starting to get frustrated. Reach out by creating a message in the Slack channel for your class.
In a typical Lambda school day you will have a two hour guided project with the instructor for your track. All students in the track attend this Zoom session. You have access to your instructor on Slack but your main source of support will be your team leader. The team leaders are current or former Lambda students that are farther along in their program. They have been where you are and understand the challenges you are facing both technically and personally. There is one team lead assigned per 8 students to ensure you get the 1:1 support you need. You will meet with your team lead group every day. Your team lead will go over your progress with you on a daily basis.
Targeted Support hours are designed for students who were unable to meet the objectives in the following three areas:
- Technical
- Teamwork/Collaboration
- Career Readiness
During the various assessment points in the program, your Team Lead will show if you need more time and support with any of the objectives covered. As a student, you will be able to select the support hour schedule that works best for you.
The following scenarios would indicate that you need to attend targeted support hours;
- In a self-assessment you feel like you didn’t grasp the material. You can state to your TL that you would like targeted support hours.
- If you have difficulty in explaining parts/most of the module objectives during your daily 1:1 review.
- You earn a 1-star rating on a sprint challenge performance.
- You experience or your TL notices collaboration concerns when working with a team.
- If you are making insufficient progress with Career and Professional Development content and assignments.
- If you miss a guided project or daily module assignment
TL Hours are provided to students who need more technical support. TL Hours will be before and after regular scheduled school hours and over the weekends to provide extra support for the students who are struggling with the technical blockers. Students will meet with a TL to cover areas of concern when:
- Module Assessment - Following your daily 1:1, your TL will state if more time is needed. If so, you will be required to attend two hours of the TL Support Hours within two days
- Sprint Assessment - If your performance on the sprint challenge is rated at a 1, you will be required to attend four hours (FT) or three hours (PT) of TL Support Hours. Your TL will indicate which objectives were missed and you will receive help in mastering those in the following sprint as you move forward with the next sprint’s content.
Full Time
6-8 AM Pacific from Monday through Thursday
6-8 PM Pacific from Monday through Thursday
9-12 PM Pacific Saturday and Sunday
Part Time
4-5 PM Pacific on A week Monday for CDT courses
6-7 PM Pacific on A week Monday for PDT courses
2-Hour sessions on the student’s 5th day
SP Hours are for students who need support in developing better practices to work with a team and collaborate with peers. If your TL indicates that you need extra support in this area, you are required to attend two sessions of SP Hours with a Student Success coordinator. A Success Plan will be created to track your progress as you develop your skills.
Full Time
8-9 AM Pacific on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
Part Time
Hours will be adjusted to match the student’s 5th day preference
CC Hours are provided to students in need of extra support with Career and Professional Development requirements. Students will be assigned a career coach to work with for up to four hours a week
Full Time
6-8 AM Pacific from Monday through Friday
6-8 PM Pacific from Monday through Friday
9-12 AM Pacific Saturday and Sunday
Part Time
6-9 PM Pacific on Friday
Every student that enters Lambda School is part of the flex program. Flex enables every student to learn at a pace that allows them to master all the material we teach. Students are able to repeat material when more time is needed to demonstrate mastery in the following areas;
- Team collaboration skills focus
- Career readiness focus
- Modular and Unit level focus
Students flex on a unit basis. One failed sprint challenge will not require Flex, just support hours. Two failed sprint challenges in a unit will make a student qualified to flex to the previous unit.
If you need non-instructional support you can reach the student success team on Frontdesk in the Slack system. Example of issues that could be handled through Frontdesk;
- Non-coursework inquiries
- Verification Letters or Admissions Letters Requests
- Feedback
- Need to talk to Student Success
When you submit a /frontdesk ticket, all responses will come back to your student email.
Lambda School takes a lot of time and energy. You are going to need to prioritize and plan to be able to sustain your commitment to being a Lambda School student. Learning, being creative and achieving one’s full potential is at the top of the pyramid when it comes to human needs. All of your other needs must be met in order to attend to these. This includes basic needs like food and rest and psychological needs such as belonging and having friends. If you haven’t had a decent meal, are running short on sleep, have fought with your significant other and feel like you don’t fit in at Lambda school it is going to make it much harder to focus, learn and be successful.
Mental health issues can and will affect everyone - students and staff alike. It’s important to realize where you’re at on the mental health spectrum at any given time as it’s a state of flux. We realize Lambda School is hard, it’s unlike anything you’ve done before. It has to be hard to enact real change. That’s why we’re doing all we can to support you in your journey.
- Work Performance: Productivity, Leadership Skills, Work Relationships, Professional Development
- Relationships: Romantic Relationships & Dating, Family, Friends, Breakups
- Stress & Anxiety: Anxiety, Depression, Stress, Resilience
- Healthy Lifestyles: Sleep, Physical Activity, Eating Well, Habits
- Financial Well-being: Goals, Budgeting Savings and Debt, Management, Investing
- Diversity & Inclusion: Gender, Equality, Unconscious Bias, LGBTQIA+
- Life Challenges: Pregnancy/Parenting, Elder/Child Care, Loss of a Loved One, Illness
- Mindfulness & Meditation: Stress, Sleep, Focus, Meditation
You should receive an email from Modern Health your first week of class. Please wait to join until you have received this email.
Download the Modern Health app in the Google Play Store (Android), App Store (iOS) or navigate to https://my.joinmodernhealth.com/login.
1) After your download is complete, select “Join Now” from the welcome page of the mobile app. 2) Use the email you have on file with Lambda School, along with your first and last name. 3) Enter the company name as “Lambda” and then add your password of choice. 4) Select “Register” on the web or “Agree & Join” on the mobile app to complete registration.
If you have further questions please consult the Modern Health FAQ guide
It is not a secret that a good night’s sleep makes you feel better. During sleep, your brain is busy processing information from the day and forming memories. If you are sleep deprived, it is harder to focus and pay attention. Sleep allows you to be creative, synthesize new ideas and problem solve. Without enough quality sleep, information is not transferred from short to long-term memory and you can become more forgetful. If you planned to wake up early and stay up late to manage school, this may backfire on you. You just won’t be able to learn efficiently without adequate sleep.
Your brain uses more energy than any other human organ, accounting for up to 20 percent of the body’s total calories. Strenuous cognitive activities require more glucose than simple ones. You want to fuel your thinking with regular healthy meals. With reduced time to grocery shop and prepare meals you may find yourself resorting to snacking, eating fast food or even skipping meals. This is going to provide irregular energy to your brain and may affect your ability to learn.
It may be useful to meal-prep on the weekends and have simple healthy choices ready to go. If you live with other people, maybe they can help you with some of the time consuming tasks of meal prep. It’s best to plan ahead and not leave your nutrition as an afterthought.
In our modern world, security is purchased with money. A warm, safe shelter is obtained by having the money to pay for it. Increasing your financial security is maybe one of your main motivating factors for going to Lambda school. But, you have to be able to feel secure enough to spend your time going to school. Budgeting can be an important tool in figuring out the difference between frivolous expenses and the bare necessities. You might have to look at making drastic changes in the short term in order to be financially stable for the rest of your life. If this is your biggest worry, don’t ignore it and hope it all works out. Forecast how you are going to manage your finances over the next 9 - 18 months. It may require selling cars, changing apartments, switching jobs or relying on relatives to make it work. Lambda school is trying to do our part to help by providing the ISA. There are very limited funds for stipends or other financial assistance that are pilot programs. You should plan on taking care of your financial security while at Lambda School.
Interpersonal relationships are a human need. We are happiest when we have friends, family, and significant others to share our life with. These same people can have us feeling our worst when the relationships are not healthy. Discuss your Lambda school ambitions with those that mean the most to you and try to garner their support. Sometimes you have to go it alone, as you can’t change how other people think and behave. Having honest conversations now about how you will be spending a lot of your time and your current priorities with those closest to you will be helpful in the long run. You are also going to be a part of the Lambda school family. You need to feel like you belong here too. One of the purposes of these lessons is to set you up for success by discussing values, behavior expectations, and mindset so that you feel comfortable interacting with your classmates. The instructors, staff and fellow students will be supportive and help you feel like you belong.
Esteem for oneself and respect from others is another part of our psychological needs. Our self-esteem can take a huge hit as we are learning. Many times the more you know, the more you realize how little you know. We want to feel accomplished and our efforts are worth it. There will be some days when you receive critical feedback, miss a deadline or don’t catch on as quickly as you think you should be that your self-esteem will be low. Reach out and share your struggles as you are not alone in those feelings. Part of working in a team is a desire to have a good reputation and be respected by others. When teams work well together this can be a great source of pride and when they don’t work well this can have you feeling frustrated and angry.
If all of your other needs are met, then you can truly focus on self-fulfillment. Going to Lambda school to become a programmer, designer or data scientist is all about improving yourself and having a better life. There will be great satisfaction in achieving this goal. It will lead you to want to achieve other personal and professional goals. It is worth the time to make sure all of your psychological and physiological needs are met so you concentrate on achieving your goal.
Learn to develop a spirit of independent learning through self-direction, self-reflection, and advocacy.
Through our extensive experience teaching people to program, we’ve identified that the number one predictor of success or failure is whether you think of yourself as someone who is at the mercy of circumstance.
If you attempt programming and quit when the material gets challenging, you’ll likely fail. Instead, if you persevere and continue to wade through the unknown, you’re probability of success skyrockets.
We will discuss more about “Growth Mindset” in later sections but this section will discuss techniques to become an independent learner.
It’s estimated that students in the U.S. spend 20,000 hours experiencing classroom education by the age of 18, and that much of what is taught is forgotten within a short time. And there’s little evidence that they know how to apply effective learning strategies in later life.
In essence, many students have not learned how to retain and apply knowledge. The brain has an amazing capacity to learn at higher levels when effective learning strategies are used.
In the evolving technology sector the capacity to learn rapidly and apply new skills is paramount. Learning how to learn is a game changer in the global knowledge economy, and now is the time to begin to learn more independently.
There are eight basic characteristics of an independent learner that you should focus on;
- Curiosity- Independent learners want to find out more about the world and seek out additional resources. They learn from various angles and formats, not just traditional instruction. They are proactive and find ways to access extra lesson supplements on their own.
- Motivation- Independent learners are motivated by setting internal goals to achieve. They are driven by their own personal achievement. When tasked with a challenge they keep coming back to it until they have it solved.
- Self-knowledge- Where have you been and where are you going? Independent learners know how to evaluate themselves. They can see their strengths and weaknesses and are willing to work on improving both. They strive for measurable progress and appreciate critical feedback so that they can improve.
- Responsibility- Responsibility means knowing what you have to do and doing it without anyone telling you to. It is being sure you meet objectives and meet due dates. An independent learner becomes less dependent on outside sources for discipline or motivation.
- Critical Thinking- Independent learners think critically of a situation. They examine all possibilities and often come up with many solutions. They don’t memorize. Rather they ask “why?” and formulate answers based on real-world observation and intelligent deduction.
- Perseverance- Independent learners don’t give up. They strive to understand a concept as much as possible on their own before asking for help. They also apply self-discipline in not finding the easy answer to a problem. They teach themselves and generally only ask questions after failure to find a solution on their own. An independent learner understands that seeking support is a strength not a weakness, so when they hit a block they do reach out.
- Positive Attitude- When things get tough and frustration sets in an independent learner maintains a positive attitude. They have the outlook that they will eventually figure out the solution to any problem. It just might take more time and there is no need to get upset.
- Learning from Failure- One of the major obstacles preventing learners from becoming more independent is a fear of failure. To become independent you must see failure as an opportunity to learn, rather than something to be avoided at all costs.
At this point this list may not reflect what type of learner you see yourself as. This list is not an “end point”, it is a continuum, you can always improve your skills at learning. At Lambda school you will build the skills needed to become an independent learner. Be patient and trust the process.
It’s extremely common for students to ask us to change the curriculum, loosen the requirements, switch to another class, or anything to make what they’re learning a little easier. Most of the time that’s not the solution; what you actually need are more reps.
A natural reaction to frustration is finding something external to blame. If you find yourself struggling with a concept or assignment and you think the requirements are too tough or the curriculum isn’t teaching you the things you need to be a successful programmer, nine times out of ten the best solution is to keep on keeping on and power through.
We call this the “million dollar moment,” because what you decide to do in this situation can easily swing your future net worth millions of dollars one way or the other. This is the time to put up your dukes and fight harder than you’ve ever fought before, not to give up and force your circumstances to change.
It’s normal to have several “million dollar moments” during the course of Lambda School. You’re not stupid, you’re not behind, and you shouldn’t be discouraged because you don’t see the other students having these moments. At some point in the course, every student will encounter their own “million dollar moment,” you just might not be aware of their struggle.
Learn to see themselves as a professional employee and understand the necessity to develop the social and academic skills needed for a professional employee.
A professional has high ethical standards and displays integrity and excellence in their work. A profession demonstrates effective time management, dedication and leadership. These are personality qualities we try to cultivate at Lambda School. The following are expectations for your behavior at Lambda school to develop a professional mindset:
A professional is in control of their emotions and aware of the emotional needs of others. If you make a mistake, admit it and offer to fix it. Be supportive of your teammates and offer praise and thanks. A professional accepts and appreciates constructive feedback on their work. When met with a difficult problem a professional enjoys the challenge of fixing it and doesn’t blame others, become angry or focus on things in the past that can’t be changed.
Online communication methods prevent you from expressing meaning through facial expressions, body language or vocal tones and can lead to misunderstandings and other communication problems. Carefully choose your words and before posting re-read your message and think how it might be interpreted. If you are angry or in an emotionally charged situation, it’s best to avoid posting until you have a chance to calm down. Ask for clarification if you receive a confusing, contradictory or upsetting message. It is possible that you are misinterpreting the tone or purpose of the communication. Don’t be defensive, passive-aggressive, angry or sullen when your needs are not being met. Clearly state the facts, the problem and a proposed solution. Everyone at this school is a problem solver and critical thinker and will appreciate not dealing with “drama”.
If this was a physical school then how you dress and hygiene habits would be a larger part of your professional image. Instead, in an online school, your image is based on what you post online. Here are some tips for maintaining a professional image:
- Post a nice professional looking picture in the profiles of your accounts
- Don’t over share personal information
- Don’t use curse words
- Don’t use poor grammar
- Keep personal biases and prejudice out of conversation (sex, religion and politics are topics to avoid in a professional environment)
- Don’t spread gossip or tease others
Working in small groups in Slack will seem like an intimate environment with close friends. But, remember everything you post is a screen shot away from ending up on the front page of social media. On the other hand, things you share on social media, may be seen by your fellow students at Lambda School and future employers. Before posting anything always think about how it may affect your professional image.
You will also frequently be on video camera during Zoom meetings. Be sure that the objects in the background of your video are not distracting. Be aware that others can see you in the meeting and can tell if you are not focusing on the lecture. Be sure to mute your microphone when not speaking so background noise doesn’t disrupt the meeting.
A professional is on-time for meetings and appointments. You should set alarms and create calendars to be sure you don’t miss anything important. You must meet your deadlines for assignments and projects. You should respect the time of your instructors and team leads by asking clear, concise questions. You should respect the time of your classmates by listening to their ideas and taking turns in online conversations.
Volunteer to take on responsibility. If your natural tendency is to take on ALL the responsibility then share responsibility and trust that others will follow through. A leader wants what is best for their team and appreciates new ideas, differing opinions and constructive feedback. A leader will go beyond the minimum requirements and deliver extra value. You should take care of the people you are working with and makes sure roadblocks are removed so they can successfully complete their work too. A leader takes risks and demonstrates they are a problem solver by agreeing to take on difficult tasks.
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These tasks are to be completed during the project time for your track. For full time these tasks will be completed in the afternoons after lunch. For part time these tasks are completed every other day, on the opposite days of the guided project instruction.
You can use class recordings to help you master the material.
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Values and Support for LS200803FT w/James Pacheco
An overview of Lambda School values, how we support you, and how to be successful.
To demonstrate mastery of this module, you need to complete and pass a code review on each of the following:
- Project: LL Module 3 Project