July Announcements

Hello scholars! Congratulations on making it to week 15 of the program! We hope everyone is doing well and working hard. We have 4 very important items to cover today so let’s get right down to business.

Plagiarism

There can be many reasons why you may be tempted to plagiarize. You may feel like you’re incredibly behind with no possibility of catching up or you may need this Nanodegree more than anything and do not trust your own abilities. Whatever your reason, we have 3 words for you: DON’T DO IT. Udacity has a zero tolerance plagiarism policy work and the consequence is expulsion.

If you have any questions about whether you could be possibly plagiarizing, please refer to these Udacity Help articles. This scholarship is an amazing opportunity, please don’t risk losing it by claiming someone else’s work as your own.

Study Jam - Breakfast Club style

It was amazing seeing everyone working together to conquer your project hurdles during last Saturday’s Study Jam. That was our largest study jam yet! Thanks to everyone who participated.

Now that we’ve got you in study jam mode, we have a very special announcement. If you’re a fan of the 1985 John Hughes movie Breakfast Club (or just a fan of the ‘80s!) then you’re in for a treat because for our next study jam we are paying homage to what critics have called the “greatest high school films of all time”. So pull out your varsity jackets, flannel shirts, and hoodies and join us for Detention on Zoom. Kelsey and I are also cooking up Hall Passes for anyone who needs a “pick-me-up” during the event. We’ll share more details as we get closer, but for now, mark your calendars for Saturday, August 11th from 8 AM to 12:00 PM/Noon PT.

Asking the right questions

Your track’s #live_help channel is still the place to go if you need help getting unstuck on your course material. However, for project questions, we highly recommend the project specific channels (e.g. #fend_proj_1, #fend_proj_2) as they are well supported by classmates working the same problem. [Click Channels + to see and join your track’s project channels].

Just as important as visiting the right channel is asking the right questions and providing the right information. Here are 3 simple things to keep in mind:

1. Include the course section, or lesson or project number you need help with

2. Be prepared in case you need to share a snippet of your code

https://get.slack.help/hc/en-us/articles/204145658-Create-a-snippet

3. Share what you have already done to troubleshoot, that way they know that you’ve taken the initiative to solve the problem and where to start when answering your question.

Live help coverage

As Iip from our Udacity team moves on to provide 1:1 mentoring, we still wanted scheduled coverage to continue in #live_help. Thankfully, we have three amazing technical scholars who have volunteered to be in the #live_help channel on a weekly basis starting today. If you are interested in giving back to your student community by providing #live_help support, please reach out to Brenda and Kelsey. Thank you!

ABND: Mon & Tues 5-7 PM PT with @TheBaileyBrew (Matthew)

ABND: Mon, Wed, & Fri 7-8 PM PT with @Charles Rowland (Charles)

FEND: Mon, Wed, & Sun 3-5 PM PT with @drunkenkismet [FEND] (Jason)

FEND Tues & Thur 9-10:30 AM PT with @Kehinde (Kehinde Onadipe)

Mentorship Issue

Hey everyone! One last announcement for the day. We know that many of you have had issues communicating with your mentor in the classroom. It is a *known* issue and you are not alone! We sincerely apologize for this. The mentorship team is working hard to get this problem resolved. We will share an update as soon as we can! Thank you for your understanding.

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7/28 SPECIAL STUDY JAM ANNOUNCEMENT

Alright everyone! Today is the *BIG* day - are you ready for this Study Jam! PLEASE let us know you are here by filling out the Study Jam sign in sheet:

Here's what we've got going on today:

AMA Sessions

  • ABND: Project Coach Natalia 9 AM - 10 AM PT: #abnd_proj_6 channel
  • AND: Project Coach Anh 1:30 - 2:30 PM PT: #and_proj_4 channel
  • AND: Project Coach Tiago 10 AM - 11 AM PT: #and_proj_3 channel
  • FEND: Project Coach Ivan 11 AM- 12 PM PT: #fend_proj_4 channel

Webinars

  • ABND P6: Saturday, July 28th at 10 AM PT. @TheBaileyBrew will be hosting a one hour project walkthrough. Register here for the YouTube event link
  • FEND P4: Saturday, July 28th at 4:00 PM PT. Don’t miss this project walk through with FEND scholar, @RyanB[FEND] as he takes you through Project 4: Feed Reader Testing. Register here for the Zoom event link:

We've got LIVE HELP all day from fellow students and project coaches. If you've got a question, someone has an answer! Are you ready to finish those projects?

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7/27 FRIDAY ANNOUNCEMENT

Hey Scholars! Did you have a great week? We sure hope so! Take a look at what’s coming up:

STUDY JAM

Do you need some extra time to work on your projects? Do you have a question you need answered? Then join us *tomorrow* for another study jam. There will be LIVE HELP from 10 AM - 2 PM PT tomorrow in the track specific live help channels.

AMA Sessions

  • ABND: Project Coach Natalia 9 AM - 10 AM PT: #abnd_proj_6 channel
  • AND: Project Coach Anh 1:30 - 2:30 PM PT: #and_proj_4 channel
  • AND: Project Coach Tiago 10 AM - 11 AM PT: #and_proj_3 channel
  • FEND: Project Coach Ivan 11 AM- 12 PM PT: #fend_proj_4 channel

Webinars

  • ABND P6: Saturday, July 28th at 10 AM PT. @TheBaileyBrew will be hosting a one hour project walkthrough. Register here for the YouTube event link
  • FEND P4: Saturday, July 28th at 4:00 PM PT. Don’t miss this project walk through with FEND scholar, @RyanB[FEND] as he takes you through Project 4: Feed Reader Testing. Register here for the Zoom event link

It’s anybody’s game!

Thank you for your patience as we worked to ensure all teams were weighted equal (no matter the size) for points earned in Challenge #2. That said, the Leaderboard is now updated. WHOOT! Congrats to all teams who have placed on the board!

A reminder that the deadline for challenge #3 - Meet New People (worth 50 points) is next Sunday, August 5th at 11:59 PM PT. Your cohort can *double* points if you complete this challenge (with another cohort) on Study Jam Saturday! Note: Your meetup with the other cohort can take place at anytime on Saturday and does not need to happen during the Study Jam hours of 10 AM - 2 PM PT. Challenge #3 completion form here.

Remember that your cohort can earn a bonus *500 points* if all team members who are participating in our cohort competition take the #100daysofcode pledge. Your team members can take the code at anytime before October 14th, the last day of the challenges. #100daysofcode completion form here

An Extra Webinar!

  • Product Design Fundamentals by Ananya Mittal (Product Designer at Udacity).
  • Date & Time: Monday, 30th July, 8:30 PM PT Onwards
  • Bookmark the Event here

Halfway There

We have passed the halfway mark and, as we inch :bug: towards the final deadline of October 24th, we’d like to remind you that if you get stuck on a concept, lesson, or project, please reach out for help from your fellow students in your track’s #live_help channel or your Project Coaches *sooner* rather than later. :pray: Know that it’s OK to ask questions especially if it will save you multiple days (weeks!!) in project work. We are all here for each other! :muscle:

Tip: Find out when your Project Coach is in Slack by checking your track’s page on the Grow with Google site: https://sites.google.com/udacity.com/gwgdevscholarship/home

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7/23 MONDAY ANNOUNCEMENT

Hey hey Scholars! Happy Monday - like our Grow with Google site says, let’s “Make it Matter” this week!

STUDY JAM SATURDAY #3

A reminder that our next track-wide Study Jam is this coming Saturday, July 28 from 10 AM to 2 PM PT. If you’ve never attended a Study Jam before, here’s your chance to experience all the energy and excitement that comes from everyone joining forces to work together! And check our Grow with Google calendar as Study Jams will be held every 2 weeks from now until October 24th to help you stay on track.

Sign up to be Study Jam leader your track’s #live_help channel. Only 1 hour of your day is all that’s needed to help your student body reach their project completion goals!

7/28 Study Jam leader sign-up sheet here:

COHORT CHALLENGE CONTINUES

Hello Cohorts! We are tallying the points from Challenge #2 (and making adjustments to make sure all points are equal no matter the size of the team). Keep your eye on that Leaderboard when it is updated on Tuesday and see how your team shakes out now that we have even more cohorts in the mix!

Here is your next challenge. New cohorts can join in the cohort competition at any time. See our Cohort Challenge page for details.

Challenge #3: Meet New People

Details: To complete this challenge, your cohort will partner with another cohort to host a virtual meetup. Teams will come together for at least 1 hour to share their motivational stories prompted by the image below, as well as discuss course material, what projects they are struggling with, and what they do to get over project hurdles.

Points earned: 50 points [Note: *double points* will be awarded to those cohorts who meet up at any time on July 28th, Study Jam Saturday]

Deadline: 11:59 PM PT on Sunday August 5th to complete challenge and submit completion form

Good luck, have fun & a special shout-out to the student who supplied us with the awesome Challenge graphic!

Challenge #3 Completion form here

Lastly, tomorrow is our official halfway point into this Scholarship Nanodegree program so now is the time to turn on that raw horsepower to ensure all of your projects are completed by the final, non-negotiable October 24th deadline date.

• Everyone should have received an email with the array of resources at your disposal. Please use them! And don’t hesitate to rely on your fellow students who are AMAZING individuals willing and ready to help at the drop of a hat.

• Lastly, another reminder that you should be following the deadlines listed on the Grow with Google site and not the deadlines in your classroom as our Scholarship program started at a different time.

• YOU’VE GOT THIS!

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7/20 FRIDAY ANNOUNCEMENT

TGIF Scholars! I hope you all had a wonderful week. How are your projects coming? Could you use some extra help? Here are a few resources that are available to you in the coming weeks!

STUDY JAM

We’ve got another study jam coming up next weekend on Saturday, July 28th from 10 AM - 2 PM PST. In fact, we will be hosting a study jam every other Saturday for the rest of the program. Join us live next Saturday for live technical webinars, AMA sessions with Project Coaches and live help from your fellow students. This is a great way to carve time out of your week and dedicate it to your coursework and projects. We will be sharing the schedule next week!

AND Project Walkthrough

AND Project 2 - Join us tomorrow morning (7/21) at 8 AM PST for a live webinar with @Gil AND. Gil will be reviewing project 2 and answering your live questions about the project. You can register for the event here:

Q&A Session with Android Developer

Our very own @rsherry [AND] has organized a virtual Q & A session with Android Developer expert Michael Bailey. During the Q&A session, Michael will be answering questions about Android, Java and a career as an Android Developer. Join the session this Saturday (7/21) at 10 AM PST. This session will be hosted on Zoom. Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://zoom.us/j/108704788

445 Scholars and Climbing!

HUGE props to everyone who has taken the #100daysofcode pledge to make daily coding a habit! We have a personal bet with NIck that we can get this number past 500! Just this week alone, we’ve seen 40 new pledges from FEND, 8 new pledges from MWS, 13 from ABND and 19 from AND. Keep the pledges coming. We are THIS close to making it happen!

Attention Team Captains! If every team member in your cohort takes the #100daysofcode pledge and submits their pledge form by Friday, August 3rd, your team will earn an additional *500 POINTS*! [Points will be added at the end of the Cohort Challenge - October 15th]. Pledge form here

3 Days Left!

If you are participating in Cohort Challenge #2, you have just 3 more days to get a project submitted and earn points for your cohort. And we hear your concerns that teams with more members may have an unfair advantage in this challenge so we’ve taken this into account and will be making adjustments soto keep everything fair and even!

Challenge #2 details here:

FEND STUDENTS

Dive into an ocean of resources and sail toward project success! A treasure chest of gems await! Find the keys to these resources in each FEND project channel topic. (e.g. #fend_proj_1, #fend_proj_2, #fend_proj_3 and so on!)

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7/16 ANNOUNCEMENT

Happy Monday Announcement Day!

How is everyone doing? We hope you set aside time to make some notable progress on your projects this past weekend! Shout out to the 123+ students who joined us on Slack for :study_jam: STUDY JAM SATURDAY :study_jam: and congrats to Brendan M, Leia C, Stephanie Y, and Nick R who we surprised with pizza! 🍕 If you missed last Saturday’s jam session, no worries! We will be hosting another collaborative study event very soon. In the meantime, you can watch the recordings of all the project walk-throughs on our Tech Webinars page here:

1 week left

Attention Cohort Challengers! You have one more week to submit your projects and earn mega points for your team! Remember these rules:

• Team captains are responsible for keeping track of project submissions and turning in the Challenge Completion form by 11:59 PM Sunday, July 22nd

• Only projects submitted between Monday, 7/9 through Sunday, 7/22 should be counted

• Only the *first* project submission can be counted. Note: It’s totally OK if it took multiple tries to get a project approved but your team captain should only be recording the first submission. Note: This should not dissuade anyone from making those necessary project changes that will get your project approved and move you one step closer to that Nanodegree certificate!

Challenge #2 completion form here

Take the pledge!

If you were considering taking the #100daysofcode pledge, well today is *THE DAY*! Join your classmates in making coding and project work a daily habit! By pledging today, you will finish your 100 days one day before your Nanodegree deadline. This means you will have TWO things to celebrate when October 24th comes. It only takes a minute to pledge. Sign up here:

Underdogs Unite!

Last week, the EMEA Grow with Google Scholarship students won the weekly World Cup Challenge _again_ (1083 to 763) but Kelsey and I haven’t give up and *neither should you!* Sidenote: Even though the real World Cup ended on Sunday (Congratulations, France!) the EMEA scholars are giving us *one more week* to show them what we’ve got! Submit that project for your Nanodegree, for your cohort, for your family, for your mom…..submit it for TEAM USA! Let’s do it this final week!

AND Project 2 Walkthrough

Mark your calendar for this upcoming Saturday, July 21st at 8 AM PT for a project walkthrough with @Gil AND of the second project. Gil will be going over the rubric, talking you through the steps required and answering your questions at the end of the webinar. If you are struggling with this project at all - this is the time to get that extra help you need! You can register for the event here

Have a safe & happy one!

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7/14 SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

Hey everyone! Break out those laptops and turn on those computer monitors. STUDY JAM SATURDAY starts in just 10 minutes! We have lots of resources to offer you today! Sign up to attend one of the LIVE project walk-throughs:

4:00 PM PT [MWS] Project 2: Restaurant Reviews App - Stage 2 with @dseet (MWS)

• Register here: https://goo.gl/forms/rTf9mUM54Q9XsrjT2

• YouTube Live event link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7UGidduflQ

4:30 PM PT [FEND] Project 3: Classic Arcade Game Clone with @RyanB[FEND]

5:00 PM PT [AND] Projects 2 & 3: Popular Movies, Stage 1 and Popular Movies, Stage 2 with @Bob

Bring your questions for our *Study Jam Leaders* in Slack. They will be standing by in the live help channels (#fend_live_help, #mws_live_help, #abnd_live_help, #and_live_help) for during the full 4 hours of Study Jam. :study_jam:

DON'T FORGET to add your name to the *Study Jam Sign-in Sheet* that will be posted at the start of Study Jam. You could be the lucky student that has that hot, cheesy :pizza: delivered to your :door:!

Today is all about collaboration! Let's make significant progress TOGETHER and get those projects submitted for review. Get ready to jam!!!

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7/13 Announcement

Hey everyone! We've just added not ONE but THREE project walk-throughs to tomorrow’s STUDY JAM SATURDAY

Register for these live webinar NOW to receive the link to these events:

[MWS] Walk-through of Project 2: Restaurant Reviews App - Stage 2 with @dseet (MWS)

  • Saturday, July 14th at 4:00 PM PT /7:00 PM ET
  • MWS Students register to receive the webinar link here

[FEND] Walk-through of Project 3: Classic Arcade Game Clone with @RyanB[FEND]

  • Saturday, July 14th at 4:30 PM PT / 7:30 PM ET
  • FEND Students register to receive the webinar link here

[AND] Walk-through of Projects 2 & 3: Popular Movies, Stage 1 and Popular Movies, Stage 2

  • Saturday, July 14th at 5 PM PT / 8 PM ET
  • Join Bob Basmaji @Bob as he takes you through [AND] Projects 2 & 3 and shares his project insights and tips
  • Android Students register to receive the webinar link here

Don’t miss out on this GREAT day to study with your classmates, eat pizza, and overcome those project (and lab) roadblocks together!

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7/11 Announcement

SPECIAL STUDY JAM ANNOUNCEMENT

Hey, hey scholars! Almost every one of you has another project deadline approaching so to help you through those project hurdles (and get you one step closer to submitting your project!) we are throwing another track-wide STUDY JAM this coming Saturday!

  • Study Jam will take place on Saturday, July 14th from 3-7 PM PT/6-10 PM ET here in Slack. Four solid hours will be devoted to project work
  • You can’t study on an empty stomach, so GUESS WHAT?! During Study Jam we are randomly choosing students to have a cheesy, gooey pizza delivered to their doorstep. You heard that right… PIZZA! 🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕
  • To be in the running for a pizza, all you have to do is:

✅Join us on Slack during Study Jam hours

✅Add your name & info to the Sign-in sheet that will be posted once Study Jam starts

✅Study with us for at least 30 minutes (preferably more!)

  • There will be Study Jam Leaders in your track’s #live_help channel offering technical support for 4 straight hours. Immediate live help?!! That's incentive alone to participate!
  • Speaking of support, I am looking for more AMAZING students to step up and be Study Jam Leaders! :muscle: (MWS, ABND, AND, I'm lookin' at you ;-)
  • This is a great opportunity to flex (and reinforce) the technical skills you’ve been learning as well as give back to your student community!
  • If you’ve never volunteered for a Study Jam before, no worries! We’ll make sure you’re well prepared for the day
  • Please make sure that if you are volunteering, that you are caught up on your project work to provide the best support possible!

See you on Saturday!

Volunteer Sign-up sheet here

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7/9 Announcement

Helllllooooo and Happy Monday, scholars! Hope you all had a productive weekend! We’ve got some big things to cover today, but I want to first recognize @Matt Cranford {FEND}, @Kat (MWS - Dallas), @TheBaileyBrew and @Nandini Parimi for being your track leaders last week. These 4 individuals devoted extra time & energy to ensure you were well taken care of. :thankyou: for doing an amazing job ! Do continue to rely on them - as well as your fellow classmates - for technical or project help. :muscle: Kelsey is still on vacay so reach out to me this week for anything program related. I promise to reply but please know I’m wee bit behind in answering my DMs after being away. Here’s what we’ve got in store to keep you motivated and on track this week:

SO CLOSE!

The EMEA team beat us by a mere 127 points last week. But that is ALL GOOD because now that EMEA is starting to get complacent we can swoop in, tackle (aka steal the ball), and claim the World Cup during this last and final week of the competition! :trophy: Help TEAM USA and move one step closer towards completing *your* Nanodegree by submitting your project and making those revisions to get that project approved. As @BeckySChapin says “Rubric first… pretty later… ask for help!"

COHORT CHALLENGE CONTINUES

We were SO impressed that 30 cohorts completed the first Cohort Challenge. Way to go cohorts! Since it’s pretty much neck-in-neck for serious bragging rights and Udacity swag this week we are shaking up that Leaderboard! For new cohorts - it’s never too late to jump in on these challenges. They are geared to help everyone in your cohort complete their Nanodegree so it’s a win-win!

Challenge #2: Most Projects Submitted

Details: On top of the World Cup Competition with EMEA, each cohort will receive points for a project a member has *submitted* during this two week period. Students are not limited to one project - they can submit as many projects as they want in the allotted time. Points per project submission are weighted here:

  • ABND: +6
  • AND: +7
  • FEND: + 8
  • MWS: +20
  • Team Captains will be responsible for keeping track of the projects submitted by which team members during the challenge period and recording the final total using the Challenge form below.
  • Projects submitted prior to 7/9 can not be counted
  • Points will be calculated after projects have been verified as submitted

Deadline: 11:59 PM PT Sunday, July 22nd

Good luck!

2 Quick sidenotes:

>There was an awesome student (perhaps Student Leader) who right before I went on vacation had a great suggestion for a team challenge and forwarded me an image to go along with it. If you could please reach out to me again!

>If you cohort name or logo is not yet on the Leaderboard please reach out to me. Thanks!

Challenge #2 Completion form here

STILL CODING

We love seeing the #gwg_100_days_of_code channel all abuzz with your daily updates! We are now up to 337 scholars who have taken the pledge to code and encourage at least 2 people everyday. You can take the pledge any time so why not start today?

Reminder: If every member of your cohort participates and completes the challenge your cohort will receive 500 points!

CAREER MOVES

Do you have an interview lined up or have you gotten a job offer or internship since Phase 1 began? We want to make sure we’re recording each and every one of these career accomplishments so please fill out our short career form for every interview, new work project, promotion, even community service work that is helping you move forward in your career goals.

Have a great week!