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Steve Wozniak announces tech education platform Woz U

techcrunch.com

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Re: Steve Wozniak announces tech education platform Woz U

#21

Post by sjroot »

Honestly this seems very "meh." Like others have said, I am getting the vibe that Steve (or some other company) is using the name to attract attention to a very unremarkable product.

> Woz U will offer an app to help people understand which field of tech they’re best suited for, so they can set up their curriculum accordingly.

If you follow that link, you can see a very (very) poorly-designed application that is built by a company called Coder for Rent, LLC. This doesn't really invoke a sense of confidence for me - sounds like someone with an idea just reached out to the first app development team they could find. However, looking into this company, they have a website: https://www.coderforrent.com.

Following that link will redirect you to the organization I am guessing is teaming up with Woz for this: Coder Camps, with offices in Redmond and Scottsdale. Steve Wozniak is not listed anywhere on the "Team" page on Coder Camps' website, so this has to be some kind of business partnership. I believe that even more after seeing the page for the Woz U application in the App Store: the first 'screenshot' is his image covering the screen. Below his face is one of his quotes: "Wherever smart people work, doors are unlocked."

I get the vibe that I am supposed to think all of the smart people will be using Woz U because "Steve co-founded Apple!"

Anyway...back to work.

Re: Steve Wozniak announces tech education platform Woz U

#22

Post by Rotdhizon »

Unfortunately, this education is no different(or better) than the education you can receive at any of dozens of colleges around the country that teach the exact same thing without the branding hype. Looking through the computer support curriculum, nothing is original or new. It's just the same old thing every other college teaches for the same course. No new spin or intuitive way to teach it.

Re: Steve Wozniak announces tech education platform Woz U

#23

Post by jonwachob91 »

vthallam wrote: post #15
thoughtexprmnt wrote: post #7

No real mention here of what will differentiate this from existing "tech education platforms".

I mean at this point, it's hard to differentiate when you are launching a training school. I think they are like completely banking up on the Woz name to get students and companies use their services.

We are only saying that b/c everyone is now doing the codecadmy/treehouse/codeschool style of training, with a slight twist.

I'd expect if a guy like Woz is jumping behind it, it should be INNOVATIVE. A new method of training that is better than what we have today. Similar to how code school/treehouse/codecademy were innovative 5 years ago.

Re: Steve Wozniak announces tech education platform Woz U

#24

Post by icebraining »

hourislate wrote: post #12

Scott Galloway was saying Apple should take it's war chest and disrupt the educational system. Start an Apple University where the skills required for tomorrows jobs can be acquired. Would be great if you could get Amazon, MS, Apple, facebook, etc on board to start the revolution in education.

You mean, like Facebook University? https://www.facebook.com/careers/university/fbu

Frankly, I have to say I'm skeptical. I don't see what makes them suitable or incentivized to create a real school, rather than a pipeline into their businesses.

Re: Steve Wozniak announces tech education platform Woz U

#28

Post by neurotech1 »

sjroot wrote: post #21

Honestly this seems very "meh." Like others have said, I am getting the vibe that Steve (or some other company) is using the name to attract attention to a very unremarkable product. > Woz U will offer an app to help people understand which field of tech they’re best suited for, so they can set up their curriculum accordingly. If you follow that link, you can see a very (very) poorly-designed application that is buil…

Fair criticism. It's quite possible that Woz considers this a MVP and not the pinnacle of MOOC platforms.

Its also possible that Woz isn't going to be part of the regular faculty, as great as that would be.

IMHO the course structure and content, is more important than the platform code details.

Re: Steve Wozniak announces tech education platform Woz U

#30

Post by sjroot »

neurotech1 wrote: post #28
sjroot wrote: post #21

Honestly this seems very "meh." Like others have said, I am getting the vibe that Steve (or some other company) is using the name to attract attention to a very unremarkable product. > Woz U will offer an app to help people understand which field of tech they’re best suited for, so they can set up their curriculum accordingly. If you follow that link, you can see a very (very) poorly-designed application that is buil…

Fair criticism. It's quite possible that Woz considers this a MVP and not the pinnacle of MOOC platforms. Its also possible that Woz isn't going to be part of the regular faculty, as great as that would be. IMHO the course structure and content, is more important than the platform code details.

I agree with the last point 100%. It seems that this Coder Camps company has experience running different programs in full stack development and data science, so I imagine they know what they're doing.
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