Educative Answers + Google Developer Group Tech Writing Workshop
What is GDG? #
Google Developer Groups are local communities that enable developers and technologists to connect. GDG provides resources and programs to its members to learn about a range of technical concepts and acquire new skills to advance in their careers.
As a professional networking group, GDG runs programs such as workshops, events, talks, meetups, and more across the globe. GDG is open to developers at any point in their careers to join. Educative Answers partnered with GDG in March 2023 to help developers hone their writing skills and learn about technical writing. Over the course of 4-weeks, developers from Google Developer Groups in St. John’s, Capital Region, Houston, Sun Coast, Oahu, and San Jose joined Educative’s Technical Writing Workshop to create expertly crafted technical articles across a variety of topics.
At the end of the workshop, 3 winners were chosen based on the highest number of views on their published Answers. We had the pleasure of getting to sit down and meet with each winner to hear their journey and share their stories with Educative’s community.
Meet Vishal Pallerla: Developer Advocate at DevZero#
Vishal’s fascination with computers began at a young age when he started tinkering with computers to try and figure out how they worked. This early interest in computers led him to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering. During his studies, he loved seeing code evolve into actual projects and applications.
Q: How did you learn to code?
While in University, I was part of different labs and clubs, such as Emerging Computers Arena and the robotics club. After a few years of attending these clubs, I went on to lead them. As a club lead, I taught different technologies such as HTML5, CSS, JavaScript, and Android Development to students who had just joined their programs.
Outside of school, I used online resources to learn about the different kinds of projects I could build. This led me to build an Android project during my Bachelor’s.
The Google Students Club was a great resource because I was introduced to hackathons and more community events such as study jams. This club made a major impact on me because I got to learn things that I wasn’t being taught in the programs at school. I felt that the things I learned in the Google Student Club were more applicable for landing jobs because we worked on web development technologies.
Q: Did anyone in particular help you along the way?
There wasn’t any one person in particular, but getting involved in these clubs got me to where I am today. I learned a lot while leading these clubs. When you are a leader, you also learn more about yourself – you have to research a topic and feel confident enough to teach someone else.
Q: What is your current role?
I am a Developer Advocate at DevZero. As a part of developer relations work, I write content, build communities, and do marketing for developers. I have been in this role for about 2 years and I am enjoying it a lot. I started my career as a developer but moved to a Developer Advocate role because I wanted to work more with the developer community to help build engaging programs.
When I was studying for my Master's degree, I wanted to get involved with more clubs as I had during my Bachelor's degree. When I started working as a Software Developer, I started looking into communities like Google Student Club and Google Developer Group. I found a GDG group based in Houston that was inactive, so I reached out to the organizing team and asked if I could restart it. From there, I began working as a Software Developer while also doing this community work. But I liked the community work more than my full-time job, so I figured I should try to find ways to get paid and do it full-time and that's how I landed a role in DevRel.
Q: What interested you in participating in the technical writing workshop?
When I first started as a Developer Advocate I worked with an API-based company writing tutorials and leading some community events. When I started my current role at DevZero, I had to start writing blogs. This felt different from writing the API tutorials because those were more technical and less difficult, but blogs were more challenging. While writing blogs, I was trying to juggle making them easy to understand but still technical enough to engage developers. Shortly after, I met Celeste and learned about the Educative Technical Writing Workshops. I thought it was a perfect opportunity to advance my writing skills.
Q: What were some of your main takeaways from the workshop?
I liked the review process. The orientation helped me understand what type of content we should be including and how to structure the flow of that content. I also really enjoyed learning about accessible SEO best practices. It definitely improved my understanding of what accessibility actually means and how important it is to make sure writing is accessible to everyone.
I also really enjoyed that there are two reviews, the initial one being more technical and the second focusing more on proofreading edits. Educative Answers is a great platform to write, but it is also a great platform to improve one’s writing skills, which other platforms lack. I think it's a win-win situation for both writers and readers.
Q: Do you personally enjoy technical writing?
Initially, it was a necessity, but now I like writing. When I first got involved in Developer Relations, I liked working with communities and hosting hackathons. To do this, I would consume a lot of written content by other people, but I didn’t contribute much myself.
But shortly after starting my role at DevZero, I needed to write more and create my own content. I began to like writing because I realized that writing leaves a digital footprint where I can see what I have contributed. This is important because if I develop a web application, no one will know that I created it unless I write about it. It's kind of like a legacy.
Q: Do you think writing skills are beneficial for developers?
100%. As developers, we need to make sure our code is readable and understandable for other developers who continue to work on our code later. This includes writing comments and also writing documentation for code, whether that is internal or external. In an increasingly digital world, technical writing is one of the most necessary skills that we need to have.
Q: What do you hope to accomplish with coding?
When I worked as a Software Developer, I had some ideas to build applications and create my own startup. But since switching to developer relations, I want to use coding to make my work easier. I want to utilize coding to help developers understand topics better and use those tools.
Q: Do you have any advice for someone who is interested in getting into coding?
If someone is coming from a non-traditional background, there are lots of online resources. My advice would be to start with something and don't wait too long trying to figure out what tools to utilize. Also, utilize platforms that allow you to actually practice coding while learning. That’s why I like Educative because when you are taking a course, you can learn in parallel. The courses give you a template to start with and then you can edit those templates. This approach to hands-on learning is always helpful for beginners to understand.
I would recommend documenting what you are learning and sharing it with your community. Because you are not the only person facing issues or learning something. So working together with a community helps a lot.
There are lots of different roles in tech; it's not just software developers. Most people think of becoming a software developer, but there are tons of different paths. Non-coding roles such as data analyst roles or technical writing are also very helpful for people who come from non-traditional backgrounds.
Read his Answer, What are Cloud Functions for Firebase?
Meet Suwaibat Suleiman: Microbiologist turned coder#
Suwaibat’s journey into coding came unexpectedly. In 2022 the universities in Nigeria went on strike to protest the lack of wages for professors and university staff. At the time, Suwaibat was in her 4th year studying Microbiology when classes halted for 8 months. During this time, she and a friend were talking about what they wanted to do with their lives when he brought up programming. At first, Suwaibat didn’t think programming was something she could do because she had mostly seen men as programmers. Shortly after this, her sister also encouraged her to look into a program.
Q: How are you juggling studying Microbiology and coding?
Well, I am in my 4th year at university studying Microbiology and I learn to code as a hobby in my free time. I didn’t start getting into coding until my 4th year, if I had earlier I would have gone straight into computer science.
Q: What tools do you use to learn to code?
I started coding last August with African Leadership ALX which is a coding school with pubs across Africa. They are mostly located in Rwanda and Kenya, but they also offer remote programs such as the one I took. It is a bootcamp I began last August. I had to pause at one point though because school got so hectic, but I plan to resume once school slows down.
Q: What topics did you learn during this bootcamp?
We first started with Version Control with Git. Then, we went into low-level programming and slowly moved into higher-level programming. Right now my cohort is learning to use Python.The bootcamp essentially goes through the whole range of full-stack software engineering.
Q: Has anyone helped you along the way as you learn to code?
A ton of people have helped me! I met a few people in the program and made some new friends who were very willing to help out. I also find communities on Twitter to be very interesting.
I was also gifted an Educative subscription from Adora Nwodo as part of her partnership with Educative Answers for the Educative Technical Writing Workshop in Nigeria. She had posted on her socials asking people to share their stories and she would give out gift subscriptions to Educative. So I told her all about my story and learning to code and she gifted me one! It's been really exciting. I try to merge the courses alongside the problems I encounter in my software engineering program. Through Educative, I have learned about C and Python. I am hoping to do some more courses once I finish school and have more time.
Q: Do you think you will pursue Microbiology or coding as a career path once you graduate?
Well, my interests are moving towards biotechnology. But at the same time, I am skeptical because I just got into computer science. Recently contributed to a Bioconductor organization where I curate research articles that have to do with microbiome studies.
I am still testing the waters to see where I want to go from here. For now, I just want to learn the fundamentals of programming and software engineering.
Q: What interested you about participating in the Technical Writing Workshop?
I am connected to this software engineer who is very interested in technical articles. I read some of his articles and I found them so useful and easy to understand. This piqued my interest because I wanted to learn how to write this well and communicate better.
Q: What were some of your main takeaways from this workshop?
My biggest takeaway from the workshop was to be very specific about my audience. Understanding your audience is so important because you can’t just write for yourself, you have to write so others will understand. Hearing the feedback from the review teams was also really great.
Q: Do you enjoy technical writing?
I do really enjoy technical writing because it helps me dive into something and go deeper. When I learn something new, I don’t want to just write for myself, I want to write for other people as well. I like the process of breaking down the concept and focusing on communication. I want to develop this skill more.
I think technical writing is an important skill for developers to have because it connects you to whoever you are talking to. You should be able to communicate about technical topics or projects to share knowledge.
Q: What is something you hope to accomplish with coding?
Right now, I don’t have a strong idea of the future, I am just really exploring and seeing what other people are doing in tech. Over time, I think I will have more specific goals, but for now, I like learning about algorithms and data structures. I would also like to get better at systems programming. My interests may change in a few months because there is a lot out there. But for now, I am happy learning about low-level languages and concepts.
Q: Do you have any advice for someone who is interested in learning to code?
You can start anywhere! It's not going to be easy and you need to have a growth mindset about everything you are learning. A growth mindset is the most important approach.
Read her Answer, What is auto-vectorization?
Meet Richard Orido: Chief Creative Officer#
Richard Orido recently started a new role as the Chief Creative Officer at Showcase. This community-based role focuses on building developer platforms where developers can meet, chat, and learn. Richard took me through his journey in tech which brought him to his current role.
Q: Congratulations on placing in the Technical Writing Workshop! Did you enjoy your experience?
Thank you! Yes, I did. I have self-published before, but going through the editorial process was really valuable. It helped me tighten up my writing, be more concise, and improve my grammar.
Q: How did you first get into coding?
I’ve always been fascinated by tech and software. I decided to start on frontend with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. I used tutorials on Free Code Camp and then built up from there. After doing some tutorials, I did projects that included building some simple websites. After this, I did a Google scholarship program that trained me to be an associate cloud engineer. I passed this training and became an A cloud engineer. This helped me then get a short internship to work with a German startup. While doing this internship I learned more programming languages, backend engineering, blockchain, and data science. It was a wide range of skills!
I also did a blockchain hackathon focused in Africa called Encode Club. It was mainly around Solidity which helped me develop a deep interest in blockchain during this time. I also did another hackathon by Absa, also focused in Africa.
Q: Have hackathons been useful to you while learning to code?
Yes, because they really test you. You have to learn things very quickly but you also get to work with other people. I love building things and learning from other people so hackathons have been great for me.
Q: Did anyone help you along the way?
I have had a lot of people help me. The first person was my mentor during the Associate Cloud Engineering program with the Google African Scholarship. The second person was a friend of mine who is a senior engineer with a startup here in Africa called Blue. He specializes in frontend engineering and he helped me structure my code and improve my problem-solving skills. Sometimes I can be quick to just start coding, but he introduced me to
At the German company I worked for, the CTO helped expose me to industry standards and best practices. For example, he showed me the languages that most startups and enterprises use. He also helped push me and taught me how to learn things quickly. As a software engineer, you may not always have time to learn something, so it can be useful to figure out how to learn quickly.
Q: What is your current role?
I actually just landed a new role in community building for a company called Showcase. The role is Chief Creative Officer which focuses on building focused platforms where developers can come, connect, find jobs, and share their work. I am excited to be one of the community builders here in Africa. Due to my range of technical knowledge and expertise, I can relate to a wide range of learners from frontend, backend, blockchain, or data science. The tech ecosystem is so wide, it is not just software engineers, so having this range of skills makes me a good fit for a community role.
Q: Do you enjoy community building roles?
Yes, because I have learned that the easiest way to upskill yourself in tech is to be in a community. This is just as important as self-learning. When you are in a community, there is so much knowledge that people have, that it serves as a shortcut to learn something cool or be pointed in the right direction. When people create articles or blogs, you have easy access to these to learn more. There are also a lot of job opportunities that get shared in communities.
Q: Why were you interested in participating in the Technical Writing Workshop?
I learned from a friend of mine that there are very good opportunities in technical writing. For starters, it can upskill your profile as a developer and establish you as a thought leader. You can also make good money through writing. So, when I saw the opportunity to join the Educative Technical Writing Workshop, I signed up. I thought it was amazing that the workshop has a full schedule. The editorial process was the biggest selling point for me because I wanted to make sure that my Answer was accurate, relevant, and engaging.
Q: What were your main takeaways from this workshop?
The biggest takeaway for me was research because this was the first step. You really have to know what you are talking about. Another thing I learned was to make sure everything is grammatically correct. Sometimes what we think sounds correct, isn't actually grammatically correct. Another challenge was shortening sentences and being direct.
The last big takeaway was focusing on the audience. The audience is key because they are who you are writing for. So I had to remind myself that the objective of the workshop was writing for beginners so that anyone can learn.
Q: Do you think it is important for developers to have strong writing skills?
Definitely, it challenges you to think critically and break stuff down. Sometimes, you assume other people know what you are talking about when they might not. This was something I learned along the way because I would stop and ask myself “Would a beginner understand this?" I think it makes me a better teammate and colleague. It's also important so that you can document your work and progress. For example, right now I am learning OOP as a critical programming paradigm that developers need to have. I'm thinking of creating content around that so that I have a reference for myself in the future.
Q: What is something that you aspire to accomplish with coding?
In terms of my career, I would like to work towards being a senior engineer. Then I would eventually like to build my own startup to work on projects that solve problems here in Africa. I think engineering can play a big role in bridging some of the gaps in healthcare or education. Technology can help make a lot of processing easier and more accessible. That is my long-term goal. My short-term goal is to upskill myself so that I can dive into these larger projects.
Q: Do you have any advice for someone who is new to coding?
First of all, start where you are. Don’t be intimidated by what other people are doing and just start with whatever resources you have available. Second, don’t compare yourself with senior people. Your journey is your journey; just take it one day at a time. Third, seek out programs and bootcamps. As much as self-learning is important, being in a community with other developers and mentors makes a huge difference.
Read his Answer, How to create an automatic slideshow with HTML, CSS, and JS
Take a look at their winning Answers!#
If you would like to read the entire article, click on the links below:
What are Cloud Functions for Firebase? by Vishal Pallerla
What is auto-vectorization? by Suwaibat Suleiman
How to create an automatic slideshow with HTML, CSS, and JS by Richard Orido
Come write on Answers#
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