How do you apply to be a Django Girls coach?

To become a Django Girls coach all you need to do is:

• go to the djangogirls.org page and look for an event you can help with
• fill in the coach application form on the event website

Alternatively you can drop us a line at hello@djangogirls.org and ask about upcoming events.

Most of our workshops are done in English, so we expect you to speak it fluently. However, it is possible that some local events will be done in other languages - you should ask the individual event organizers about it (use the specific email address that you’ll find on each event page).

How much time will you need to spend to be a coach?

Django Girls is designed to be a one-day workshop. However, sometimes the event could take two days, or there may be a shorter installation event the evening before. Apart from time you will spend actually coaching, there are a number of things you need to consider, which will take some of your time:

• Getting to know your group - we encourage to say hi and meet with your group before the workshop. This could involve writing an e-mail to introduce yourself, and possibly a chat via hangout or Skype with all the people in your group (~1-2 hours).
• Helping out with installation before the workshops - either done via Skype/Google hangout/e-mails or a day before the workshop. You will need 3+ hours for that.
• For some Django Girls events there may be pre- or post-workshop meetups (~1-3h).

Tutorial

During Django Girls events we use a tutorial that was written specifically for these workshops. You can find it here: http://tutorial.djangogirls.org/

During the course of the workshop, you should be able to accomplish the whole tutorial in 7-8 hours. The tutorial involves writing a complete blog application in Django and deploying it to PythonAnywhere.

The tutorial covers:

• A simple explanation of how the Internet works.
• Installation of Python, Django etc. (Note that we are using Python 3!)
• Creating a Django app.
• Django models, views, urls and templates.
• Basics of HTML and CSS.
• Using Bootstrap and Google Fonts.
• Deploying on PythonAnywhere.

Pre-workshop installation

There is a lot to learn in the tutorial! Attendees will have more time to learn at the workshop if they come with everything they need already installed. Most Django Girls events include a pre-workshop meetup in the evening or day(s) beforehand, where you can help your group with installation and check that their system is ready to go. This could be in person or by Skype/Google hangout etc.

We recommend pointing attendees at the Installation chapter prior to the workshop, this takes them through some basic setup steps and some introductory material. It is of course fine to discuss the material and answer any questions they have, but we want them to be able to start coding right away!

Our approach

The tutorial is completely beginner-friendly. Attendees literally don’t have to know how the internet works - we will explain it all!

We avoid technical terms and we don’t assume that attendees know anything already. We explain everything with real life examples and always try to explain the bigger picture.

At times, the material might seem unnecessarily convoluted to you, as if we are going through extra hoops to get to the final result. That is deliberate — we believe this will achieve the best results. Let attendees explore the material and understand it on their own.

The tutorial is designed to expose attendees to as many Django errors as possible. It is very important for us to show that dealing with errors is a part of being a programmer. When they go back home, they should be able to find the solution to error messages on their own.

As much as possible, we want our coaches to follow some guidelines, described in next sections.