I have taken several workshops with Jaime over the past year, including her informal class with UT…read moreand the short-story and novel-writing workshops. Jaime is an incredible teacher who does a fantastic job of explaining writing concepts in a concrete way that is understandable and learnable. The best part of the workshops is the supportive environment that she fosters, both for getting motivation to write and for giving and receiving invaluable feedback on writing. I would highly recommend Jaime's workshops to anyone who is interested in learning about writing and improving as a writer.

From the owner: I offer a unique six-month coaching program called The Writer's Transformation Project, which…read moretransforms your relationship to writing and helps you embrace and achieve your writing dreams.

Austin Free-Net (or AFN) is a nonprofit where you can really get to know your community!…read more The center provides computers and digital literacy classes to the underserved, as well as an IT program. There are a number of labs around the city in community centers, the M Station, Trinity, and the ARCH, to name a few. The staff at AFN are amazing!!! They really want you to come in and help them in the way that YOU want to contribute, unlike other volunteer gigs. As a trainer, I supervised labs, taught basic computer navigation skills and helped clients complete resumes, search for jobs and other resources, and apply for state benefits. In the office, I did research, put together events and public relations campaigns, and edited class curriculum. I also lent my hand in the IT dungeon, where all the nerds hang out. I would definitely recommend AFN as a place to volunteer. As the saying goes, if teach a man to use the computer, then he can use it to get a job. Here, you can actually do that.

From the owner: Austin Free-Net is a non-profit formed in 1995 to ensure that the power of computers and the…read moreInternet is accessible by all in the Greater Austin community. We help to empower people to find meaningful employment, obtain resources and take control of their lives. We teach basic computer skills to bolster the workforce.

I had joined the 2nd cohort at MakerSquare in fall of 2013. Prior to MakerSquare, I had tried…read morelearning Ruby and JS on my own, through countless books and online tutorials. Having completed a few guides, I realized that my ability to learn "how to code" was hindered simply by my style of learning. I love interactive q/a style learning, which is what led me to MakerSquare. Of the different programs out there, the one thing I would urge others to consider is that they place a heavy amount of weight onto prework completed (how much work you've done ahead of time) and community-fit. If you're a solo worker and not a fan of collaborative environments, you may want to consider other programs. Anyways, long story short, I would whole heartedly recommend this program. As classmates, I had former programmers, retail store workers, a professional photographer and even a former elementary teacher. Out of the program, each of the students were working as professional front-end engineers (junior developers) within weeks of graduating. So safe to say, MakerSquare has a great professional network, and they know how to teach code. The classroom environment (the location on Congress ave) was a bit cramped at times. But from what I've heard the class size is now capped at 18, vs. 30 or so when I went through. All the 'issues' I had (space constraints, less than ideal student:instructor ratio, and focus on advanced concepts (algorithms and data structures) has been completely addressed. According to the staff, Cohort 5 is operating on an almost night/day difference of curriculum than what I had. So not only do I give the program 5 stars, I would (and likely will) retake the course to take advantage of their newest curriculum.

In short, I'm very happy! Though I'm not programming on a daily basis, I was able to get into the…read moreSt. Louis startup scene which was my main goal before enrolling at MakerSquare. I've also built a really awesome network of programmers and startup gurus in St. Louis and I believe that's thanks to MakerSquare! :-) I joined in Winter 2013-2014 (Cohort 3 Represent!). My reason for joining originally was not initially to become a software/web developer. Rather, I wanted to be able to communicate better with programmers that I worked with. I wanted to gain better access to the startup network. And most importantly I have a lot of ideas that I wanted to explore on my own - I didn't want to have to rely on finding a developer to build my ideas and turn them into a reality. I came out of the program having learned web-development with a strong emphasis on solid software development skills. Here's what I loved about MakerSquare: Curriculum: I was impressed by how much I learned. I literally had no experience in programming and I can now build web applications that ACTUALLY work. Not just simple interactive sites, but fully dynamic applications that work heavily with javascript on top of a rails framework. Moreover, all of this was taught with a very clear emphasis on test driven development (from the beginning) and solid software development principles. Instructors & Culture: They actually cared about the students and our progress and they were just all-around cool people. The culture at MakerSquare was actually a huge focus in the organization. I think what I loved most was learning how to learn all over again. I gained a new confidence that I've never had. The energy was also great, everyone had awesome ideas - from students to staff. Feedback: I would have liked to have more experience with Ruby and really learning how to code w/algorithms and such vs. w/Rails which is just teaching you the framework. From what I gather, Rails is now being treated as a detail vs. a core of what we learned. When we learned rails, it was about utilizing the framework for its ActiveRecord and quick-to-web functionality. MakerSquare still teaches web development (rails/mvc, http, javascript, etc) but now only after teaching other concepts that are applicable not just to the web, but to all software (test-driven development, SOLID principles, application boundaries, decoupling, databases, interfaces, software architecture, etc). I would have loved a deeper problem-solving skillset through exposure to algorithms. Looks like I was one cohort shy of that. MakerSquare now integrates algorithms and algorithmic thinking from day 1. Finally, MakerSquare was split into two nearby locations (Congress & Brazos). The extra space was nice, but it felt disconnected and I think it kept our cohort from being as close as some other cohorts have been.

Sitting with this community in person or online in their "cloud zendo" nurtures my practice and…read moreconnections to others. The sangha welcomed our new Senior Teacher, Nathan Smalley who received dharma transmission ( Nov. 2025.) He joins Peg Syverson and Flint Sparks in leading us to "grow up and wake up to life as it is." With a warm bow of appreciation to those curious about this path, BB

When you are through with booze, drugs, and other noisy distractions, this place will help you…read more find the safety in side yourself. Best Wishes Ted Cleaves MD

I completed the UT CELTA program in 2015 before moving to Spain. I found the program very…read morebeneficial in preparing me for the challenges of teaching English as a foreign language. I had no idea at the time how challenging and different the process is from other class room activities. I have taught technical classes in networking and video technologies over the past several years and thought that experience would have adequately prepared me for teaching English AFL but discovered the process is completely different. The UT CELTA program provides the tools to teach where a common language is missing. This can be frustrating for both the student and the teacher and having a toolset to bridge the missing and most common form of communication, speech, addresses and prepares the instructor for the specific challenges of teaching a foreign language.

It was absolutely a great chance for me to take CELTA at UT Austin. I enjoyed and learned a lot…read morefrom this course. The tutors were so supportive and helpful and I benefited a lot from their great feedbacks. The best part of CELTA was learning to manage my time more efficiently and making lesson plans in a very organized way. The UT CELTA provided me great job opportunities in Japan where I could apply the strengths and skills I gained in this program.

I just completed an Excel class here and was pleasantly surprised by the experience. The instructor…read morewas terrific as he led the class through all exercises for 8 hours. The facilities are first rate with easy parking, clean restrooms, and a nice break room with beverages, vending machines and a fridge for those who want to bring their lunch. I plan on taking other MS Office classes here and look forward to learning more.

I just completed an Excel 2007 Level 2 course at New Horizons. My employer does all computer…read moretraining with New Horizons so I was not exactly shopping around with training. The account manager working with my company was very friendly, even when I had to change my course date twice. I took what they call an Online Live course where the instructor was actually in New York and myself and the other students were at computer workstation at various New Horizons locations. I honestly wasn't thrilled with this setup because I had imagined being in a classroom with other students and an instructor that was physically there. The workstations had two monitors, one to display the instructors screen and one for my own Excel practice. Students can virtually raise their hand and type questions to the instructor, which many of us did. I actually ended up enjoying this setup because I was able to focus without a room full of people but also sneak a peek at my work email a few times. The instructor was terrific and tried to relate the course to how we could use these new skills in our jobs. I was fully prepared for 8 hours of boredom but now I want to take Level 3 in the future. My one complaint is that the headphones provided are uncomfortable. My ears hurt and I had a terrible headache by the lunch break. After lunch I figured out a way to put them on my face right in front of my ears with the volume turned to max and be able to hear without pain (and luckily no one was in the room to see this.) Bring your own headphones! Also, the classes have a course book but they didn't have a paper one to give me like they normally do. I got an access code for the online book but I'd rather have a paper copy for easy reference. In the course evaluation I asked to get one. If I get this I'll be thrilled and probably increase this to 5 stars!