- In grace_scheduler, type
q meto be added to the list of students who are seeking help from a TA. - TAs can be found in the Student Resource Center in the far-right corner of the fourth floor.
- Before speaking to a TA, Google your problem and ask your peers (including students who aren't in your cohort) for help.
- Sessions last between 15 and 20 minutes.
Need help with a code problem? Never fear, grace_scheduler is here! This is a channel that allows students and TAs to coordinate their schedules and find a good time to meet and work on whatever's that's tricky that day. TAs (and other students) can be found in the Student Resource Center in the far-right corner on the fourth floor.
Head on over to the grace_scheduler channel, and type:
@gracehopper q me
Our trusty robot friend @gracehopper (a slack bot) will respond to your message by adding you the queue of students who want help. If the queue is short, you'll be seen quickly, but if it's long it may take a bit. Be patient, we won't forget about you! Sessions last between 15-20 minutes, or for however long it takes to move you past whatever obstacle you approached the TA with.
If you'd like to have a better understanding of what @gracehopper can do to help you out, try typing
@gracehopper help
in grace_scheduler.
Hang on there, not so fast! There are a couple things to do before meeting with a TA to make sure that you get the help you need.
First, Google. Seriously, just Google it! If you're not sure what to search, a tried and true starting point is with whatever error you're having. Look at what's going wrong and just type it into the search bar!
For example:
-
When you go to start up your server, something pops up in terminal that says
cannot find module. You've never seen that before, and you haven't the faintest idea where to start looking. Suddenly, inspiration strikes, and you try Googling 'cannot find module.' And voila! The first result suggests that you try runningnpm install. You give it a shot and your problem is solved. -
You're starting to get into this CSS thing you've been hearing so much about, and you were feeling pretty good about it until no matter how hard you try, you just can't get that pesky div to stay centered. So you head on over to your good friend Google and search 'how to center div.' It's pretty clear from the results that this isn't a straightforward thing, but after about twenty minutes of trial and error you start to get the hang of it.
-
A javaScript word problem is asking you to 'map an array', whatever that means. You consider giving up, working on something else for a while, and asking a TA for help. But just when you're typing
q me, you decided to - what the heck- Google 'array map.' You can hardly believe your eyes as page after page of useful resources appear on your screen in the blink of an eye. You finish up the problem and head home for a well-earned night's rest.
One last thing to try. Ask your fellow students! Chances are you've all running into similar problems, so maybe someone has a solution. And if not, two heads are better than one - you can join forces and try to figure it out together.
And don't forget that there are plenty of other students at GA who aren't in your cohort. Just because you don't know them, or they're a couple weeks ahead of you, doesn't mean that you can't ask for help. Many find that teaching other people is an excellent way to learn things better for yourself, even if you're not an expert. So don't be a stranger and ask away! And if someone asks you for a hand, don't brush them off - pay it forward and give them some pointers! Ask questions! Brainstorm with them! Anything to help get those problem solving juices flowing.
Yup! Go on and q yourself. Because every student who uses the resource center has graciously agreed to Google and Ask A Student, the q is pretty quiet and moves pretty fast. Help is on the way!
Great question! The best way to find out is to head on over to the SRC and introduce yourself. We're a pretty friendly bunch so don't be shy!
We love the enthusiasm, but a couple things:
- TAs aren't perfect! We make mistakes too. We'll try our best (and, modesty aside, we're pretty dang good at what we do) but some problems are truly tough to crack. But just because your solution isn't 100% complete doesn't mean it was a waste of time meeting with a TA. We are completely confident in our ability to teach you not what the solution is, but how you go about getting it.
- And on a related note, by no means are we sitting in a room handing out answers. As you'll realize pretty quick, having the right answer is pretty useless if you don't understand it. That's why we go out of our way to lead you down the path of debugging and troubleshooting rather than just dropping you off at your destination. Our sessions are limited to 15-20 minutes not because we don't want to help you more, but because there are others who need help and because although it will be difficult, you'll benefit much more from following our advice and trying things on your own.
Awesome! Swing by the SRC and let us know, or talk to your instructors! We are actively looking to turn the SRC into a highly efficient solutions factory, and we'd love your help to do it.