How the CT Mirror hackathon taught me to be a student again

Beyond the panel discussions and individual speakers at last week’s “Small State, Big Debate: Inequality” at the University of Hartford, The Connecticut Mirror held a hackathon with co-sponsor reSET.

The winning team was led by Erin Boggs, director of the Open Communities Alliance, a new non-profit organization based in Hartford. Boggs works with housing counselors who advise clients with publicly-funded rental subsidies on where to look for apartments. Jack Dougherty, an associate professor and director of educational studies at Trinity College, was also part of the winning team and shared the experience on his blog.

“Participating in my first hackathon made me feel like a student again, with all of the positive and negative emotions that come from collaborating with a team, working toward a common goal, and dealing with the consequences of your mistakes in a public competition,” Dougherty writes. “It’s good to feel young again. But the professorial side of me needs to pose a deeper question that we sometimes avoid in these settings. Can a digital tool actually “solve” inequalities?”

Click here for the full post. For additional stories from the event and WSHU in Fairfield, here is coverage of the hackathon and mayoral panel at “Small State, Big Debate.”