Written by : Alexander William Saputra (Programming Club Leader)

To be completely frank, our club wasn’t as affected by the pandemic as some other clubs were, especially since it is centered on a subject widely regarded as being somewhat antisocial. We were able to move our activities entirely to Discord (an online chat application) and carry out our activities smoothly over the course of the lockdown. In fact, in the span of just three months, we were able to finish the whole of ‘Python Fundamentals’, allowing us to begin applying our learned concepts by building Discord bots.

Integrating our club with Discord has also resulted in easier communication.  For example, it is possible to simply screenshot one’s code in order to ask for feedback, whereas at school we would have to walk all the way to each others’ tables whenever a question arises. Chat records also allow members who missed sessions to get back on track with the rest of us very easily, and since material is delivered online, there is no longer a need to make separate documents containing all that we discussed — that document writes itself during our discussions.

Overall, even if the pandemic were to last the whole academic year, we’re certain our club can still run smoothly. Lots of things await; new languages, new projects, and new contests.