App Deployment & Security with DigitalOcean & Major League Hacking

Self-sufficiency. Participation. Collaboration. On their own, these terms may seem simple. But when used together, they become something more. These core values are the principles of digital inclusion that promote technical literacy and empower developers to build software that can change the world.

Whether it’s in a classroom, at home, at work, or with friends, learning about technology with a supportive community is not only engaging and interesting, it can be highly rewarding. That’s why we are very excited to announce our new partnership with MLH Localhost – a program that helps students self-organize, while teaching them how to lead workshops with their peers on a variety of technical topics that will help them level-up professionally.

We’ve worked closely with MLH to design a two-hour workshop called App Deployment & Security with DigitalOcean that covers the fundamentals of DevOps, as well as how to run apps and code on a DigitalOcean Droplet. After all, if you’re at a hackathon and build something that only runs locally, how can you encourage others to try it, provide feedback, and collaborate with you?

The Challenge & Lessons: Using Technology to Clean Up Polluted Beaches

Workshop hosts and participants will collaborate and deploy a sample application that helps find beach cleanup days in a given area. By deploying the app, participants will learn how to:

• Create a DigitalOcean Droplet (a virtual server) to host an application
• Install Node.js and npm remotely on a Droplet
• Deploy an app to a Droplet using Git
• Restrict access to an app using a firewall
• Monitor application health and create alerts for app downtime
• Set up load balancing to ensure app availability and help with scaling

By the end of the workshop, attendees will be familiar with fundamental DevOps principles, and will know how to create, monitor, and deploy highly available servers to host their hackathon apps. Students who are new to DigitalOcean will also receive a $50 credit to keep their app running (or to build something new on their own Droplets).

We are really looking forward to hearing about the amazing things that participants and organizers will create after the workshop. We hope you’ll organize or join an MLH Localhost workshop in your area.

Ready to host a workshop of your own?

Visit the DigitalOcean MLH page and fill out the pre-registration form. An MLH Localhost representative will contact you with presentation material and send you assorted stickers and swag from Major League Hacking for your event.

You can register for the workshop here, and share a link to your app or code repo with us on Instagram or Twitter!