Learning JavaScript part II
Nov. 24th, 2012 12:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
carene_watermanSo I found a post somewhere that suggested a way to learn JavaScript on the web, so I'm following the advice. First was codeacademy, which I talked about last post.
I've finished the main course track there and done a few extra courses to review some concepts. The extra courses are a bit hidden, and the main course track gets a little rutted near the end--they teach you objects in a rapid fire method in one lesson that left me baffled and then (with a course author change) backtrack and do it very slowly and in great detail.
I would still recommend the site, but would suggest that when you get to the point where it stops making much sense, you switch to another source for a new perspective.
That new perspective comes handily from appento.com which is a company that put up their own JavaScript/JQuery course because they were frustrated with their own employees' lack of skillset.
The course is pitched to people with some knowledge of coding, just not in JS. Don't jump in if you're a complete novice.
The format is totally different from codeacademy, and is not interactive. There are screencasts (~40 min each for 101, 102, 103) with audio only instruction. No captions, no transcripts. The text quality on the video can be problematic and the player can be embedded or full screen, no in between.
The way the videos are linked is brilliant. There's a flowchart onscreen that lets you do the lessons within each section in an order that suits you, but gives you some guidance.
In the middle of JS 103, they start bringing in JQuery concepts and it gets to be a bit of slog if you're not interested in that. They have JQ sections that you can switch to, get up to speed and then go back, but I decided to stop when it stopped making sense, which was in the middle of the last JS lesson.
Next up is Eloquent JavaScript by Marijn Haverbeke which is an HTML book with built in console. It's truly eloquent and elegant, a real innovation in teaching technique done by a guy who gets what the internet can do.
I've finished the main course track there and done a few extra courses to review some concepts. The extra courses are a bit hidden, and the main course track gets a little rutted near the end--they teach you objects in a rapid fire method in one lesson that left me baffled and then (with a course author change) backtrack and do it very slowly and in great detail.
I would still recommend the site, but would suggest that when you get to the point where it stops making much sense, you switch to another source for a new perspective.
That new perspective comes handily from appento.com which is a company that put up their own JavaScript/JQuery course because they were frustrated with their own employees' lack of skillset.
The course is pitched to people with some knowledge of coding, just not in JS. Don't jump in if you're a complete novice.
The format is totally different from codeacademy, and is not interactive. There are screencasts (~40 min each for 101, 102, 103) with audio only instruction. No captions, no transcripts. The text quality on the video can be problematic and the player can be embedded or full screen, no in between.
The way the videos are linked is brilliant. There's a flowchart onscreen that lets you do the lessons within each section in an order that suits you, but gives you some guidance.
In the middle of JS 103, they start bringing in JQuery concepts and it gets to be a bit of slog if you're not interested in that. They have JQ sections that you can switch to, get up to speed and then go back, but I decided to stop when it stopped making sense, which was in the middle of the last JS lesson.
Next up is Eloquent JavaScript by Marijn Haverbeke which is an HTML book with built in console. It's truly eloquent and elegant, a real innovation in teaching technique done by a guy who gets what the internet can do.
