[p2pu-webcraft] Javascript - old to new

[Parag Shah]

The competencies listed in the WASP curriculum are indeed very
comprehensive... This is what I would include for a Javascript 101 course

   - Introduction to Javascript data types
   - String handling
   - Number
   - boolean along with an explanation of truthy and falsy
   - Conversions from String to Number
   - arrays
   - objects
   - functions
   - scope
   - concept of closures
   - Accessing elements in the DOM
   - Manipulating elements in the DOM

>From what I learned facilitating Javascript 101, this content would be just
appropriate for a 6 week 101 level course. Things beyond this should go into
201, 301...

A few things I learned last semester:

   1. Participants require a huge amount of clarity and definite
   instructions... anything which is vague and open ended confuses a lot of
   participants.
   2. Every week must have clearly cut out study material, activities, and
   expectations
   3. Many of those who register for a 101 level course have not yet
   immersed themselves into programming, so putting advanced concepts would
   detract from the value they get
   4. The badge challenges were good, but they were too focussed
   on manipulating the DOM. They totally lacked any activities on basic
   Javascript concepts (arrays, data types, objects, closures, functions,
   scope....)

There are many other things I learned about what works and what does not,
but they are more general in nature. I will probably start another thread
for that.


-- 
Thanks & Regards
Parag Shah
http://blog.adaptivesoftware.biz


On Wed, Apr 27, 2011 at 6:10 PM, Pippa Buchanan <Pippa.Buchanan at gmail.com>wrote:

> Videos
>
>    - Videos are  a great idea. But shall we identify where there's
>    existing (video) content that suits our needs first?  I'd also really like
>    for the Web Made Movies features to be incorporated into any SoW videos.
>
> General Javascript
>
>    - As we've got existing badge challenges for Javascript ( Basics and
>    Expert) let's make sure they're supported by the activities in this group
>    - http://badges.p2pu.org/questions/1/javascript-basic-badge-challenge
>       -
>       http://badges.p2pu.org/questions/2/javascript-expert-badge-challenge
>    - There's also a very thorough list of competencies at the WaSP
>    Interact Curriculum. Where possible we should refer to this list as a core
>    and use it to curate more peer-friendly activities and content.
>       -
>       http://interact.webstandards.org/curriculum/front-end-development/dom-scripting-1?comp
>    - In January we started a similar discussion - let's continue to use
>    this Etherpad for keeping track of this thread
>    http://pad.p2pu.org/webcraftJavaScriptCourseDesigns
>    - It would be great to have a call to discuss this further. Maya and
>    Parag, which time zones are you in and can you join a call on either skype
>    or the P2PU conference line?
>
> Pippa
>
>
> On 27 April 2011 14:10, Parag Shah <adaptives at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Starting a separate thread for this ...
>>
>> Perhaps we should start with a list of competencies, and activities...
>> then identify study material for each competency.
>>
>> I think we should also make some high quality Javascript videos as a
>> collaborative effort. I have some thoughts on what kind of videos will make
>> good study material. Some highlights...
>>
>> 1. Each video is short and specific - 5 - 10 mins. Anything more than that
>> will lose the student's attention
>> 2. Conversational (a simulated dialog between 2 or more people with an
>> intention to help someone learn)
>> 3. Use of images/slides in the background (the video should show
>> images/slides in the background which are relevant to what is being
>> discussed)
>>
>> --
>> Thanks & Regards
>> Parag Shah
>> http://blog.adaptivesoftware.biz
>> http://www.diycomputerscience.com
>>
>> On Tue, Apr 26, 2011 at 6:31 PM, Pippa Buchanan <Pippa.Buchanan at gmail.com
>> > wrote:
>>
>>> [Whoops! Sorry I wanted to add more to this email before it sent...]
>>>
>>> Parag and Maya - we should work out how to transition the existing
>>> Javascript 101 course from the old P2PU site and to use it as the basis for
>>> the ongoing study group within the new format. Let's talk about that on a
>>> more specific thread though.
>>>  P*
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
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>>
>
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