The hybrid coding workshop at Texas State taught by Cindy Royal is an exemplary model of how coding and computer science should be taught for novices.
The videos by Royal that accompanied every lesson were concise and easily digestable. In a course like computer science, palatability is paramount for “beginner” students and rather than being too intimidating, Cindy’s course welcomes the inexperienced.
The best lesson we had (in my opinion) was that over using forms. Forms are pretty fun to make and toggle with whenever you’re coding and getting to see all of those radio buttons and objects respond to your changes makes me happy in the heart for some odd reason.
It’s great that our industry is incorporating more data tools and new-media-centered projects to show stories. With publications like The New York Times, and ProPublica leading the way using new media, the need for digital coding skills and even “undiscovered” skills will become paramount.
With everything taken into account, the coding workshop is an awesome class that students should consider taking in the future if they don’t know coding or want to brush up on Javascript, it’s worth using a Saturday.