TITLE: Help!  Teaching Web Development in 2023
AUTHOR: Eugene Wallingford
DATE: May 19, 2023  2:57 PM
DESC: 
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BODY:
 With the exception of
 <a href="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog/archives/monthly/2020-05.html#e2020-05-14T14_35_15.htm">
    teaching our database course</a>
 during the COVID year, I have been teaching a stable pair of courses
 for the last many semesters: Programming Languages in the spring and
 our compilers course, Translation of Programming Languages, in the
 fall.  That will change this fall due to some issues with enrollments
 and course demands.  I'll be teaching a course in client-side web
 development.

 The official number and title of the course are
 "CS 1100 Web Development: Client-Side Coding".
 The catalog description for the course was written years ago by committee:

 <blockquote><em>
 Client-side web development adhering to current Web standards.  Includes
 by-hand web page development involving basic HTML, CSS, data acquisition
 using forms, and JavaScript for data validation and simple web-based
 tools.
 </em></blockquote>

 As you might guess from the 1000-level number, this is an introductory
 course suitable for even first-year students.  Learning to use HTML,
 CSS, and Javascript effectively is the focal point.  It was designed as
 a service course for non-majors, with the primary audience these days
 being students in
 <a href="https://chas.uni.edu/cm/majors/interactive-digital-studies-major">
    our Interactive Digital Studies program</a>.
 Students in that program learn some HTML and CSS in another course, but
 that course is not a prerequisite to ours.  A few students will come in
 with a little HTML5+CSS3 experience, but not all.

 So that's where I am.  As I mentioned, this is one of my first courses
 to design from scratch in a long time.  Other than Database Systems, we
 have to go back to
 <a href="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog/archives/monthly/2009-12.html#e2009-12-22T14_57_45.htm">
    Software Engineering</a>
 in 2009.  Starting from scratch is fun but can be daunting, especially
 in a course outside my core competency of hard-core computer science.

 The really big change, though, was mentioned two paragraphs ago:
 non-majors.  I don't think I've taught non-majors since teaching my
 university's capstone 21 years ago -- so long ago that this blog did
 not yet exist.  I haven't taught a non-majors' programming course in
 even longer, 25 years or more, when I last taught BASIC.  That is so
 long ago that their was no "Visual" in the language name!

 So: new area, new content, new target audience.  I have a lot of work
 to do this summer.

 I could use some advice from those of you who do web development for
 a living, who know someone who does, or who are more up to date on
 the field than I.

 Generally, what should a course with this title and catalog description
 be teaching to beginners in 2023?

 Specifically, can you point me toward...
 <ul>
 <li> similar courses with material online that I could learn from?  <li>
 <li> resources for students to use as they learn: websites, videos,
      even books?  </li>
 </ul>

 For example, a former student and now friend mentioned that the
 w3schools website includes a JavaScript tutorial which allows students
 to type and test code within the web browser.  That might simplify
 practice greatly for non-CS students while they are learning other
 development tools.

 I have so many questions to answer about tools in particular right now:
 Should we use an IDE or a simple text editor?  Which one?  Should we
 learn raw JavaScript or a simple framework?  If a framework, which one?

 This isn't a job-training course, but to the extent that's reasonable
 I would like for students to see a reasonable facsimile of what they
 might encounter out in industry.

 Thinking back, I guess I'm glad now that I
 <a href="https://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog/archives/monthly/2022-01.html#e2022-01-13T14_02_09.htm">
    decided to play some around with JavaScript</a>
 in 2022...  At least I now have more context for evaluatins the options
 available for this course.

 If you have any thoughts or suggestions, please do send them along.
 <a href="mailto:wallingf@cs.uni.edu">
    Sending email</a>
 or replying on
 <a href="https://mastodon.social/@wallingf/110397544547007617">
    Mastodon</a>
 or
 <a href="https://twitter.com/wallingf/status/1659678059476205568">
    Twitter</a>
 all work.  I'll keep you posted on what I learn.
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