030 JSJ Learning & Teaching JavaScript with Noel Rappin

Listen to the full episode here:

Panel

Noel Rappin (twitter github blog)
Jamison Dance (twitter github blog)
Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Intro to CoffeeScript)
AJ O’Neal (twitter github blog)

Discussion
00:52 - Works in training and talent development for Groupon

00:56 - Author of Rails Test Prescriptions and upcoming Master Space and Time with JavaScript

01:21 - Writing a book about JavaScript

02:33 - Focus of the book

Part 1: Jasmine and jQuery and the JavaScript Object Model
Part 2: Extended examples of jQuery
Part 3: Backbone
Part 4: Ember

03:46 - Self-published authors

05:15 - Approaches and mindsets to learning JavaScript

06:04 - “Gotchas!” and bad features in Javascript

09:17 - Modeling JavaScript for beginners

11:23 - (AJ joins the podcast)

11:42 - Resources/Classes for learning JavaScript

Good Parts Book: Douglas Crockford
JavaScript Patterns: Stoyan Stefanov
Eloquent JavaScript: A Modern Introduction to Programming: Marijn Haverbeke
Maintainable JavaScript: Nicholas C. Zakas

13:54 - Hiring people with JavaScript experience at Groupon

15:12 - Training workshops

17:00 - Getting new hires up to speed quickly

Pairing
Mentoring
Lectures
Workshops

21:38 - Book Learning

You can learn at your own pace
But it’s hard to ask questions to a book

22:51 - How Noel gained expertise in JavaScript

24:38 - Code reading and learning to program a language

26:18 - Teaching people JavaScript as their very first language

31:55 - Classroom layout

33:42 - Online training


Kahn Academy Computer Science

Code Academy

Starter League

40:00 - Finding a mentor

Stack Overflow

Picks

Shrines by Purity Ring (Jamison)
Learnable Programming: Bret Victor (Jamison)
Mob Software: Richard P. Gabriel & Ron Goldman (Jamison)
ZREO: Zelda Reorchestrated (AJ)
The Official Twitter App (Chuck)
Fluid App (Chuck)
Try Jasmine! (Noel)
Justin Searls (Noel)
The Atrocity Archives: Charles Stross (Noel)
Futurity: A Musical by The Lisps (Noel)

Transcript
NOEL: I’m trying to figure out where the chat is in this stupid Skype interface.

JAMISON: Just imagine the worst place it could possibly be and that’s where it is.

CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to Episode 30 of the JavaScript Jabber show! This week on our panel we have, Jamison Dance.

JAMISON: Hey guys!

NOEL: Hey everybody!

CHUCK: For the people who don’t know who you are, you want to introduce yourself, Noel?

CHUCK: So I’m little curious, before we get into the topic which is learning and teaching JavaScript, how did you get into writing a book about JavaScript? What’s your background there?

NOEL: You know, it actually relates to teaching and learning JavaScript. I think, I was like… a lot of long time web devs. I spent my first round as a web consultant in around, turn of the century 2000’s. I spent time trying to talk clients out of JavaScript stuff because it was such a pain in the neck. And I kind of got away from it for awhile and came back a couple of years ago to realize that basically, everything had changed and they were actually usable tools now.

And last summer, I was working with a… at that time,