live event format

[maxogden]

live event format

[max-mapper]

https://github.com/coderdojo does 4-5 hour weekend afternoon study group/workshops staffed by volunteer mentors and that works well for them

[max-mapper]

on twitter I floated the idea of a JS NoobConf because I find the current worldwide js conference circuit to be a little too self-selecting and I'd like to see a well sponsored event focused at producing new javascripters as opposed to existing ones

[techwraith]

I agree with the sentiments in the second comment. I'd love to see a conference put on for jS noobs that would help them become part of the community (as well as better developers).

[max-mapper]

I think that javascript conferences for intermediate to advanced javascripters still need to exist in the format that they exist in but there is an absolute beginner audience that doesn't find them interesting. my views on diversity in programming are that we have to reach out to new audiences in actively inclusive ways such as workshops and cult induction events :D

[mcantelon]

Great idea. Something with a mellow pace.

I could see:

• an hour on super basic JavaScript usage (using a browser console to do calculations, maybe leveraging a website that lets folks do Logo-like visual programming via the browser console)
• an hour where people can play with this stuff and have fun with it
• maybe an hour that introduces people to the trickier stuff (declaring functions, scoping, etc.) in a way that's as visual as possible

[notmatt]

"Cult induction events" - perfect. Anyway, core dump of my thoughts:

Venue & context: We had Polyglotconf here in Vancouver a while ago. My feeling is that an unconf is a good setting for new-to-JS event; low barriers to entry, and low risk to attending. If you decide that JS is not for you, you can just go to a different talk or subject.

Progression: this is a spot I think the entire tech community is weak at. I take an "intro to X" course, follow up on my own, work out a couple of archetypal examples. Now what? Dive into a hack day, in the deep end? Attend a conference that could be either over my head or a repeat of the intro-to-X? Where do I connect with a peer group? (JS has the last one covered better than most!)

Audience: be specific about the audience - the OTS intro is very intro. Step one is "find the JS console," only then moving on to arithmetical operations & assigning variables. There's a lot of people looking for an introduction to JS that are well past those steps but would still self-describe as newbies.

A notional solution to this might be, for a NoobConf-like setting, make the first step sorting people out according to shared experience/background, then they can pursue the right level of newbie-ness (or even move around between tracks). If the event repeats, there's also a concrete notion of progression for people to follow.

I've been toying with one other newbie idea that doesn't quite fit here, but I might as well get it out there to germinate: "mentor" groups at hackday events like nodecopter or nko, where the idea isn't to blast through a brand-new whizz-bang project, but to guide that group of "not-quite-newbies" through a relatively well-known solution (like "last year we did X, this year I'm going to show you how we did X, then we'll riff on it a bit".

[SaraJo]

So, I've been bitching for a while that we need to have more resources besides classes for beginners. I love this!

I think the Coder Dojo model is great. I think you could cover ideas like MVC, and anything beyond jQuery selectors and animation libraries.

What do you think about having other relative beginners speaking at the conference?