CodeSchool - Javascript Road Trip

I'm a javascript noob. I have, of course, like most developers changed javascript and written something approximately like Javascript. Like most developers I've done that really badly but with a level of confidence and bluffing that I may have gotten away with it. So when I saw the Javascript track on codeschool.com and in particular the "JavaScript Road Trip" I thought hey maybe this is point that I should sit down and try and learn it. 

Starting out on the Road Trup?

The video, and therefore the first segment of the course, starts with our intrepid teacher walking along some railroad tracks.

I think this is because we're going on a journey but it may also be because he's hunting the most deadly game of all...bindle swinging hobos. He has running shoes on which supports this and a bloodlust in his eyes that is quite hard to escape.

Ok no it was a journey metaphor. For now anyway. We get a lovely little intro with a strong javascript song. I'm fully into this now.

The first part of the road trip is a free course but when this says the basics of Javascript they really mean it. Truth be told most of it is the basics of programming as very little of it feels javascript specific. Some of it is strongly computer science 101 so if you are an experienced developer you may find this slightly hard going to sit through initially. So the free part is probably of limited value to experienced developers but don't let that put you off the overall Javascript course.

So do I need to take a U-Turn?

NO! Definitely not. Yes the first segment does start at a pretty basic level but It does however develop over the rest of the roadtrip (Not free) and it really does move it along at a good pace. These 3 module that make up the roadtrup  are the building blocks for more specialized courses (Angular/Node/Ember/Backbone) later on but they really do help as they touch on functions, closures, protoypes and a lot of the central concepts you need if you want to get into Node etc. 

I've made some further progress along the overall syllabus and can say the best practices course is well worth a look. It talks about performance, ternary operators and other bits.

Is it worth it?

Definitely worth dipping your toe into. Which I think could also be an incredibly strong Tinder bio so feel free to use that if you so desire.

It is short but peppy which is how the police normally describe me in their records.

The presenter kind of walks that line of being cheesy and earnest in a nice way.  It kind of reminds me of Head First style of books a little. It's informal and relaxed but the content is absolutely sound. I think Jason Milhouse (https://twitter.com/ItsThrillhouse) does a really good job all round but I've found it hard recently to shake the feeling that he may be a character played by Michael Ian Black. IN A GOOD WAY.

The best bit here is and I assume it's common across all courses is the ability to do stuff in an interactive console as  worked examples. This is obviously the code school mantra of learning by doing and I think it's really nice.

Btw first time using code school and the interfaces with challenges etc is really nice. I think I might just need to find another topic, I'll be continuing on the JS journey (because of the theme song mainly) as it does stop at cultural hotspots like Angular and Node on the way. Also I am sort of sure there will be some Hard Target style hobo hunting soon.

I think the overall course offered here is a great way to build or improve Javascript knowledge. You finish the roadtrip feeling a lot more comfortable with the whole paradigm and ready to get into the specialized courses that allow you to play with the cool frameworks. 

I know a lot of people have one eye on improving their Javascript knowledge and I think this course as part of the larger syllabus at codeschool is a great way to do that.

I give this course the golden bindle.