Our Introduction into the world of programming with HTML, CSS and JavaScript

Our Introduction into the world of programming with HTML, CSS and JavaScript

If you are reading this, you probably already noticed that moinworld e.V. offers many different programming courses, no matter if you are a beginner or already advanced. We, Philine, Kathi and Annika, are complete beginners currently attending the Web Intensive: HTML & CSS & JavaScript course with Hans and would like to take you with us on our web development adventure.

How is a beginners’ course structured?

Getting started was easy - due to the Corona crisis we met online and after a short introduction the course started with the basics. Already before the course started we had to register with CodePen and could start right away. CodePen is an online tool for testing HTML, CSS and JavaScript code. You enter code and immediately see its effect on the website you are creating. Thanks to a “professor mode” we could watch Hans, our teacher, carry out the first steps of programming a website. Step by step, he explained the principles behind HTML: How does HTML code work and how do I write it? After that, we continued styling our site with Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). CSS manages the design, while the HTML code determines the basic structure and text of the page. Now that we have understood the basics, we can learn more and more new options that the programming languages offer. How do you insert an image? What does “margin” mean? What are %, “rem”, “px” and “vh”? How do I create a list, ordered or disordered? What does “flex-wrap” mean for the layout of my page? We are curious which questions will be answered in the next lessons. Above all: How does JavaScript affect my website? So far, we have not considered JavaScript at all. From now on, we will no longer work with CodePen but with Visual Studio Code, one of the possible text editors that can be used for web development.

Participants’ perspective: Annika

I am a student and came to the course with no previous knowledge, but with curiosity and also a little awe. Programming seemed like a mystery to me which was only accessible to the chosen few. I was all the more surprised when, in the first lesson, I found out that it is actually a very manual process. You build something with tools - and as long as you know the tools, you can do it, including me. In every lesson, we learn a lot of new things in a short time. This requires concentration, especially in an online course, but it’s also very rewarding. After only two weeks I can already build a very simple website. I don’t know yet if I’ll need my new knowledge for my next job, but I like understanding the basics because I’ll definitely continue to come into contact with websites in the future, and who knows when a humanities student needs an ace up her sleeve? :)

Participants’ Perspective: Philine

I finished school last year and therefore had no programming skills, so I started the course as a complete beginner. It is all the more exciting to get to know a whole new world! I have to admit that I didn’t have any idea about HTML, CSS and JavaScript and was really surprised how fast I understood it. Hans always has an open ear for questions and encourages us to learn and understand more and more! In retrospect, I really have to say that it is crazy how little I knew about how websites are built. Even though we all surround ourselves with them every day, especially right now. Now I have the ability to build a simple website and I have the feeling that I will be able to expand my knowledge after the end of the course as well, because I learned the basic tools. The great thing is that I can continue to learn with the advanced courses at moinworld. Of course I have only gotten to know a small fraction of this “world”, but it is a great insight. Thanks to Hans for his patient explanations ;)

Participants’ perspective: Kathi

Corona allowed me to finally take a look at the world of programming. Since I live in Salzburg, I never had the chance to attend the moinworld courses in Hamburg and Munich. Now the courses take place online - my chance! Actually, I’ve been wanting to learn about HTML & CSS for about 3 years now, and wanted to understand how websites work. I had no idea, but now, after only 4 lessons, I understand what goes on behind the scenes of a website. In the course, I progressed relatively quickly and if something was unclear, I asked. Since we are all women and none of us has a clue, I felt quite comfortable and could ask any (even the most stupid) question without any problems :) Of course I’m not a professional now, but a first step has been taken. I work as a product manager at a private university and actually have very little contact with the programming world, but I’m sure that I will try out some programming on my blog more often in the future and thus teach myself a bit. Maybe I will try out Python soon, as well. I should take advantage of Corona now :)