The Basics (.dev)

You can file this one under “super-proud-but-shy-to-say-it” because I made a thing that I love but am absolutely the worst when it comes to talking about this stuff.

I’d like you to meet The Basics. It’s an online course that teaches — you guessed it — the basic principles of front-end development, focusing specifically on HTML and CSS. I’m almost afraid to call it an “online course” because that term is all sorts of convoluted with things like coding bootcamps, and The Basics is vastly different.

Allow me to elaborate a teeny bit.

For one, it assumes that anyone taking the course has zero experience writing code. If you jump into any bootcamp covering similar concepts, you’ll find that they cater to folks like you and me who are coming equipped with plenty of experience wrangling code and are there to level up. The Basics is different. It’s a true entry point for those coming into front-end development cold, or perhaps for someone with experience writing code years ago who wants to jump into modern-day development.

I think “entry point” is key here. I recently wrote about the ongoing disappearance of resources for true beginners to crack into web development — something I first became aware of from Rachel Andrew — saying this:

[My] point is that there are more resources than ever for learning web development, but still painfully few entry points to get there. The resources we have for learning the basics are great, but many are either growing stale, are quick hits without a clear learning path, or assume the learner has at least some technical knowledge. I can tell you, as someone who has hit the Publish button on thousands of front-end tutorials, that the vast majority — if not all — of them are geared toward those who are already on the career path.

And that’s where I think I’ve been able to close a gap between all of the various learning materials out there and having an established place for beginners to gain the context they need to understand those materials.

Code is scary, even for seasoned professionals like us who have notched more than 20 years of experience. Learning something new requires a certain level of vulnerability and willingness to spend time out of your comfort zone. It’s easy for us to take beginner-level things like HTML and CSS for granted, but there are plenty of more advanced things out there that are capable of scaring the bejeezus out of someone like me. Like, right now, I’m completely afraid of newer web features like web components even if I’m super excited to learn more about them.

You know that’s how absolute beginners feel when opening a code editor for the first time. Oh, wait, what the heck is a code editor? Maybe we should start there before we write any HTML. What? You’re not sure what HTML is? The Basics goes all the way back without skipping over the sorts of things that someone might be expected to know along the way.

What learners need is an opportunity for deep learning. Unfortunately, many if not most existing articles, tutorials, videos, and bootcamps are prepared by developers rather than educators who understand learning experience design and how to leverage it to accommodate different learning styles and needs. That’s where I consider myself to be a niche specialist because I’ve earned my Master’s degree in Education with a focus on educational technology and adult learning.

In other words, The Basics is less a learning resource than it is an educational experience. It’s designed to help learners develop new knowledge through a variety of learning principles. I’d like to think that The Basics is not just another tutorial because it’s a complete set of lessons that includes reading, demonstrations, videos, lab exercises, and assessments, i.e., a myriad of ways to learn. I’d also like to think that this is more than just another bootcamp because it is curricula designed to develop new knowledge through reflective practices, peer learning, and feedback. It’s quite literally the same materials I use in the classes I teach at the college level.

That’s all I really want to say for now. Again, If you’re reading this, it’s very likely that you, too, work on the front end. The Basics isn’t for you exactly, though I’d argue that brushing up on fundamentals is never a bad thing, regardless of your profession, but especially in front-end development, where standards are well-documented but ever-changing as well.

The Basics is more for your clients who do not know how to update the website they paid you to make. Or the friend who’s learning but still keeps bugging you with questions about the things they’re reading. Or your mom, who still has no idea what it is you do for a living. It’s for those whom the entry points are vanishing. It’s for those who could simply sign up for a Squarespace account but want to understand the code it spits out so they have more control to make a site that uniquely reflects them.

If you know a person like that, I would love and appreciate it if you’d share The Basics with them. Thanks a bunch!