Sololearn’s New Course: Web Development Fundamentals
At Sololearn, our goal is to provide coding classes that not only integrate the best practices in learning to code, but also some of the most useful topics for modern web development. Combining essential content concepts, practical coding challenges, and a unique and thriving learner community to network with and learn together, Sololearn is the industry leader in mobile and online coding offerings.
Sololearn is excited to announce our newest coding course: Web Development Fundamentals. With web development only becoming more important to individuals and companies worldwide during the rise of remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic, the goal of this course is to provide learners with the essential skill set needed to build dynamic and responsive websites for themselves and potential clients. Modern web development requires programmers who know how to navigate all of the key components of operating a website, from databases and the back-end to the tools needed to create a responsive and navigable user interface.
Integrating elements of CSS, HTML, and JavaScript, the Web Development Fundamentals class has everything you need to jumpstart your coding career and become a skilled web developer quickly. With this course, you’ll learn the structure, philosophies, and best practices being used by experienced web developers around the world today. And, as always with Sololearn courses, you’ll have a variety of opportunities to actually work with live code to build test projects and start creating a work portfolio that can help you land that first web developer job.
What Is Included In The Web Development Fundamentals Course?
The Web Development Fundamentals course is broken down into three specific modules, each of which is geared toward introducing everything you need to know about web development into manageable, “bite-sized” chunks to make progressing through your learning easy, efficient, and exciting. Here’s what you can expect in each:
Module 1: Getting Started
The first step to learning web development, like anything with programming, is learning the basics. This means exploring the different types of web development that exist, and the fundamental principles of the pillar languages of modern web development — HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Included within Module 1 are the following course areas and subjects:
Games on the Web
Learning the basics about browser-based games (which have exploded in popularity over the past decade and longer), including the actual coding that makes games function, creating visual and gameplay elements, and incorporating dynamic and customizable features.
HTML Basics
This section will be your introduction to the language that has been responsible for the rise of the modern Internet since its early days. This segment covers the foundational elements of HTML and how it backstops the websites you interact with everyday.
Attributes & Images
A deeper dive into these core HTML components, which will govern what users see when they visit a particular website or browser game.
CSS Basics
The language used for describing the presentation of Web pages, which includes colors, layout, and fonts. CSS allows users to adapt the presentation of a site to different types of devices, like large screens, small screens, or printers.
JavaScript Basics
Perhaps the most widely used programming language among developers today, this segment will introduce you to why JavaScript is so ideal for web development. Learn the principles of the language and some of its main applications for web development.
Decision Making
Explore the choices that can deliver real benefits and results to you or your clients by improving user experience, ensuring core functionality actually works, and giving your users a seamless navigational experience when they access your website.
JavaScript Functions
Functions (blocks of code designed to perform a specific service or action) are a key element of the language, and this segment will explore the most important for you to know for web development.
Handling Events
Events (such as user clicks, form submissions, polls etc) are the actual actions a user needs to perform when they visit your website. This segment will explore how to handle event logic, guarantee expected results, and handle common bugs or issues with website events.
Module 2: Working With Canvas
The Canvas API is another foundational building block for web development, and the logical next step for your learning after you finish covering the basics during Module 1. The Canvas API offers a means for drawing graphics via JavaScript and the HTML <canvas>element. While Canvas has many different applications in modern web development, it is often used for animation, game graphics, data visualization, photo manipulation, and real-time video processing. This means that no matter what type of web development you might want to specialize in (business pages, browser applications, gaming), you’ll have the skills you need to make the Canvas API work for you. Here are some of the sub topics you can expect to cover during Module 2:
HTML5 Canvas
All the basics and fundamentals you need to know about the Canvas API, how it operates, and how it is used in a variety of different web development settings.
Specific Canvas Use Cases
Such as drawing shapes, drawing texts, adding images, creating animations, and more.
Module 3: Making a Game
Have an idea for the next addictive viral web browser game? Well once you’ve made it to Module 3, you’ll be in heaven, because that’s what you’ll cover here. Browser gaming has come a long way from the early days of Snake and Pong, and Module 3 is designed to cover the modern techniques and principles needed to create those dynamic, visually appealing browser games that have become so popular over the past few years. Here’s what’s touched on during the third module:
Game Loops
The “game loop” is a technique employed to render animations and games with changing state over a duration of time. At its heart, a game loop is a function that runs as many times as possible, taking user input, updating the state for the elapsed time, and then drawing the frame. If you want to create a browser game, this segment covers one of the most fundamental components.
Specific Gaming Features
These include lessons about managing and optimizing frame rate, collision detection, user input, and the other user experience features so essential to creating a successful browser-based game.
Bonus: Code Repo!
In addition to the different learning modules, the Web Development Fundamentals class also integrates one of our favorite new Sololearn features: the Code Repo. A chance for learners to actively build something with the concepts and knowledge they learn while taking the class, the Code Repo for the Web Development Fundamentals class allows you to hone your skills by building a demo website that can sell tickets to visit the Eiffel Tower! This means that once you’ve completed your modules and completed the Code Repo alongside of it, you’ll have created a working ticket selling website that you can add to a portfolio or CV for future job interviews. It’s just one more way that Sololearn allows learners to combine learning code with actual, practical experience to help jumpstart your career that much faster.
Why Choose The Web Development Fundamentals Course?
Now that we’ve covered everything you can expect to learn in our new course, why might you consider taking it? Here are some of the best reasons:
If gaming is your passion, this course will teach you everything you need. Learning how to code games is a fundamental part of many beginning coding classes, but the Web Development Fundamentals class goes beyond the basics. By learning both the back-end and front-end components of game development, you can pursue a career in web game development or fast-track your progress toward learning advanced game development for consoles or mobile also.
There is no shortage of demand for web developers. If you want to make money or simply make coding your career of choice, web development skills offer plenty of job opportunities. Demand for talented web developers is only continuing to rise in recent years, and these fundamentals will make you a potential hire for industries from gaming to business to education and everything in between.
Knowing JavaScript fundamentals can open the door to other types of development. While JavaScript is often the top choice for web development, there are plenty of other applications for the language, from AI to data science. By covering JavaScript fundamentals here, you can set yourself up to learn more advanced JavaScript concepts and become an advanced JavaScript developer.
You get a course certificate for your Sololearn profile to help build your resume. Upon finishing the Web Development Fundamentals class, you’ll receive a certificate of completion to demonstrate your newfound knowledge and skills from the class for potential employers (or to show off to your fellow Sololearn community members!)
