RESCHEDULED - NOW STARTING JUNE 17th INSTEAD OF JUNE 10th



The Melbourne Makerspace will be holding a 5 week boot camp to teach web page and web application development. The first class will start with setting up your environment including setting up basic HTML editing software and teaching HTML development from an absolute beginner level. As such, no previous experience is necessary.



The class is intended to be very hands-on, so bring a laptop if you have one. We have a few we can loan out during the class if you don’t. We will be using Visual Studio Code, which is freely downloadable from Microsoft, but any text or code editor will work if you prefer. Please have an editor installed before the class. The class is appropriate for adults and children, though the recommended minimum age is 13.



We ask that a parent or guardian stay at the Makerspace with any student under the age of 16. Class Schedule:



Class 1 - Basic HTML and CSS/Bootstrap/Semantic UI

First we will learn how the web works and some basic vocabulary. This class will include the installation of software and configuration of a local web development environment. We will start building pages and forms using HTML, the fundamental building blocks of all web pages. We will then add CSS which adds styles to our pages such as colors and font sizes. CSS is tough, so we’ll move on to using a pre-built CSS framework called Bootstrap that will help you make beautiful web sites with minimal CSS knowledge. We will conclude this session by learning how to deploy your web page to a web server.



Class 2 - Javascript and JQuery - Bringing the Web to Life

This class will introduce javascript which breathes life into web sites. Javascript allows you to add behaviors to your buttons and images, as well as making changes to the web page itself on the user’s browser. We will learn about the document object model and how to manipulate it. Javascript allows for animations and gives us the ability to reach out to a web server to retrieve data. Proposed: Using Jekyll as a static site generator with GitHub Pages



Class 3 - Databases and Server-Side frameworks

Web pages are great at conveying information that doesn’t change much such as advertising for a company or vacation spot, but to use the web for day to day business we need to be able to store and retrieve data. In this class we will learn about a few different types of databases including MySQL, MS SQL, and Google Firebase. We will learn about database structures, and how to write code to retrieve, edit, and save data from a web site.



Class 4 - Angular 4 Framework

In the first few weeks we learned how to crawl, and this week we’ll learn how to fly! Angular 4 is one of the web’s newest frameworks and allows us to build truly dynamic, enterprise level applications using the web. Traditionally, building structures and behavior for the web that users have come to expect was tedious, repetitive, and messy. Google, who sponsors Angular, has sought to remove that complexity and give us a powerful framework with we can use to build the web applications of the future. Fair warning, there is a hefty learning curve with Angular, but once you know it you’ll wonder how you lived without it.



Class 5 - Hackathon! Bringing it all together

You can’t spend four weeks learning to program and expect to leave an expert; You have to practice your new craft. Experience building a real-world application is the only way to solidify what you have learned. In week 5, we will build an application from start to finish. We will start at 1pm on Saturday and program all night until we fall down from exhaustion, or until the traditional hackathon run to IHOP at 6am.



We’ll work in teams to build different parts of the application, so you will be able to pick what part to practice, and we’ll end up building an open-sourced application that we can share with other Makerspaces and non-profits. Not only are hackathons educational, but it’s a lot of fun and a great way to build new friendships.