On January 24th, I was one of a lucky five hundred that participated in the HTML500! What is the HTML500 you ask? Well, it is an intensive one day workshop that introduces everyday folk who have very little knowledge of web fundamentals to the basics of HTML and CSS- two key web development programming languages. The event was created by forward thinking Vancouver company called Lighthouse Labs. This was the second year of the event and it has become so popular that Lighthouse Labs is running events across Canada to spread the love of how to code.
Here's a little background on how I ended up at the exclusive event. After running The Hour of Code at Mulgrave School, I was fortunate enough to be interviewed by the CBC Early Edition. One early morning, Mulgrave's Communication team and one grade 6 student did a live interview on why we ran The Hour of Code at our school. As a result of the press, I came across Lighthouse Labs through Twitter and more specifically the HTML500. The registration for the event was already complete and the only spots available were those in a social media contest. I joined the contest and entered everyday, responding to questions they were asking through Twitter and Facebook. After a few days, I won my spot and was going to the event. I was pumped!
The day finally came and with a fully charged laptop, I made my way down to the Rocky Mountaineer Station where the event was being held. There was a fantastic vibe when I entered the old brick building. Music blaring, coffee flowing and 500 eager participants eager to start learning about programming.
The day started with a few notable keynote speakers who delivered a message of how important it is for people to develop the necessary skills of programming. The stats were clear-programming is a growing industry and the demand for professionals who have the coding skills was indeed high. After the speeches, two instructors addressed the crowd on some of the skills that were necessary for the days event. Thereafter, it was time to get busy! We spend the rest of the day programming our very own usable website.
We had two choices: create a landing page for your business or create a website that focused on your resume. I decided to create a website that focused on the learning going on in my classroom. Reflecting on the day, these are my thoughts.
- Coding is something that anybody can do. There were participants there as young as 11 and as old as 70.
- Coding is a language. With patience, problem solving and the will to create anyone can produce meaningful content on the web
- Coding is collaborative. With the help of fellow participants and knowledgeable mentors, we were able to create something we were proud of and would serve to help us in the future.
- Coding should be taught in our schools. The international marketplace is seeking individuals who have these skills and the demand is only growing as the digital medium increasingly becomes part of or daily lives.
If you want to learn how to code, here are some useful resources to get you started:
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