Friday, July 24, 2015

New tutorial: Using JS libraries

We've just added a new tutorial to our HTML/JS course about Using JS libraries in your webpage. In it, we walk through an example of using a simple slideshow library, give examples of many of the most popular libraries out there (like jQuery and ThreeJS), and leave you with advice on picking a library for your page.

Monday, July 20, 2015

HTML/JS: 1-day workshop lesson plan

As I mentioned in my recent post, I spend many of my weekends teaching in-person workshops for GDI SF, and I've started turning my workshops from traditional lecture style to self-paced style, using the KA online courses and coaching tools.

This past weekend, I ran the JS 200 workshop using the KA HTML/JS course, and it worked out great. I've written up a lesson plan, which includes extra pair projects and tips on optimally pairing students up for the projects by looking at the skill progress tab.

You can find that lesson plan and others on our lesson plans list in our teaching guide.

Let us know if you have any lesson plans to share!

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

BELL afterschool programs: teaching programming to close the achievement gap

BELL is a non-profit that runs after-school programs to expand the learning time and help close the achievement gap. This summer, they're piloting a program to teach programming in their summer programs, using our Khan Academy Intro to JS course and our teaching tools.

The Marin Independent Journal just published an article about the success of the program so far. Once the pilot is done, we hope to have a case study in our teaching guide, to help others who want to run similar programs. It's great to see more teachers and programs embracing self-paced learning and encouraging more students to learn about technology!