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Ask HN: Teaching Web Development to Middle Schoolers

7 points by steverb ↗ HN
At the beginning of the school year I visited my kids' school and got to see their computer lab, where the kids were learning typing, Microsoft Word and other productivity applications. Being the hacker dad that I am, I immediately volunteered to teach the kids some web development stuff.

Well, the school has finally taken me up on it. Now the question is, where to start? I'm currently thinking we should start with some basic HTML, mix in a little CSS, and then move on to javascript, but I'd love any insights the community has to offer.

9 comments

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atgm
Make a quick site with HTML and CSS as a "final product" to show the kids, to say that they can make something like that too.

Then open the source and take them through it bit by bit, show them what things are and what they mean, explain how HTML works, explain how CSS works, and let them build/modify their own site along the way.

How much time do you have?

steverb
One hour a week until the end of the school year.

I figured I couldn't REALLY complain about what the kids are learning in computer class if I'm not willing to help fix it.

I like your idea.

atgm
Yeah, definitely give them some kind of walkthrough, then.

If the school has digital cameras and will let you use them in class (or if you have a point and shoot), you could also let them take pictures and use tables to make a basic photo gallery.

mgkimsal
Are you going to try to do this all 'by hand', or use some editor like nvu, aptana, netbeans or something else?
steverb
By hand.

Can't really install anything on the computers, and I'm old school like that. Plus, most tool produced html makes me throw up a little.

atgm
How about portable installs of notepad++ or Sublime 2 Alpha?
steverb
Might work. They all have USB sticks to keep their stuff on.
jmenu
Have a look at dickbaldwin.com. He has written a bunch of tutorials for middle and high school students. He is a former teacher.
rudasn
What you are doing is very cool. I once tried to teach my girlfriend's little brother (~13 years old) "how to make websites" but it didn't work out so well. Please keep us posted on how you approach the situation and how it goes.

I agree with atgm that having a "final product" which they will be able to write from scratch or tear apart. What I did was go to a page, view the source, and explain what each line meant. It got pretty boring after spending 15 minutes explaining what Doctype is and how browsers "do stuff" so I'd say leave that for later.