Code Shop - An evening of questions and answers (+ pizza)

http://webstartwomen.com/misc/class_philly_codeshop_dec_2011.jpg

As you spend time learning about web development, you'll spend a lot of time in Example Land. In classes, online tutorials, books, wherever you're learning - the material you're working with is not catered exactly to the needs of your specific development projects.

Oftentimes, the road from Example Land to Real Projectville can be a difficult trip to navigate. In theory, you get the principles you're practicing, but when you sit down to start working on your project - you find yourself a little stuck on where to start, or stalled out somewhere in the middle. (Frustration, thy name is "applying what I've learned!" shakes fist)

This class is to help bridge that gap; to present real world problems and discuss how they can be solved. The best part? You (the students) will be submitting the problems we'll address. Been stuck on an aspect of a project? Figured it out, but sure there's a more straightforward/elegant solution? Put the brain power of the group to work for you!

Here's the plan:

After you RSVP, fill out this form (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHpzbzlsbm5kVDhla0JFVlpIcmVTRnc6MQ) letting us know the details about a topic you'd like to discuss.

Some examples to get you thinking:

• Help! My layout looks drunk in Internet Explorer.

• I'm knocking out a new site design and want some real, honest feedback.

• Should I use WordPress for my project or a home-brewed system?

• My company wants to pull our Twitter feed onto our site - what's the best way to do this?

• I'd like a custom e-mail address (myname@mydomain.com); how do I make that happen?

• What is Ajax (hint: not a cleaning product) and what do I need to know to start using it?

• I've sketched out this logo - how can I convert it a digital file in Photoshop?

• I just landed a client site that's a mess of

How many topics we cover will depend on how many get submitted and the depth of the ones chosen (it's not guaranteed that all topics will be covered).

Some topics will be small enough in scope that we'll be able to knock out some code right in class; other topics will be larger and we'll discuss on a bigger-picture level.

If we do pick your topic, we'll touch base with you via e-mail leading up to the class so we can get some more details.

Oh, we almost forgot, there will be pizza provided by the terrific folks who organize Technically Philly Groups (http://technicallyphilly.com/groups)!

Pre-reqs

Because this is a grab-bag class, there's no telling what technologies we'll be covering. The idea is not so much to learn a specific language, but get an understanding of the problem solving process.

That being said, a basic understanding of HTML/CSS and publishing a website online would be useful to get the most out of this class.

Payment:

Contribute-what-you-can (suggested donation $10)

Here's the deal: we haz expenses (e.g., Meetup.com fees, space rental, instructor fees), but we really love doing this stuff! Whatever you can contribute to help keep the Web Start Women community growing is appreciated (but you definitely shouldn't feel obligated, we really just want to you to come learn with us).

Where:

Municipal Services Building (https://www.meetup.com/webstartwomen/venue/1047012/?forceUrlname=true&pop=true) 16th Floor

1401 JFK Blvd, Philadelphia, PA

When:

Tuesday December 6

Setup starting at 5:30, class runs 6-8pm

Curious?

Want to know how our classes are structured, what to expect, whether you'll need a laptop, what software we use, etc?

Check out our primer for all those details: http://webstartwomen.com/class/prepare

's, help me transform it to CSS.