Training Workshops

The Tangible JavaScript Workshops teach attendees how to leverage their existing knowledge of JavaScript, HTML and CSS to create interactive experiences outside the confines of the traditional web browser. By using open source libraries and simple pre-assembled electronic boards, the participants will quickly be able to 1) collect data from the physical world and 2) act upon it.

Past workshop(s):

ForwardJS – Ottawa – April 7th, 2017
CAMP Festival – Calgary – September 26th, 2016
FITC – Toronto – April 16th, 2016

A typical workshop day is a mixture of short lectures, demonstrations and hands-on fun. I tend to keep the number of attendees to 16 or fewer so participants have a highly participatory and interactive experience. Bring your laptop and I will bring all the cool gagdets! For larger groups (up to 25), I can be accompanied by a very knowledgeable assistant.

The workshops are organized upon request. If you wish to host a workshop within your organization or as part of an event, please contact me for all details. Please be aware that while these courses all use JavaScript, they do so outside the usual context of the traditional web browser. Specifically, they use either Node.js and/or NW.js (a.k.a. node-webkit) as the main platforms for development.


Physical Computing for Web Developers

In this full-day workshop, web developers will discover how they can leverage their existing web stack knowledge to interact with the good old analog world. They will learn how to use JavaScript to process data gathered by sensors and how to use that data to act upon the real, physical world.

Physical Computing for Web Developers

Web developers have most of the knowledge and skills necessary to get into physical computing. The only things missing are a bit of software knowledge (NW.js & Johnny-Five) and a bit of hardware knowledge (microcontrollers & sensors). This is what this workshop will provide. In essence, the goal is to show web developers a cheap and easy path for them to get into physical computing.

At the end of the workshop, you will know enough to explore and use sensors (distance, movement, pressure, rotation, etc.) and actuators (motors, lights, etc.). Hopefully, this workshop will also reignite your passion for HTML, CSS and JavaScript by showing you exciting news ways in which these technologies can be used today.

Bonus: attendees get to keep all the workshop hardware so they can continue to experiment on their own. This starter kit includes an Arduino-compatible microcontroller, distance sensor, stepper & servo motors, buttons, joystick, knob, breadboard, LEDs wires and more (60$ value).

The time has finally come to break out of the browser’s security sandbox!


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