Panel
Noel Rappin (twitter github blog)
Jamison Dance (twitter github blog)
Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Intro to CoffeeScript)
AJ O’Neal (twitter github blog)
Discussion
00:52 - Works in training and talent development for Groupon
00:56 - Author of Rails Test Prescriptions and upcoming Master Space and Time with JavaScript
01:21 - Writing a book about JavaScript
02:33 - Focus of the book
Part 1: Jasmine and jQuery and the JavaScript Object Model
Part 2: Extended examples of jQuery
Part 3: Backbone
Part 4: Ember
03:46 - Self-published authors
05:15 - Approaches and mindsets to learning JavaScript
06:04 - “Gotchas!” and bad features in Javascript
09:17 - Modeling JavaScript for beginners
11:23 - (AJ joins the podcast)
11:42 - Resources/Classes for learning JavaScript
Good Parts Book: Douglas Crockford
JavaScript Patterns: Stoyan Stefanov
Eloquent JavaScript: A Modern Introduction to Programming: Marijn Haverbeke
Maintainable JavaScript: Nicholas C. Zakas
13:54 - Hiring people with JavaScript experience at Groupon
15:12 - Training workshops
17:00 - Getting new hires up to speed quickly
Pairing
Mentoring
Lectures
Workshops
21:38 - Book Learning
You can learn at your own pace
But it’s hard to ask questions to a book
22:51 - How Noel gained expertise in JavaScript
24:38 - Code reading and learning to program a language
26:18 - Teaching people JavaScript as their very first language
31:55 - Classroom layout
33:42 - Online training
Kahn Academy Computer Science
Code Academy
Starter League
40:00 - Finding a mentor
Stack Overflow
Picks
Shrines by Purity Ring (Jamison)
Learnable Programming: Bret Victor (Jamison)
Mob Software: Richard P. Gabriel & Ron Goldman (Jamison)
Monoprice.com (AJ)
ZREO: Zelda Reorchestrated (AJ)
The Official Twitter App (Chuck)
Fluid App (Chuck)
Try Jasmine! (Noel)
Justin Searls (Noel)
The Atrocity Archives: Charles Stross (Noel)
Futurity: A Musical by The Lisps (Noel)
Transcript
NOEL: I’m trying to figure out where the chat is in this stupid Skype interface.
JAMISON: Just imagine the worst place it could possibly be and that’s where it is.
[This episode is sponsored by ComponentOne, makers of Wijmo. If you need stunning UI elements or awesome graphs and charts, then go to wijmo.com and check them out.]
[Hosting and bandwidth provided by The Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net]
CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to Episode 30 of the JavaScript Jabber show! This week on our panel we have, Jamison Dance.
JAMISON: Hey guys!
CHUCK: I’m Charles Max Wood from devchat.tv and this week, we have a special guest and that’s Noel Rappin!
NOEL: Hey everybody!
CHUCK: For the people who don’t know who you are, you want to introduce yourself, Noel?
NOEL:  Sure. I currently work in training and talent development for Groupon. And I am the author of previously “Rails Test Prescriptions” and currently a self-published book called “Master Time and Space with JavaScript”, which you can get at noelrappin.com. I need to spell that out, right? N-o-e-l-r-a-p-p-i-n.com
CHUCK: So I’m little curious, before we get into the topic which is learning and teaching JavaScript, how did you get into writing a book about JavaScript? What’s your background there?
NOEL: You know, it actually relates to teaching and learning JavaScript. I think, I was like… a lot of long time web devs. I spent my first round as a web consultant in around, turn of the century 2000’s. I spent time trying to talk clients out of JavaScript stuff because it was such a pain in the neck. And I kind of got away from it for awhile and came back a couple of years ago to realize that basically, everything had changed and they were actually usable tools now.
And last summer, I was working with a… at that time, Special Guest: Noel Rappin.