Where to Find JavaScript Classes

Once you’ve confirmed that you need a JavaScript class to meet your learning goals, the next challenge is to find the right study program. Different schools will have different instructors, scheduling options, and approaches to their subjects, with varying advantages and drawbacks relative to each student and their needs. The same class type, like an introductory survey or a career training program, could be presented differently depending on the school, and most schools limit their offerings in some way. Learning more about different types of schools helps you to better understand your options and choose the right class for you.

Noble Desktop and other professional training centers

In addition to offering their own selection of technical and professional classes, Noble Desktop helps students compare professional training centers and certificate programs with their Classes Near Me tool. The courses listed through this tool and elsewhere on Noble Desktop’s website tend to be career-focused, created to prepare students for specific jobs. However, Classes Near Me also includes a selection of introductory classes for beginners and topical courses for advanced or project-oriented students. 

Professional training centers, much like trade or vocational schools, prepare their students for specific careers. They may offer comprehensive programs like bootcamps and certificate programs, shorter courses that teach specific career skills, or both. Trade and vocational schools, however, are more often college-like postsecondary institutions with formal programs composed of multiple classes. Another related institution, technical schools, are more likely to teach individual programming skills like JavaScript, though some also provide comprehensive career programs, guidance, and support. 

Training centers and technical schools are the best options for students who need to gain work skills quickly for their current employment or a new career. Their emphasis on speed over variety does exclude certain topics in favor of the material students will need most for their work. For JavaScript, professional courses tend to center on JavaScript’s uses in web development or mobile application development, minimizing discussion of JavaScript’s use in data analysis or methods for expanding the language further. Instead, JavaScript courses at professional training centers ensure that students have strong core proficiency in JavaScript programming and familiarity with the techniques and tools used in related careers. 

Universities and Colleges

In a formal school environment, JavaScript is normally taught as part of a longer degree course in fields like computer science, software development, web development, or data science. Students specifically interested in JavaScript would not normally consider these schools as an option. However, some schools offer accelerated or limited programs with fewer required courses, and in a few cases, students can take single courses, often as part of a college’s continuing education program. Most often, academic courses are thorough studies of their subject material, covering not only practical skills but also background information and extended topics. For JavaScript, a university course might discuss other scripting languages, share a wider variety of libraries and tools used for different JavaScript applications, and discuss current work by JavaScript developers. Accordingly, college courses are longer and more costly than professional training courses. A student who only needs to use JavaScript in their work and doesn’t need to know its finer details will usually find this extra effort unnecessary. However, a college course might be useful for students who want to understand JavaScript fully and consider it in the wider context of other programming languages.

Coursera, Udemy, and other on-demand platforms

On-demand learning, also called self-paced or asynchronous study, can be a useful option for acquiring technical skills like JavaScript programming. On-demand schools provide their lessons in texts and pre-recorded videos that students complete when they choose. Students can progress through lessons as quickly as they can handle or take more time as necessary. Self-paced learning platforms like Coursera and Udemy and self-paced technical schools like Codefinity and Codecademy all offer JavaScript courses, and sites like Learn JavaScript specifically teach this language. 

On-demand schools do not limit learners and allow students to explore in as much depth as they prefer. Learners can begin with preliminary or introductory material or can jump straight to advanced or specialized topics, although some sites do not allow single-course purchases, requiring a subscription fee for access or selling lesson packages. The downside of the individual control offered by on-demand study is that students must organize lessons and provide motivation for themselves, without the guidance of formal classes. Without an expert instructor, they must also resolve their questions and errors through individual research. Another concern with on-demand programs is quality and consistency, which depends on the expertise and teaching ability of each instructor and whether the same instructor recorded multiple lessons on the same topic. These drawbacks can delay and frustrate students, especially when working through longer or more complex courses.

YouTube and other free resources

Students who want a basic overview of JavaScript programming, or those who already know JavaScript and want to explore particular questions or topics within the language, may benefit from free tutorials. Free video lessons on JavaScript can be found on social media platforms like YouTube, technical education sites like Codefinity, or specialized JavaScript sites like Learn-js.org. Many of these lessons are even recorded by expert programmers eager to share their knowledge, although the quality and accuracy of free lessons are rarely guaranteed. Still, comparing several lessons on the same topic can usually clear up any uncertain or conflicting details. The main problem with free lessons is that they are incomplete, not just singly but as a whole. In some cases, the free lessons offered by an educational site are limited samples meant to demonstrate their quality of instruction and encourage students to learn more in a paid course. Free lessons also cannot cover the full range of topics needed to build professional programming ability, nor do they provide the variety of examples and practice projects included in a full study course, nor will they address difficulties or errors that block students’ progress. To gain consistent ability with JavaScript, especially to the degree necessary to use this language professionally, you will need a full training course.

Learn JavaScript with Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop offers several live online JavaScript courses varying in length and cost. The least expensive option is a short introductory course, JavaScript for Front-End, which teaches basic JavaScript programming for front end web development. To keep the class to just a few days’ length, students should have prior experience coding in HTML and CSS for web design or front end web development. The course then introduces JavaScript’s functions for webpage scripting, teaching students the features and techniques needed to use JavaScript at a basic or ‘vanilla’ level, without added tools. This background allows students to learn advanced JavaScript techniques and tools in later courses. The second half of this class teaches one such tool, the GreenSock Animation Platform (GSAP), which uses JavaScript to create animated web elements. This class comes with a supplemental workbook and awards a certificate upon completion. Students also have the option to retake this class once for free, for up to one year.

For students ready to learn JavaScript at a professional level, but who cannot commit to the time requirements or expense of a complete certificate course, Noble Desktop’s JavaScript Programming Bootcamp offers a strong foundation in JavaScript and career guidance centered on JavaScript’s use in web development. Compared to a full course, the JavaScript Programming Bootcamp takes only a few weeks (for full-time students) rather than several months and costs far less. This course does request that participants have some prior experience with web design or front end web development, at least enough to be familiar with coding in HTML and CSS. In this bootcamp, students receive a complete education in JavaScript’s features and programming techniques, plus experience with some popular JavaScript libraries and features added to recent releases. The course also includes career guidance (including one 1-on-1 mentoring session with the instructor), practice with sample interview questions, and several projects that can become a starting portfolio. The bootcamp includes a proprietary workbook and awards a certificate upon completion. Students can also retake this course once for free within a year.

Students who need a complete education in JavaScript to advance their careers should consider Noble Desktop’s JavaScript Development Certificate program. This set of courses, assembled to prepare students for a career in web development, teaches JavaScript programming plus several related tools. The program takes a few months, even for full-time students, and requests that students already have some training in web development or web design. In its first unit, this program teaches fundamental JavaScript programming, in classes identical to those for the JavaScript Programming Bootcamp. Subsequent units teach additional JavaScript tools used in web development, including the Node.js and Express.js libraries, a database management system called MongoDB, another commonly-used data management language called SQL, and the React library for creating JavaScript components, blocks of code that form small reusable applications. One program unit discusses the web development industry, addressing career options, likely interview questions, and further studies students might seek. Students also receive eight 1-on-1 mentoring sessions with an instructor to address difficult topics or receive further career guidance. Several projects throughout the course build each student’s starting portfolio, and participants receive an official certificate upon completion. In addition to several supplemental workbooks, students can access video recordings after each class. They can also retake the course once for free for up to one year.