This course is very inconsistent when it comes to JavaScript. Instead of giving fundamentals of the language, course instructors prefer to give you a bunch of non-standard libraries and teach you a couple of randomly selected methods which could be applied to images. All core concepts such as data types, data structures are explained very sketchy. OOP paradigm isn;t explained at all. For example, they give you a line of code which goes something like:

var x = new SimpleImage("...");

no explanation of what SimpleImage is is given neither you are taught how exactly it works. Apparently, this course relies heavily on self-learning the lib docs given on their site.

All together this leads you to simply monkey-coping lecture materials into code editor without even realising how it works and what it does. This course is at best serve observatory purpose to give student just a peek at what web development is like.

This course could not be used as a solid foundation fow specialization.

The first week of this course was great, and then the second week was a huge leap up in terms of expectations for the exercises. There was not enough instruction to enable the learner to do the exercises, leaving them feeling demotivated. I'm switching back to the course I was doing on Lynda.com instead, which was must more thorough.

My first Coursera course I've ever done and I was very impressed with the platform on which it was presented. My experience was a positive one and I will definitely continue to pursue other courses.

Very insightful and helped me learn about the basics of computer science. Now I'm able to better understand the jargon of computer science and can discuss with others or even review codes. Thank you!

This is the first course I am taking in Coursera.org. The valuable instructors of Duke University designed and created a masterpiece for learners. Thank you so much guys. Greets from Istanbul, Turkey.

I've been learning Javascript with lots of different online courses over the last 2 years and this is the first one that presented the information in such a way that I could understand it. Thanks!

The teachers and instructors really should make better videos and stop giving peer edit assignment when people are picky and do not grade your assignment. The instructors should also give their contacts to let their students contact them when the discussion forums dont work

This is NOT a beginner's course. There is not enough coverage of fundamental programming concepts, and too much playing around with complex application concepts such as Steganography. Simple image manipulation is a good way to teach programming concepts. Teaching bit arithmetic in a first programming course is NOT. Also, there are many errors in the videos that should be corrected. And finally, this course is advertised as requiring 3-5 hours per week. What a huge underestimate! I have been programming professionally since 1989. Other than week 1, every week requires closer to 8-10 hours at least. Stop advertising this as a beginning course, or restructure it such that it is more appropriate for beginners.

Comprehensive course. Completing the optional assignments are key to developing proficiency. The course provides many resources for continuing study. Worthwhile course if you want to learn front-end web development.

No help in discussion forums at all.

This course was a good introduction to learning how to program a website. I do not yet feel as though i know enough to build a complex website, but I am now very familiar with website components and can make a basic website. The videos are short, so you don't get bored watching them, and the script is written for each video, so you can read through the lesson, which helped me process the more difficult concepts. I learned most from doing the projects/ exercises. By giving problems for the student to write code for, it makes the learner actually apply the information from each video. (I don' t get those online learning courses that just show video and after video, with no problems given. This is NOT one of those.) I also enjoy the short quizzes, which solidify understanding of concepts. (You can take quizzes again if you fail!) This course was well presented, with projects that students do to get hands on learning of coding to make a website. The only way to learn to code, is by coding! Not by watch video alone.

This was a very good course. It took me much longer than I thought it would but that was because of my scheduling of time to take the course and finding the errors when something did not work correctly. I would recommend this to anyone who would like to learn the very basics of web design.

Instructions are great. Each word spoken is important. Listen well, listen again and practice.

My only recommendation would be to not just explain a certain function, principle or theory but also give some real world examples of how a function is commonly used for daily web services.

An excellent course that is so easy to follow and comprehend. It has everything that a beginner needs. Wonderful teachers and very good content. I really enjoyed this course. Thank you so much!

Some examples of similar projects to our assignments available always would help. There were several times where I was stuck on something that no one had gotten stuck on in a couple weeks

GREAT EXPERIENCE,GREAT STARTY TOWARDS FUN WITH PROGRAMMING AND PLAYING WITH JAVASCRIPT TO MODIFY IMAGES

Tutors reading from a teleprompter comes across as robotic, lifeless and boring. We should be told before we do a piece of work that we can only submit it by upgrading, not afterwards!

Before I started this course I knew virtually nothing about JS and a bit about HTML and CSS. My short-term goal was to grasp the basics of front end programming because I'm working as a business developer for a software house so I can communicate more effectively with my fellow developers, and a medium-term intent to create my own website from scratch. The lecture pace was perfectly tailored for my routine, half an hour a day from Monday to Friday before sleeping and an hour and a half during the weekend.

Professors are well-skilled and they've presented content in a clear and easily understood manner, even though some of them are not that comfortable with the camera and lack some "acting" skills, but you don't expect that all computer engineers are Steve Jobs of public speaking.

Programming tools, learning materials, and course UI are more practical than attractive but everything is just a click away and I've never felt that something was redundant or unclear, so good job Blue Devils, thank you for making easier my first step into the world where everything is a number (even colors) and building blocks of functional and responsive websites are variables, methods, functions, algorithms, attributes, classes, divisions, canvases, event handlers, pixel coordinates, etc.

Oh, yes, one of my biggest takeaways, and something I'll definitely use when explaining the importance and the price behind the analysis and design aspects of our services: work the MF'ing example by hand so you know what you need to do once you start writing code, then start asap with debugging until everything is just as you want it to be ;)

Cheers,

SO

I have tried multiple times to learn javascript and have always failed. This class bridged the gap for me and made it easy to learn. Great job Duke & Coursera!

Good Class, Enjoying it

A giant and complete waste of time. $79, and 1 month of work and it's all Javascript, no java. Worse yet, you are required to work in BlueJ, (google it) with custom Javascript functions that you are not allowed to view or use outside the course. So, none of the code you write in this course will ever be able to be used anywhere else. (The functions probably are in a minified file, but the students were not given access to that file.) A complete waste of time. I would give it ZERO stars but can't submit this rating without giving it one star.

not everything that we are tested for is taught. for example in week 2 we never learned how to add filters to pictures and questions related to it is asked in the graded quiz and the try its. I do not recommend taking this cause. very disappointed!!

I really enjoyed this course. I now feel comfortable programming in JavaScript, HTML5 and CSS3. I like most of the lectures, and the assignments progressed from simple to more interesting and interactive web pages. I liked the 7 Step Approach to solving Programming Problems. Some of my favorite exercises involved Digitally creating a filter to Grayscale Images, using a Green Screen Algorithm to alter an image's background, and creating digital filters to apply to photos - all on interactive web pages that you create in the course! I find that I want to learn more about Front End Web Development! I was glad that you could take a Quiz over again, and they keep your highest grade! I liked the optional assignments, in case you wanted extra credit, or wanted more practice. The lectures actual introduce object oriented programming concepts, without all the terminology, which I believe makes the course easier for beginners.

i have taken the whole specialization . so this review is for the whole specialization in general and for the capastone in particular.

the first and the second courses are very easy . but the three remaining courses are a little bit tough

so you will need to struggle and persist to complete the whole specialization especially the great project .

indeed the project is extremely great . you will use all the concept you have learned through this specialization to implement this great project .... but NOTE this specialization in general and the project in particular is NOT for a BEGINNER Programmer. it is for some one who has a background in programming . but overall you will learn a lot of great stuff and concepts .. so have fun and enjoy programming .

I found the course both interesting and challenging and I definitely picked up new skills. On completion of this course, I am able to write a webpage with active URL links, pictures, make ordered, un-ordered lists and make tables with embedded lists and images etc. In addition I learned how to style the web page with fonts, colors and positions using CSS.

The next section was about image processing using java scripting. We did steganography , hiding images and text within images. The whole thing was finished with creating an e-Portfolio, which tested everything we learned.

I enjoyed the course and am now moving onto the next course in this specialization.

Darragh Merrick