This course makes extensive use of the coding sandbox website CodePen. You must create a free account on CodePen if you do not already have one. With your account you can experiment with HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and React. These experiments are saved in a "pen". Every pen has a unique URL.
The power of CodePen is that it immediately renders your code in the preview window. This makes it so you can reduce a problem to something small, quickly iterate ideas, and immediately see what the impact is. CodePen also serves as a portfolio of what you have learned so that you can review it later or share it with others.
When working with assignments that use CodePen to submit your work, you will do the following steps:
- Either create a new pen, or fork an existing example pen.
- Conduct the experiment as defined by the assignment.
- Save your assignment periodically so that you don't lose any work. In order to keep your CodePen account organized you should consider using pen collections for different technologies.
- Submit the pen's URL in Canvas along with a description of some interesting thing that you learned.
In addition to using CodePen to complete assignments, it is a great place to find coding examples. Browsing CodePen will expose you to new ideas from their large community of contributors. You might consider making a daily habit of finding and reviewing a pen. If you find a really interesting pen then share it with others on Discord.
Create your CodePen account. Find an interesting pen that someone else has created. Fork the pen and make a minor change. Save the pen.