This past February I was fortunate enough to take the Introduction to Web Development Using ArcGIS API for JavaScript course offered by Esri Canada through the ECCE program. This was the first time I have taken a course through Esri as well as the first online programming course I have taken. The course was 3 days long and covered the basics of Web Development with the AcrGIS Java script API.

I was a little nervous when I first started the course because I am very new to java script and I was a little worried I might not be able to keep up with the rest of the class. Luckily, this course was structured in such a way that it was easy to follow and focused on how to access help from the ArcGIS Developers website while writing and troubleshooting your code.
The first day we jumped right into things learning how to create 2D and 3D web maps as well as development strategies for the 3x and 4x API’s.

KarlChastkoJSAPI

My favorite part of the course was that after each topic we would complete a small exercise. Sometimes we would do this as individuals but, as the course progressed to more complex problems we be began to work on the assignments in groups. This was all made possible through the code pen environment which the coding portion of the course was taught through.

As I mentioned earlier the course focused on how to deconstruct a problem and then how to structure a solution using the tools and example code on the ArcGIS Developers website. This was really useful for me because as a newcomer to the ArcGIS JavaScript API it can be very overwhelming trying to find a simple place to start coding. It was also lots of fun working with other people from across the country in the breakout sessions. As a student, it was encouraging to see that learning doesn’t end after school, as many of my classmates in the course were taking the course through their employers.

I also must give thanks to the course instructor, Andres Piasta. He was enthusiastic, patient, and helpful. He was always on hand when we had questions, and was understanding whenever I had to leave momentarily for classes. He also shared tonnes of great resources with the class when the course ended so that we could continue learning once the course was over.

I would highly recommend this course to anyone with a bit of JavaScript experience that is interesting in making web GIS apps.