Workshops—November 13th, 14th | Web Directions East 2010

Web Directions East 2009 presents four full-day workshops by international experts Bruce Lawson on HTML5, Stephanie Sullivan on CSS3, Jonathan Stark on mobile web apps, and John Resig on jQuery and jQuery UI. Each workshop is limited to 20 participants, and will be presented in English with Japanese interpretation. Book now to enjoy eight hours learning from and talking with these web leaders.

Building Mobile Apps with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript Saturday 13th November, 9:30~17:30

Jonathan Stark

Thanks to mobile phones, we have moved from virtually no one having access to information, to virtually everyone having access to all the vast resources of the web. This is arguably the most important achievement of our generation. Despite its overarching importance, the mobile web is in its infancy. Physical, technical, financial, and political forces have created platform fragmentation like never before, and it’s going to get worse before it gets better.

Organizations that need to engage large groups are faced with a seemingly impossible challenge – “How do we implement our mobile vision in a way that is feasible, affordable, and reaches the greatest number of participants?” In many cases, the answer is web technologies. The combination of advances in HTML5 and mobile devices has created an environment where even novice developers can build mobile apps that improve – and in some cases, save – lives on a global scale.

The future of computing is mobile. The future of mobile is web. Why not get started today?

What will be covered?

• Interface guidelines for mobile devices
• Advanced styling with CSS3
• CSS3 transforms, transitions, and animations
• Building offline web apps with HTML5
• Building native web apps with PhoneGap
• Mobile app architecture options

Who is this workshop for?

This workshop is designed for web designers and developers who are interested in creating mobile apps. A basic familiarity with standard HTML, CSS, and JavaScript would be very helpful but is not required.

HTML5: semantics and structure Saturday 13th November, 9:30~17:30

Bruce Lawson

The foundation of any web site is the markup: defining what your content means. That’s the basis upon which all your attractive styling and clever scripts are built. By coding to standards and using best practices, we can make usable, accessible content that works on past and future devices, and for as many people as possible. Get it right and you have a site that degrades well in older browsers but won’t break in future ones, naturally ranks well in search engines, and works well on everything from PCs to iPads to fridges. It’ll even help you meet your obligations to disabled people under guidelines such as JIS X 8341-3.

The new HTML5 specification gives you 28 new markup elements to choose from. What do they mean? How do they work together? Bruce will answer these questions, and — most importantly — show how to apply them to real world sites. There are also many changes to HTML 4 elements, and even some obsolete elements, and you’ll find out the important differences. Finally, you’ll get a glimpse of the amazing things people are doing with HTML5 now, and an insight into the future of the web.

What you’ll learn:

• The theory and practice of using HTML5 markup elements
• The semantics of new HTML5 structural elements
• The HTML5 outline algorithm
• Improving accessibility by using ARIA with HTML5
• Using intelligent HTML5 forms
• Embedding video and audio
• Ensuring your content is usable in old browsers, for assistive technologies and on mobile devices
• How to use HTML5 now (and what parts to use)

Who is this workshop for?

This workshop is designed for web designers interested in getting up to speed on HTML5, to create accessible, usable websites. You should be comfortable coding HTML 4 or XHTML 1, and understand the concepts of separating content from presentation and JavaScript. No knowledge of HTML5 is required.

Introduction to jQuery and jQuery UI Sunday 14th November, 9:30~17:30

John Resig

In this in-depth tutorial, John Resig introduces you to the concepts behind jQuery, the popular JavaScript framework he created and is the lead developer for. Learn how to create unobtrusive JavaScript that separates a page’s functionality (the “behavior layer”) from its structure/content and presentation, based on current best practices, and using the power of jQuery and jQuery UI.

What You’ll Learn

• How you can use jQuery to simplify your web site
• Techniques for improving performance in your jQuery code
• Using jQuery UI to build custom interfaces with a click of a button
• Building your own jQuery plugins for creating extensible code

Who is this workshop for?

This workshop is intended for front end engineers and programmers with some JavaScript experience. A basic knowledge of jQuery will help but is not essential. As the workshop will include examples and demos, we recommend bringing your laptop to follow along.

CSS3: Practical, Beautiful, Usable Sunday 14th November, 9:30~17:30

Stephanie (Sullivan) Rewis

Artists and designers, there’s a new way to paint! CSS3 is the latest and greatest and all the cool kids are already using it. But there’s new CSS syntax to memorize and not all browsers are equally capable of the effects you create. How will your workflow change? What are the benefits of this evolved web standard for development time and site speed? What can you use right now? What still needs more time?

In this session you’ll learn about progressive design principles, the new capabilities of CSS, time-saving tools to aid as you visually write the code, as well as a variety of methods to tame incapable browsers when it’s absolutely necessary. Welcome to the next generation of web design!

What you’ll learn:

• Which parts can we use now?
• Finding the balance: progressive enhancement and graceful degradation
• Enjoy powerful new selectors
• Master color and transparency flexibility
• Use real fonts on the web
• Create new text effects
• Replace shadows and gradients with CSS
• Experiment with background and border effects
• Explore CSS for movement—animations and transitions
• Fluid layouts and media queries
• Examine tools for creating CSS3 effects

Who is this workshop for?

This workshop is for anyone with an interest in seeing what you can do with CSS3, and how you can incorporate it to speed your workflow and add zest to your web pages that your clients will love. No knowledge of CSS3 is required, although you should be familiar with basic CSS syntax and its application. Web designers and front end engineers looking to become CSS3 pros, this is the workshop for you!

Images:

The images are downsized due to limited space here. The original dimensions may differ.
Click on the image to open it on a new tab.