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JavaScript

Jeremy V
Jeremy V
11,110 Points
Posted by Jeremy V
Jeremy V
11,110 Points

JavaScript Tech Degree Projects

I'm wondering if anyone who is currently doing the Tech Degree projects can answer a question for me.

Do they do a good job of explaining how to complete the projects? Or, do they just go through the curriculum and at the end, assume that you have the necessary skills to complete the projects yourself?

I'm not sure that I prefer one way over the other, I'm just curious. I see that tic-tac-toe is a project, and I've tried developing an unbeatable tic-tac-toe game in the past, and really struggled formulating the algorithm.

Jeremy V
Jeremy V
11,110 Points
Jeremy V
Jeremy V
11,110 Points

Thank you for all of the answers. They were all helpful, I just marked best answer to the first that responded. Thank you all though for your feedback.

3 Answers

William Homer
William Homer
11,868 Points

Hello Jeremy, I'm in the JavaScript Tech Degree program and currently working on the second project.

The video's and exercises that are covered will show you fundamentals, however you will still be tasked with utilizing sites like developer.mozilla.org in order to complete your projects. The real benefit of the degree is having the peer comments and feedback as you are all learning together. It is a very nice community of people which allow you to ask questions with each other while having the oversight of TreeHouse team members. This is not to say that the TreeHouse staff is a non active part as they supply support as needed and interact throughout the day.

Videos will show you how to break down code starting from what's the problem to desired solution and how to task/breakdown what needs to happen in your code. TreeHouse video's also showcase how to use and navigate sites like developer.mozilla.org.

I would recommend to take the 14 day trial and take a look for yourself, forums for the JS Degree are quite active.

Hope that helps answer your question.

Zachary Kaufman
Zachary Kaufman
1,463 Points
Zachary Kaufman
Zachary Kaufman
1,463 Points

I am in the iOS Techdegree, but the concept between all the TechDegrees are the same. They give you the classes, a short video explaining the projects, and then a pretty long rubric for each projects with requirements, tips, and if necessary then it also gives ways to do specific parts of the project. And not to mention, you have the Slack channel of people who have gone through or are doing the project who can help with anything you need. So far I have found the projects challenging but definitely do-able and well explained.

jenp
jenp
12,473 Points
jenp
jenp
12,473 Points

Hi Jeremy... I'm in the JS Tech Degree as well, about halfway through. Wrt the Tic-Tac-Toe project, you don't need to use the algorithm in order to complete the project. You can just make the AI play randomly, which doesn't make for such a challenging game, but I think the JS programming is the main point of the exercise. Using the algorithm is part of the Exceeds Expectations for that project, so you could always take another crack at implementing it, and I'm sure the mentors would answer any questions you have.

I would second William's suggestion to sign up for the trial and check out the Slack channels for the FSJS degree. That will give you an idea of how much support there is... I've always been able to get my (many) questions answered. I wouldn't say they assume you have the skills to do the projects, because (as I'm sure you know) a huge part of the learning curve is figuring out how to look things up, understand documentation and solve stuff yourself. And you also learn that there are a variety of possible approaches to solving JS problems - we all seem to have different takes on solving the same problem, and it's interesting to compare and contrast what everybody has done.

So it wouldn't really work if they gave you a lot of detail on how to complete the projects, but you do get enough information to go and work on your own, and you can ask questions about anything and everything as you go. Hope that helps.