Guild of Educators

Weekend Workshop: Modern Django Frontend Development

Once upon a time, if you wanted a truly modern web frontend experience for your Python web app you would have limited options. Many people would reach for heavy frontend tools and frameworks such as React, Vue or one of their many competitors. And those tools generally have their own recommendations around testing.

Times have changed — tools like HTMX and AlpineJS are taking Python Web dev by storm and simplifying the creation of modern frontends. A Python web app can now take on the full responsibility of producing a modern frontend, so it would be good to have a Pythonic way to test those frontends.

What's in the box

In this 2 day workshop, you will be able to create a responsive, beautiful CRUD app that is uniquely yours. We'll be using the following tools:

• Django
• HTMX
• TailwindCSS
• Playwright
• AlpineJS

What if I'm not into Django?

The focus of this workshop is the frontend, not the backend. The tools and techniques demonstrated here can be easily applied using a different framework such as Flask, FastAPI or even non-Python frameworks and backends such as ExpressJS.

That said, Django is pretty cool. You can build some serious things with it VERY quickly. And, for those who are new to web dev, Django is a great teacher.

Uniquely yours?

The goal of this workshop is not to help everyone build exactly the same application. The goal is to set you up to build your own thing. There are a few benefits to this:

1. Fun! Building something you want is more fun than simply doing what you are told for 2 days
2. Knowledge retention: You will be applying what you learn as you learn it. This will help you engage with the material in a way that makes it stick in your mind
3. Portfolio: If you are new to programming and are still building out a portfolio, this is a really good way to do it

Previous participants have worked on:

• A music store
• A conference talk tracker
• A family/household chore organiser
• A personal learning journey tracker
• And much more...

Why CRUD?

90% of the web is CRUD. If you nail these skills and techniques then you will be capable of a lot

Prerequisite knowledge

To get the most out of this workshop, it would be useful for you to know some:

• Python
• Basics of virtual environments
• HTML

Our methods

• Education experts: Teaching is a skill set. There is a science to it, and an art. We only use teachers who know what's up
• We believe in self-paced learning: Forcing students to move at the same pace is bad for most people. If you need to spend a bit of extra time on a section then you will be able to do that. And if you are fast, you should be allowed to move ahead. We limit the number of participants so that we can support people as they move through the material in a self-paced way.
• Filing the gaps: If you get stuck on something then we will coach you through it. Many newer programmers come into these workshops with unknown unknowns. We keep an eye on everyone to see if anyone is missing any skills
• Software dev experts: We encourage participants to build their own things during the workshop. This means that they are likely to come across problems we would not expect. We will be in a position to help because we have the required expertise
• Planting seeds: we intentionally put quite a lot of work into the workshop. Faster participants will be kept busy until the end, and slower participants will still have a valuable experience even if they don't manage to make it all the way through. The goal of this workshop is not to check boxes but rather to set participants up with useful skills and the ability to continue learning on their own

Support the work of the Guild of Educators

100% of the profits go towards supporting the work of the Guild of Educators, and to offering opportunities and financial aid to learners who cannot afford these courses.

The Guild of Educators is an organisation and community that works to empower educators and teachers. The goal of the Guild is to empower those who empower others by providing:

• Teacher training and skills: Teaching code is not that obvious
• Community: A lot of teachers leave teaching because of burnout and systemic issues. We want to improve people's chances of staying in teaching for the long haul
• Opportunities: Teachers gotta teach. We work to suppport our members
• Resources: Content creation is a whole thing. We work to hook people up with the materials they need