This past weekend I had the privilege to attend The HTML500 Toronto with 499 of my peers. "The HTML500 is a free, one day crash course in HTML & CSS created by Lighthouse Labs to inspire more Canadians to shape their community through code." (The HTML500)
As I entered the MaRS Discovery District building at 101 College St. early Saturday morning, I was immediately enthralled by the sheer dedication of the Lighthouse Labs employees, The HTML500 volunteers, and the over 100 mentors. Tables and chairs had already been set up for the 500 attendees with swag bags from the 150 partners of the event.
With coffee in hand, I entered the auditorium where I couldn’t help but feel the anticipation and excitement of what was to come. The day began with opening remarks by Lighthouse Labs Co-Founder, Jeremy Shaki, who made it evident that The HTML500 was created because "everyone should have the opportunity to learn how to code." Keynote speaker Marcela Velez, of Sheridan Continuing Education, spoke to the intimidation that many people face when learning to code. Velez reassured the audience by saying, "Life begins at the end of your comfort zone," a motto that sits in her Twitter Bio. Shawn Mandel of Telus Digital then took to the stage with his adorable son in his arms. The father-son image resonated powerfully with Mandel’s words, "We've come so far that HTML is no longer just coding, it's literacy."
After the speaker series had concluded, a master class in the basics of HTML and CSS was taught by Don Burks, Head Instructor at Lighthouse Labs, and Maggie Moss, Part-time Instructor at Lighthouse Labs. Burks and Moss are much like Yoda and Luke of Star Wars. Why the comparison you may ask? Burks and Moss are a strong example of the student becoming the teacher (master); Burks was Moss’ instructor for the Web Development Bootcamp she attended at Lighthouse Labs in Vancouver. Before Burks and Moss began the master class, they spoke about their own experiences learning to code. Burks put it simply, “Coding is about solving problems.” Burks went on to say that, “If you passed Grade 10 French, you can learn how to code. Coding is like learning a language; you're learning a syntax that the computer knows.” Both Burks and Moss broke the stereotype that coders are anti-social and eased the crowd through the use of simple explanations, comedy, and entertaining gifs.
After the master class, we headed upstairs to feed our hungry minds and begin coding our first landing pages. There were developers (mentors) at each table who graciously donated their Saturday of a long weekend to answer any and all of our questions. By the end of the day each participant had created a web page, different from the next, which showcased their individual design. Each participant was even given one month of free hosting by The HTML500 and Lighthouse Labs.
Jeremy Shaki highlighted the diversity of the attendees at The HTML500 in his opening remarks. Shaki urged us to observe the audience around us as we raised our hands to his prompts: who is a designer, who is an investment banker, who is below the age of 18, who is above the age of 45, who is a teacher, who is a student, who is male, who is female. In fact, 60% of The HTML500 Toronto attendees were female. Following this examination, Shaki asked us to look under our chairs where we found a tag. On one side of the tag we wrote our name and something about ourselves (e.g. I am female). The other side of the tag read, "<And I can code/> ", < being the opening tag, and /> being the closing tag for lines of HTML. At the end of the day, each participant had hung their tag on a knitted web, which included a sign that read, "The Web is for Everyone." This micro web representing the 500 HTML500 Toronto attendees who were once just 500 strangers illustrates how we are all connected by the web.
In addition to writing our name and something about ourselves, we were also asked to write why we decided to learn to code on our tag. Personally, I had a father who was a Computer Programmer. I remember him showing me lines of code that he had written when I was a child. Although my father always told me that I was capable of anything, coding was never something that I believed I could do. However, today I am proud to say that <I can code/> and I want to continue my learning. One of the mentors at my table, Carson Yong, is a Lighthouse Lab alumni who decided to mentor at The HTML500 in order to teach others to code. I hope that I will be able to return to The HTML500 as a mentor. And who knows, maybe I will see YOU there.
The HTML500. Lighthouse Labs, http://www.thehtml500.com/. Accessed 21 February 2017.