Thanks for attending the UW Digital Panel. I wanted to post some notes about questions that came up with links to help you out.

What should I learn - the basics

The question most journalists who want to learn to code ask - what language(s) should I learn? The basics will get you a long way. They are:

• HTML - the structure of the web
• CSS - the design elements of the web
• JavaScript & jQuery - making your web projects interactive

A great place to start is codecademy. They are a free way to dip your toes into code.

Beyond the basics

So you have created a simple site and added some interactivity with JavaScript. You want more. Here are the next steps for budding journo-developers

• JSON/API's. These are the building blocks of most modern-day web applications. API's are a stream of data, usually in the JSON format. It's the data that makes your Twitter widget update and provides you with Yelp reviews. Some local examples to start with are the Madison MyBus API and the City of Madison Data Page.
• Python/Django. A popular combination for journalists, Python and Django provide an easy way to create web applications. A popular beginner tool is Learn Python the Hard Way. Coding for Entrepreneurs also offers some insightful videos through their YouTube page on using Django.

Different news organizations will use other programming languages (Node.js, PHP and Ruby on Rails are all popular), but if you know the basics, you can easily master other languages

Other tools

Some other digital tools that are extremely useful:

• Github. The site you are currently on. Social code. Includes code from digital media companies such as NPR, Sunlight Foundation and Thunderdome. They also have a Student Developer Pack that offers a bunch of educational discounts.
• Bootstrap. Created by Twitter, Bootstrap is a framework that makes creating responsive web pages/app extremely simple. Wonderful documentation.
• Pingendo. A graphical interface for Bootstrap that makes it even easier to use.
• import.io. Need data from a website? import.io makes scraping the information into a spreadsheet or api as easy as clicking on the information you want.
• Google Fusion Tables. Google's mapping component. Easy to install and create detailed maps.
• Tableau. Free and powerful data graphing tool.
• Ionic. Use HTML, CSS and JavaScript to create mobile apps.
• DigitalOcean. Cheap and easy web hosting.

Of note - You WILL get frustrated, feel like a hack and think there's no way you will ever get this stuff. It happens to everyone when they first start learning to code. Stick with it, ask people online and Google your errors. Eventually you'll master the craft. Good luck.