Sams Teach Yourself JavaScript and Ajax Video Learning Starter Kit . Four hours of Interactive Video Training . Ajax and JavaScript Software Starter Pack for Windows and Mac OS X( The easiest way to learn a new technology Sams Teach Yourself Video Learning is the easiest way to learn a new technology. . Self-Paced–Learn on your own time, at your own pace . Visual–Video lessons clearly explain key concepts and show you exactly what to do . Learn By Doing–Interactive, hands-on learning labs so you can apply what you learn right away . Quick and Efficient–Each individual lesson is no longer than 10 minutes . Modular–Bite-sized lessons let you jump in anywhere In just ten minutes or less, each short video lesson clearly explains key concepts, terms, and techniques. You can stop, start, pause, or replay any part of the video you want, as often as you want, until you really understand everything in the lesson. And then you get to try it yourself in a unique interactive learning lab that helps you to develop real live programs. After you’re done, take a quick, fun quiz to test what you’ve learned before going on to the next lesson. Learn how to… . Use JavaScript to build dynamic, interactive web pages . Build better, more interactive interfaces for your web applications . Verify web-based forms . Control CSS with simple JavaScript . Add Ajax effects to your web pages . Use popular Ajax libraries to speed up and improve common programming tasks On the DVD… . Four hours of video lessons with interactive labs and quizzes . XAMPP for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux–an easy-to-install package to set up a web server learning environment on your own computer . The jEdit programming editor for Windows, Mac, and Linux . Prototype, Scriptaculous, Rico, and XOAD–popular JavaScript libraries for creating Ajax applications and effects . Source code files for all the learning labs How to Watch the Videos All that’s needed to watch the video lessons in this kit is a basic computer equipped for DVDs and the web: . A Windows, Mac, or Linux PC with a DVD drive that can read data DVDs. . A web browser, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer, Safari, or Mozilla Firefox. . The Adobe Flash Player plugin, which allows you to view Flash videos in your browser. If you can watch videos on YouTube, you should be all set. Once you’re sure you’ve got everything, you’re ready to get started: 1. Insert the DVD from this package into your DVD drive on your computer. Note: Make sure you’ve put the DVD in your computer’s DVD drive. The DVD will not run on a computer’s CD drive. Nor will it work in a DVD player designed for plugging into a TV for watching movies. 2. If the DVD main interface does not automatically start up, navigate to the DVD folder on your computer and double-click on the icon or file named Start (start.exe on Windows or start.app on Mac OS X). 3. To watch the videos, choose the lesson you want to start with from the list of lessons on the left side of the window, and then click on the play button in the player window on the right side. How to Use the Learning Labs and Take the Quizzes After each video is complete you can optionally work through the Learning Lab exercises and take a short (not too hard) quiz to help assess what you’ve learned in that lesson. The Learning Lab exercises in this course require you to set up a web server learning environment either at a web hosting service or on your own computer (detailed instructions are on the DVD). The quizzes after the exercises are relatively short and painless. After you make your choice, the program will tell you immediately if you’re right or wrong. Your answers are not stored or compiled, so you can take the quizzes as often as you like, and guessing won’t count against you. Setting up Your Learning Environment The accompanying DVD contains a complete software toolkit with everything you’ll need to complete the course’s examples. You can install this software by clicking on the Install Software and Support link on the opening screen of the DVD’s main interface or by navigating to the DVD in your computer’s file browser and running the file named Software (Software.exe in Windows or Software.app in Mac OS X). The Sams Teach Yourself JavaScript and Ajax Video Learning course is organized into 24 lessons, each designed to be completed in 10 minutes or less.
