// Find Your Path

Course & Paths

Every LabCats student starts somewhere and builds from there. Here's how the courses connect — and where you fit in depending on your age, experience, and goals.

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// Where do I start?

Not sure where to being?

You don't have to start at the beginning. Most younger students work through the full path over several years. Older students often jump in further along.

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Brand New to Coding

Never written a line of code? Start with How to Build a Website. You'll build something real on day one.

Start at Step 1
Know Some Basics

Comfortable with HTML and CSS? Done some JavaScript? Jump into JavaScript Essentials or Basics of Web Apps.

Start at Step 3 or 8
High School with some coding experience

Some coding background from school or elsewhere? Many high schoolers go straight to Make Your Own Web App — it includes review material.

Start at the Capstone

Website & Web App Path

HTML -> JavaScript -> MySQL -> PHP -> Full-Stack App

Python Path

Basics -> Data Science -> Web Apps

Flexible entry. Younger students typically start at Step 1 and work through over several years. Older students with some experience often jump straight to Step 3, 8, or even the Capstone.

1

How to Build a Website Beginner

HTML structure and CSS styling. Build your first real webpage on day one. The foundation for everything that follows.

Website Building Path

Learn how to develop websites and web apps from start to finish beginning with HTML & CSS, on to JavaScript, PHP & SQL before learning how to integrate it all in a full stack web app.

How to Build a Website: HTML & CSS
Learn how to create a website! We'll start off with the basics of HTML which allows us to structure our content and then learn CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) to give our webpage some personality including adding colors, cool fonts, and interesting visual effects.
Website Design:
Layout, HTML5, CSS3, & Touch of JavaScript
Learn how to create complicated web page layouts that are responsive. We'll also cover the new tricks you can do with HTML5 and CSS3. Then we will cap it off by learning how to add some interactivity to your website with JavaScript.
JavaScript Essentials
Building on the your knowledge of HTML & CSS, learn the fundamentals of programming in JavaScript.
HTML5
Games
Using HTML5 and JavaScript, learn the basics of creating graphical games for the web or your mobile device.
Intro to Phaser 3 Game Framework
Add on by learning the basics of creating 2D games using Phaser 3.
Learning PHP
PHP is one of the most useful languages you can learn. It plays nicely with HTML and CSS on the front end and then can turn around and create powerful functions on the backed to integrate with databases and other tools. Plus, it is easy to learn and scales nicely - from simple functions to complex powerful web apps.
How to Use Databases & SQL
Learn the basics of creating databases with phpMyAdmin and MySQL. Then dive into the mastering the writing of SQL queries. We'll follow that up with a learning how to combine PHP and MySQL for interactive web apps.
Basics of Web Apps
This course combines all the skills you learned with PHP and MySQL but adds a new level of complexity on top. We'll learn how to combine PHP and MySQL for interactive database web
Making Your Own Web App
The best way to learn how to code is to make your own project. In this course, you will create your own web app starting with brainstorming for ideas and planning out the project through development and testing. The final goal is to submit your app for the Congressional App challenge in October.
Prerequisite: Basics of Web Apps
Advanced Web App
Taken all the classes in this series? Made your own app but it's not perfect yet? This courses includes more independent work while covering advanced concepts to make your app more fully realized as well as more stable. This includes learning how to set up a local development environment, using GIT and adding in more PHP best practices including OOP!
Prerequisite: Make Your Own Web App

Python Path

Jump straight into real coding with Python - one of the easiest languages to learn. Create games while learning the basic concepts and then head into more complex programming concepts.

Basics of Python
Learn the basics of Python while creating a Choose Your Adventure and a Guessing game. This covers variables, data types, conditionals, loops, lists and more.
Advanced Python
Learn how to use existing Python modules in your code and how to create and use functions. We will then dive into learning how to design and structure programs while building several games.
Intro to Data Science
Learn the basics of Data Science and how to use Jupyter Notebooks to do simple analysis.
Object Oriented Programming
Learn how to create and use objects in Python.
Data Science with Python
Combine the basics of Data Science with using Python programming.
Python Web Apps
Learn how to make web applications using a framework with Python.

WordPress Path

Learn the most popular tool used to create websites on the market today starting with the basics, how to use plugins and how to add custom code.

Basics of WordPress
Learn how to create a website using WordPress including the difference between posts & pages, site design, how to use plugins & widgets, setting up users, security and more.
Advanced WordPress
Covers more advanced WordPress topics with a focus on what you can do with some premium plugins including Gravity Forms, Gravity Views, User Role Editor, and Beaver Builder Page Builder.
WP Plugins & Custom PHP
Put your PHP and your WordPress skills together to learn how to create plugins and custom PHP pages for WordPress..