javascript, who else wants to puke?

I totally agree! I feel your pain bro, Treehouse is awesome but the only area where I have found a real problem is the JavaScript section, surely it's got to be the most complicated part so far out of html,css and javascript and it seems to have the least to explain it! They need another course showing really useful examples of how it's used I think and further explaining the DOM Model.

I agree. I really liked the HTML and CSS courses but I find the Javascript courses lack the Treehouse "feel". My feedback is it would be nice to integrate the Javascript Foundations course topics into a website project that builds on itself throughout the course. I'm grinding through the sections but I don't find myself as engaged. I'll keep plugging away though because I need to learn this stuff.

If you are brand new to programming you might like enjoy the programming with Karel

It focuses on problem solving while coding.

I've also found that the W3Schools JavaScript info is actually very helpful, i normally find these tutorials quite bad but the JavaScript one makes sense once you recognize a bit of the JavaScript language. Try it out at .. http://www.w3schools.com/js/DEFAULT.asp

I actually enjoy the code challenges in this unit. The code challenges are like a reward for getting through the videos.

Adam Duffield

Thanks for the w3schools link. I find the JavaScript examples there presented in a more practical manner.

I would recommend that you work on "introduction to Programming" if you haven't already. http://teamtreehouse.com/library/introduction-to-programming

I think it's meant to be a lighter introduction to programming than javascript foundations.

However, both of these courses are deep dives and not project based so that is probably part of the problem for you. They are meant more to teach you how to use the language and programming fundamentals. Not so much on how to apply it on real world projects.

There is the new "jQuery Basics" course and the older "Build an Interactive Website" and these are more hands on project based but they are focused on jQuery and not javascript.

Javascript is the behavior layer in a website/webapp. It's responsible for the interactivity that you experience on a website. You've probably seen slideshows, or looked at images in a lightbox, or filled out forms where you were notified of problems while you were filling it out. These are some of things that javascript does. You may have seen FAQ style pages where you only see the questions and after clicking a question you see the answer open up. That's javascript too. Most likely jQuery or some other javascript library is being used but javascript under the hood.

It may seem boring and pointless right now but realize that you're learning important fundamentals.

Here's a quote from "The Last Lecture" that I think is appropriate here: "You’ve got to get the fundamentals down because otherwise the fancy stuff isn’t going to work."

You might like Learn Street's JavaScript course

I might be totally alone in thinking this, but I love the javascript lessons. The videos are dry.... but so is the humor!! The courses have tons of "easter eggs" in them if you're paying attention. Maybe that's not everyone's thing. I also think they get better as you get further into them.

After giving some thought to all the excellent input here, I've realized although the JavaScript videos may be dry they are very valuable in the knowledge they present about fundamental JavaScript concepts that will be needed as I continue to learn programming. I feel very comfortable that Treehouse will be teaching me the "right" way.
Thanks everyone.

I completely understand your perspective and thought I was alone in feeling this way. I went into this knowing that learning a programming language would take work, practice and patience. I do feel that the Javascript training lacks real world examples of what Javascript actually does. With the other tutorials, like HTML and CSS in the beginning you are shown what you can do with them, and you always hear "don't worry if you don't understand every little detail of the code, we will get into that later." I appreciate that style of learning, so I first SEE what I can do with what I am learning, and then learn the details of HOW to do it.

I do appreciate Treehouse teaching the right way to use Javascript, and providing a solid foundation of the language, but I still feel the learning experience lacks that piece of the puzzle that shows what it can do right from the beginning.

I'm finding myself painfully working through it, hoping for the light bulb to go off...

Dino,

Thanks for that! I will check that out, and just keep working through it.

I just wish there was a way I can see what I am learning being applied to a real time design. Yes, I understand it's a foundation, but I find it so dry to get through that it almost feels tedious to finish. I am hoping Jquery adds more depth to this as Jquery is a JavaScript library and a lot of people who divided into Jquery and end up learning Javascript much more fluently than that.

I guess maybe I am just one of those people where I need to see a problem exist in the real world environment to fully understand the functionality, otherwise, it's almost like an college education all over again, preparing you for the basics yet become so lost the moment you feet begin to get which in all actuality, I'll rather be lost and learn through trial and error than try to understand basics to something that I don't know what it's purpose is applied to. But maybe it's too soon to speak as I haven't finished the whole front end developer track, while I do appreciate what Treehouse does for us, I just wish there could be actual presentations on to apply these methods in an actual design setting rather than presenting very basic examples in console log..but maybe I am wrong, who knows.