A first taste of coding, with a useful task to work on

Start with something you want to know

Ania Kubów teaches coding through projects and describes using visuals and storytelling to make ideas click. Her DEV profile points to beginner JavaScript tutorials, a useful place to continue when you want to see more examples.

References: Code with Ania · DEV Community

Pulenaz begins with a household question: if three jars cost 4 each, what is the total? She types 3 * 4 into a JavaScript console and sees 12. She changes the quantity to 5 and sees 20. The asterisk means multiply; the useful first habit is to predict the answer before running the expression.

She then gives the values names: let quantity = 3 and let price = 4. Evaluating quantity * price gives 12. When she changes the quantity, she can use the same calculation again. She has made a tiny tool for checking a shopping total, and learned why a name can make a calculation easier to change.

Treat a mistake as a clue

The next time, Pulenaz types quantty * price and gets an error instead of a total. She compares the name in that expression with quantity where she first defined it, spots the missing i and tries again. The result is 12. She has not had to understand every possible error: she has identified the line she changed and checked it against the working version.

Ania asks her to try a different quantity and say what she expects first. When quantity is 2, the answer should be 8. Seeing that result makes it easier to tell whether the correction helped and whether the calculation still does the job.

See how a web page responds

For a second household tool, Pulenaz wants a short reminder on a page: “Water the plants.” Ania shows her a page with a heading, a button marked Done and a message underneath. When she presses the button, the message changes to “Plants watered.” The words on the page make the purpose visible; the button gives the visitor something to do.

HTML describes the page’s content and structure. JavaScript can respond to an action and change what appears on the page. MDN’s introductions to HTML and JavaScript explain these pieces and provide examples to explore.

References: MDN Web Docs · MDN Web Docs

Pulenaz changes the button’s message to “Watering finished,” saves the file and reloads the page. When nothing changes at first, she notices she saved a second copy in another folder; she opens that copy and tries the button again. The new message appears. She leaves it as a simple reminder rather than adding a calendar before she understands the first button.

For another project-based path, Ania’s own teaching page links her channel, and her DEV posts include beginner JavaScript projects. Pause after a small change and try to predict what the page will do; then run it and compare.

References: Code with Ania · DEV Community

Sources and attribution

1. Code with Ania

   AboutPublication date not listed · Recorded Oct 30, 2026

2. DEV Community

   Ania KubowPublication date not listed · Recorded Oct 30, 2026

3. MDN Web Docs

   HTML: Creating the contentPublication date not listed · Recorded Oct 30, 2026

4. MDN Web Docs

   IntroductionPublication date not listed · Recorded Oct 30, 2026