What drew me to Olin was the emphasis on learning through projects and experiences. Up until sixth grade, this was how I learned. In fact, the motto of my elementary school was “joyous work,” and after going to a more conventional high school that emphasized grades and test scores, I sought to return to this approach to learning. Learning through doing was surprising, challenging, and valuable for my growth as a person. Experiences that stand out are the failure of a website I tried to start for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered(LGBT) students and perception-expanding experience of studying abroad in Japan. I came into these experiences not entirely prepared, but in the process I learned how much I did not know. Coming out of these experiences, I continue to learn using the skills I acquired.

This is a book that is meant to teach readers how to program by exposing them to beginning programming concepts while walking them through the making of a simple webpage. The idea is that as people read the chapters, they pick up programming experience, and when they're done, they will know enough about web development to immediately apply their newly learned skills. The book is aimed at people relatively comfortable with computers who have never programmed before. For this document in the archives, I wrote three sections of the book: a preface whose goal is to allow readers to judge whether the book is right for them, as well as the first two chapters of content.