2024 “How to Look Cool Online” Web Development Workshop Recap 

This summer’s 4th Annual Web Development Workshop “How to Look Cool Online” (HTLCO) generated an array of websites reflecting our participants’ ethnic cultural backgrounds. 

HTLCO is a paid opportunity that introduces simple coding to students with little to no coding background. Prior to the workshop, many incoming students have had negative experiences with coding in the past or fears about diving in. By the time they left the workshop, all of the students expressed a significant increase in confidence towards coding, online expression, and understanding of persuasive techniques (rhetoric) websites use. 

“Be confident in your work,” said one of the student participants when asked what the most important thing they learned during the workshop was. 

Feedback from the rest of the students echoed this sentiment. 

Working together with EchoX staff, this team did an amazing job leading the workshop and encouraging the students. This year’s HTLCO cohort responded with wonderful websites that impressed the team of tech experts who review all the websites at the end of the program. The workshop is lead by Aaron Ottinger, an English instructor and affiliate faculty in the Department of Diversity and Globalism Studies at Highline College, and two Franklin High School students, Nhat and Junyu, as TAs.

Nhat & Junyu, Teaching Assistants 

Our experience as teaching assistants for EchoX’s HTLCO workshop was transformative, educational, and rewarding in ways we didn’t initially expect. It was both our—Nhat and Junyu—first time teaching on this scale, and we felt a bit nervous at the start. Teaching concepts like HTML, CSS, and GitHub to students beginning their programming journey was challenging. However, knowing we had each other as partners helped curb our nervousness and gave us the confidence to face this challenge. 

Planning lessons from scratch was both a challenge and a valuable learning experience. We quickly realized that teaching isn’t just about explaining concepts—it’s about understanding how students learn differently and finding multiple ways to communicate the same idea. Some students needed extra time and help. Figuring out how to adapt our teaching to their needs was incredibly rewarding. 

This experience has also proven helpful outside the workshop, enabling us to help others at school or in everyday situations where we need to explain complex subjects. We were also grateful for the creative freedom we were given to design lessons that worked best for our students. It was fun collaborating on lesson plans that were easy to follow and practical for the students’ projects. One of the best parts of the experience was hosting office hours on Discord where we could answer questions. Discord made it easy to stay connected with students, and we enjoyed troubleshooting their code and guiding them through problems one-on-one. Seeing students improve and grow more confident in their skills made the time spent incredibly worthwhile. 

Throughout the workshop, we also appreciated the strong support from the EchoX team. The organizers, particularly Desiree, made sure we were always clear on our tasks, with deadlines and lesson outlines planned well in advance. Knowing that Desiree was available to help whenever we needed made the experience less stressful and allowed us to focus more on teaching and engaging with the students. Beyond just the teaching aspects, this experience helped both of us grow personally. Nhat found that explaining concepts and answering questions sharpened his ability to communicate effectively, a skill that will serve him really well in his future ambitions. For Junyu, who tends to be more reserved, leading presentations was a significant confidence boost, making it easier for him to feel comfortable in leadership roles, which will help him take the initiative in group work. 

Ultimately, the workshop was a perfect introduction to teaching and leadership. It was beginner-friendly, with plenty of guidance, but it gave us room to explore our teaching styles. We would highly recommend this experience to anyone interested in developing their skills in a supportive, low-pressure environment—it’s a rewarding way to grow both as a teacher and as a leader.

Virany, Student Participant  

Over the course of EchoX’s HTLCO web development workshop, I created an educational website highlighting Cambodian classical dance and its cultural and historical significance. Through this platform, I had the privilege of spotlighting my own family’s story contributions to the community, weaving together personal history with traditional art! 

Before joining the workshop, I had little confidence or experience in coding. HTML and CSS were just acronyms to me, symbols of a complex computer science world that felt foreign. So naturally, the thought of creating an entire website from scratch was daunting to say the least. I wasn’t sure if I had the skills for a project involving so many moving parts. To begin with, I only had a vague idea of what I wanted to create. But discussing ideas with peers and mentors made a difference, and talking about rhetoric and persuasive techniques gave me clarity and confidence to shape my story. My website became a narrative meaningful to me and potentially resonate with my community. 

One of my favorite aspects of the workshop was the creative freedom we were given. We were encouraged to explore an aspect in our ethnicity or culture that was important to us. The ability to explore a personal interest—while using it as a framework to learn something new—made the process feel more meaningful and creative. Translating my idea into real code was challenging, but I quickly realized I had countless resources to bring my vision to life. We were taught web development fundamentals and offered mentors for personalized help. If confused or stuck, it was easy to get help troubleshooting code or brainstorming ideas. I loved the reassurance that I didn’t need to create a perfect product or master web development. Self-expression and personal growth were the priorities. 

Reflecting on the experience, I feel proud of the website I created and how much I learned and grew. Building a website involved problem-solving, perseverance, and creativity—skills I’m sure I’ll use for the rest of my professional career and life! I’m grateful to EchoX and the HTLCO workshop for this opportunity to create my own platform, and hope more students explore web development to express their stories and culture in the future!

We had a wonderful time working with these students and we hope to see them again in our other programs. Hopefully their experience inspires you to participate in a future DIGITIZE workshop or to support our work. Get updates about future programs and workshops by signing up for our mailing list, or support us by donating or sharing our opportunities on social media. 

This workshop was sponsored by the City of Seattle, Suquamish Tribe, and the Clapp family. Thank you!