I echo Jason and Eric, and as specifically a front-end developer maybe I can offer a little extra insight:

Six to eight hours of instruction and code-review from a developer could be enough if there is a fairly involved asynchronous program associated with it. E.g., perhaps your staff takes on a more-or-less singular robust project that you each individually complete in seven months. Something like this could very much lay a framework for basic understanding and implementation as well as give your colleagues a jumping-off point for further training. 

That said, you would need such an asynchronous program, which would take longer than just the six-hours of in-person coaching if the same expert were to develop it. 

As a gauge, a developer from whom you would trust to learn goes for about $100 / Hour, but that may be their starting negotiating rate and you might be able to knock it down to $60. Who knows what your local affiliates would charge based on their demand, but keep this number in your head - anything substantially lower should be a red flag, and anything substantially higher is probably bullshit. 

What you may be able to do is use a project from www.codecademy.com and invite the expert in at intervals to better explain concepts, their application in a real--maybe even library-specific--context, and review code. In this way, you all are effectively training yourselves with the aid of a mentor who comes in from time to time to set the course.

As for the remoteness, I wouldn't do it through Skype, rather I would use www.codepen.io, the premium version of which has a "professor" mode that I've found super valuable. Basically, you can all land in a single browser-editor, and the leader can tweak each of your code live, or pull everyone up to the same version, and so on. Codepen is purely HTML, JS, and CSS, and it is a great free tool, optimized specifically for your use case.

Feel free to holler off-list if you like for any brain-picking.

Michael 
@schoeyfield / www.libux.co / www.codepen.io/michaelschofield 


-----Original Message-----
From: Code for Libraries [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Eric Phetteplace
Sent: Friday, May 08, 2015 1:10 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] Where to look for a JavaScript Code Coach?

My first thought was the same as Jason's—what if you opened up the opportunity to remote experts? A lot of web developers are used to working remotely and it would greatly widen your potential talent pool. On the other hand, it sounds like you'd need to restructure your program too much, as having someone Skype into a room of twelve for a workshop sounds like an unideal experience. Maybe if it was possible to break the program into smaller one-on-one remote meetings this would work.

It sounds like you reached out initially to individual community members, but you could also try listing on local job boards or job sites. There are whole sites that focus specifically on web or programming professionals that might enable you to find someone in your area, e.g. Freelancer.

Aside: really cool that you're doing this! I've thought for a while that support to learn coding is sorely lacking at most institutions. Good luck finding someone!

Best,
Eric

On Fri, May 8, 2015 at 8:52 AM, Katherine Deibel <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Definitely poke local colleges/universities. Although rare, there are 
> often some computing grad students (and maybe a few undergrads) with a 
> passion for teaching that could greatly enjoy such an opportunity. I'd 
> contact student advisors in the relevant departments as they'd 
> probably know which students would have interest.
>
> Kate Deibel, PhD | Web Applications Specialist Information Technology 
> Services University of Washington Libraries 
> http://staff.washington.edu/deibel
>
> --
>
> "When Thor shows up, it's always deus ex machina."
>
>
> On 2015-05-08 8:25 AM, Chad Nelson wrote:
>
>> Eliza,
>>
>> Looks like Girl Develop It has a Milwaukee outfit, and even looks 
>> like they already run javascript classes.
>> http://www.meetup.com/Girl-Develop-It-Milwaukee
>>
>> I've heard nothing but good things about GDI classes in my neck of 
>> the woods, but obviously can't speak specifically about folks from Milwaukee.
>> But seems like a decent possibility.
>>
>> hth,
>> Chad
>>
>>
>>
>> On Fri, May 8, 2015 at 11:14 AM Eliza Carrie Bettinger 
>> <[log in to unmask]>
>> wrote:
>>
>>  Hello All,
>>>
>>>
>>> I received a grant from my university to organize a 7-month program 
>>> for academic staff to build their Javascript skills. The idea is all 
>>> the staff who participate will get together 1-2x per month to share 
>>> their progress on individual projects they're developing, and get 
>>> feedback and troubleshooting help from both a peer group AND a paid 
>>> expert I'm calling a "coach." (Full description below.)
>>>
>>>
>>> The problem I'm having is finding anyone who is interested in taking 
>>> the coaching the job. I have not made a public job ad, but I have 
>>> emailed about
>>> 10 folks from campus and community, and asked them to notify their 
>>> networks and affiliated lis-servs. For example: the leaders of 
>>> Milwaukee MeetUp groups for tech women, for Javascript programmers, 
>>> and open data; the web development professor at our iSchool; our 
>>> campus app development lab; the leader of a local nonprofit that 
>>> teaches coding to kids; etc. I've gotten positive responses form 
>>> many of these folks, but I haven't received a nibble of interest 
>>> from a single person in the job itself. I'm continuing to identify 
>>> key people whose networks I can tap, but I'm discouraged by the 
>>> apparent lack of interest I've encountered so far, and scratching my 
>>> head over what I'm doing wrong.
>>>
>>>
>>> So I'm turning to you for advice -- specifically, two questions:
>>>
>>> 1) Do you know someone who might know someone in the Milwaukee area 
>>> who might be interested in a gig like this? If so, please feel free 
>>> to circulate this posting
>>>
>>> 2) Can you spot anything in the ad itself that I could improve? 
>>> Anything that's a turn-off? Should I include the pay rate in the ad?
>>>
>>> (We have a total of about $1100; I figured I would negotiate the 
>>> hourly rate and total number of hours with the person we found. 
>>> Although I listed
>>> 6 hours/month, that's only the ideal; we could bring down the total 
>>> number of hours, and pay a higher rate.)
>>>
>>> Any other suggestions or ideas? I'd love to get your feedback.
>>>
>>>
>>> Thank you!!
>>>
>>> Eliza
>>>
>>>
>>> Javascript Workshop Leader / "Coach"
>>>
>>> 6 hours per month, July - December, 2015
>>>
>>>
>>> This summer, the Digital Humanities Lab at UWM will begin a 
>>> professional development series for academic staff from across 
>>> campus to improve their skills in coding for front-end Web 
>>> development -- specifically, Javascript.
>>> Workshop participants will be professionals from diverse academic 
>>> backgrounds who each have a real-life work-related project under 
>>> development. They will have completed some basic training in 
>>> Javascript (such as the JavaScript course in Codecademy), but are 
>>> novice-level developers.  In twice-monthly meetings with peers and 
>>> an expert coach, up to 12 participants will meet for collaborative 
>>> workshop sessions in which they present progress on their projects, 
>>> get help on overcoming obstacles, receive short lessons on important 
>>> topics, and gradually “level up” to become more proficient 
>>> programming problem solvers.  Our goal is to support staff who have 
>>> already learned some basics of coding, but need help to start 
>>> becoming fluent enough to apply those basics in order to design and 
>>> build their desired products.
>>>
>>>
>>> We seek an expert front-end programmer with Javascript expertise who 
>>> will act as coach, mentor, and troubleshooter for this group of learners.
>>> Overall, the goal of the workshop sessions will be to build a 
>>> community of learners to support one another and provide motivation, 
>>> camaraderie, and practical assistance in overcoming roadblocks. The 
>>> paid expert will act a coach for the group, providing guidance in 
>>> matters that are opaque to novice learners, and sharing strategies 
>>> from his/her experience. Sessions may include short lessons prepared 
>>> and presented by the coach, but we envision workshop sessions in 
>>> which the focus of the majority of the meeting time is on individual 
>>> participants' projects and questions.
>>> Participants could also take turns researching and presenting on 
>>> relevant topics, with guidance from the coach.  The exact format of 
>>> the sessions will be designed in part with guidance from the coach, 
>>> and will be subject to revision and changes with input from the 
>>> group as the project progresses.
>>>
>>>
>>> The person we hire will:
>>>
>>> Be an expert developer of front-end interaction applications. 
>>> Skilled in JavaScript, and in adopting specialized JS libraries.
>>>
>>> Have some experience (formal or informal) teaching, coaching, or 
>>> mentoring beginner-level programmers.
>>>
>>> Have Interest in and competency with a wide range of subject and 
>>> content applications.
>>>
>>> Have comfort with and interest in joining a learning environment 
>>> that is flexible, collaborative, and open.
>>>
>>>
>>> To express interest in the position, or to learn more, please 
>>> contact Eliza Bettinger, [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Eliza Bettinger
>>> Digital Geo-Information Specialist
>>> American Geographical Society Library UW-Milwaukee Milwaukee WI USA
>>> 414-229-6282
>>>
>>>