We're proud to announce the launch of near.academy, a keystone of our educational onramp at NEAR Protocol. Powered by the same team and technology behind Ocean Academy and Tezos Academy, NEAR Academy is purpose-built for web 2 developers looking for a hands-on introduction to blockchain concepts and code. 101Labs has done an incredible job of crafting an approachable narrative with a twist: The Meme Museum. The year is 2029. The new internet is running on top of public interoperable blockchains. It seems crazy to think how the perception towards these technologies has drastically changed. The Internet of Value is more tangible than ever. Knowing how blockchain works is not considered a competitive advantage nowadays. It is a must-have. Behind the welcoming facade of the meme museum are multiple smart contracts written specifically for this learning experience. These include a custom NFT token contract and an NFT generator. These contracts work together to create an immersive experience for developers learning about NEAR Protocol where anyone can enter and everyone leaves with an NFT.

:warning: this page is deprecated :warning: :arrow_right: see this updated page :arrow_left: NEAR Certified Developer This course is an opportunity for web developers to earn a Certificate of Completion that represents the ability to design, develop, test and deploy smart contracts on the NEAR platform. Welcome Glad you could join us. We will be working together over the next week to learn to build decentralized applications on the smart contract platform known as NEAR Protocol. Here's a report of what's happening in the industry with these so-called "layer 1" platforms as of Dec 2020. The research makes it clear: NEAR is here.

:warning: this page is deprecated :warning: :arrow_right: see this updated page :arrow_left: NEAR Certified Developer This course is an opportunity for web developers to earn a Certificate of Completion that represents the ability to design, develop, test and deploy smart contracts on the NEAR platform. Welcome Glad you could join us. We will be working together over the next week to learn to build decentralized applications on the smart contract platform known as NEAR Protocol. Here's a report of what's happening in the industry with these so-called "layer 1" platforms as of Dec 2020. The research makes it clear: NEAR is here.

Writing web 3 To interface or not to interface? that is the question. :construction: :construction: :construction: Learn to write contracts that control money, identity, ownership among other data types. Core Activities

Testing web 3 We don't need no stinkin' tests! :construction: :construction: :construction: Learn to write unit and simulation tests for smart contracts. Core Activities

Perceiving web 3 What's all the fuss about? Learn to make sense of what is actually going on right now in the larger context of history. Core Activities :+1: confirm your availability

Building web 3 So what now? :construction: :construction: :construction: The adventure continues Core Activities In this section we will organize opt-in activities for attendees of the program to remain engaged with the learning community after the course completes.

Demonstrating web 3 This will be fine ... :construction: :construction: :construction: Demonstrate your group project in 5-10 minutes Core Activities

Deploying web 3 Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of DLT :construction: :construction: :construction: Learn to deploy your contracts to LocalNet and TestNet Core Activities

Reading web 3 Wait, what's a contract even? Learn to read (smart?) contracts in Rust and AssemblyScript, there's really nothing to it. Core Activities Watch these orientation videos before doing anything else

What are all of the combinations of frontend tech and contract code available using create-near-app? This challenge will take you on a tour of create-near-app, the fastest way to get started building on NEAR Protocol. You will have to run the tool locally and pay close attention to the output but the payoff will be good: you will learn how to build dApps compatible with NEAR Protocol in minutes. create-near-app is great for generating a working starting point for your own hackathon projects. Good luck and have fun! Estimates for Time to Complete Fastest time: <30 seconds (if you already know how to do this) Most likely time: 5 minutes Time to quit: 10 minutes (we can help you with some hints in this case)

What are the different types of Receipts and how do they help dApps scale? This challenge will take you on a tour of cross-contract calls, a distinguishing feature of NEAR Protocol. You will have to read through some documentation and may even end up trying to run some code yourself. Good luck and have fun! Estimates for Time to Complete Fastest time: 30 seconds (if you know exactly where to look) Most likely time: 10 minutes Time to quit: 15+ minutes (we can help you with some hints in this case)

What is the code_hash exposed by the Guest Book contract? This challenge will take you on a tour of our most popular example on near.dev, the Guest Book example. You will have to follow several steps and pay close attention to what is happening but the payoff will be great: you will understand how to identify whether a specific contract has been deployed to any account on NEAR Protocol. Good luck and have fun! Estimates for Time to Complete Fastest time: < 1 minute (if you already know how to do this) Most likely time: 10 minutes Time to quit: 15+ minutes (we can help you with some hints in this case)

How do you run a local node without connecting to a public network? This challenge will take you on a tour of nearup, the command line utility for launching nodes that connect to one of our networks. You will have to read through the nearup documentation and may even end up trying to launch a node yourself. Good luck and have fun! Estimates for Time to Complete Fastest time: 30 seconds (if you know exactly where to look) Most likely time: 3 minutes Time to quit: 5+ minutes (we can help you with some hints in this case)

How does your dApp know where to store a user's private keys? This challenge will take you on a tour of near-api-js documentation, the best way to connect your JavaScript dApp (client-side or server-side) to the NEAR network. You will have to read through a bit of NEAR's documentation and pay close attention to the differences between client and server side use cases. Good luck and have fun! Estimates for Time to Complete Fastest time: <10 seconds (if you already know how to do this) Most likely time: 5 minutes Time to quit: 10 minutes (we can help you with some hints in this case)

learning outcomes students will be able to design and develop the sample app (see screenshot) students will understand NEAR accounts, contract basics, project basics, create-near-app ... week 1: basics of NEAR what is NEAR? what's an account?