Last year I experimented with the Play Framework to find out how it works and what its strengths and weaknesses are. Although I was quite enthousiastic about it, I did not look at it any further, seeing no immediate need for it in my professional life. Now, a year later, I decided to dive into Scala. A free online course is being given by the creator himself, Martin Odersky, on Coursera. I am very happy about both the presentation and the level of the course. The lectures and the exercises are of a high level, and the whole package is well thought through.