The First Step - Educational Method and Goal Setting
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Now that I feel like Frodo heading out on my hero’s journey, it’s time to set up a plan as to how I will navigate my Middle Earth - learning to code.
How/Where to Learn - You have to go to school for that, right?
One of the greatest blessings - and curses - of our modern digital world is that many skills can now be learned from the comfort of our own homes, many times for free.
It is a blessing because gone are the days of applying for schools, finding scholarships, and then waiting until a specific date for a class to start if you are looking to gain a basic level of proficiency in a certain field. If you want to learn about marketing, painting, writing, or in my case, coding, you can find an online class out there to teach you these skills. If you want to learn something there are a plethora of options to choose from!
The curse? There are a plethora of options to choose from! Is the site you are learning from trusted in the content they are providing? Is there a way for you to ask questions as they arise? Is there a way to discuss and bounce ideas off of other “classmates”? How do you stay motivated when you go at your own pace? These are all things I have struggled with in the past.
There have been a few times in the past where I have wanted to dabble in coding. After a little bit of research I found online teaching tools like Codecademy, Treehouse, and many others. These are not bad learning tools, but after a few lessons I found myself not returning to the next lesson. Since the coding was done in the browser I struggled to connect what I was learning to how it would be in the real world. How does my code become something that can run on a computer or phone? What tools would I actually need to code in a professional environment? I could not connect the theoretical to the practical.
Then I learned about The Odin Project.
The Odin Project sets out to solve the problems learners like myself have. Their goal is to have their instruction be as “real world” as possible. For example, early on in their curriculum they make noobs (like myself) do somewhat complicated things, like setting up your local environment on your computer or virtual machine. They want you using the tools, resources, and processes the professionals use as you learn. They also aren’t recreating the wheel. If a resource already exists to learn something, they will point you to that source. If there are supplemental sources that will aid in your learning then they will point you to those as well. There also seems to be a robust and thriving community willing to help if you get stuck. They also have you build your own projects instead of theoretically talking through how to do a project.
Oh, and did I mention it is 100% free?!
So moving forward, The Odin Project will be my starting point to build my foundation as I learn.
Goal Setting - This is just wishful thinking isn’t it?
Even though The Odin Project appears to be a great source to learn from, how can I stay motivated to coming back when I don’t have a professor grading my progress, or if I don’t have skin in the game by paying for the course?
This is where realistic goal setting comes into play.
I say realistic because I am a person that likes to pour myself into new things while neglecting other important things in my life. If there is something new and exciting to me, I want to learn that thing as quickly as possible. This leads to me either neglecting other things or people in my life, or burning out. Then not only do I not learn quickly, but I end up giving up and not learning at all.
So here is my realistic goal as I set off on this journey: 1-2 hours per session, 2-3 times per week. That’s it! If I can find more time, even better, but I know 2-6 hours a week is VERY realistic for me with the circumstances in my life. It may take me longer to become proficient in this skill than it would someone else, but I shouldn’t burn out, and I should be able to stay consistent. And consistency is the ultimate goal here. What good is getting somewhere fast if I’m too burnt out to continue after that?
As I document my progress, I also want to document how long I am spending on this pursuit. This will, 1) let me know if I am hitting my goals, and 2) it will let me know how long it took me to hit certain milestones along the way. Hopefully this will give others an idea on how long it would take them if they decide to set off on this same journey in the future. Although if an idiot, like myself, can learn these skills, then I’m sure it will take a normal person much less time.😉
Your Thoughts
What are your thoughts? Does this plan sound like a realistic way to learn? Are there other resources out there worth following? What are some other things I should take into consideration?
I would live to hear your ideas!