PART 1
Often, learning a new skill alone is an awful experience. And learning computer programming even in a supervised environment can be more stressful. The process of abstracting real-life challenges into computer logic can often make learning programming appear impossible. You will need a strategy to get ahead of your game.
Though learning computer programming never gets any easier, the following strategies can drastically improve your productivity when you are learning through video tutorials. These strategies will help you to achieve an effective learning experience on Udemy, YouTube(freecodecamp), and Udacity. The strategies are efficient across all video courses, even on your computer.
The following eight strategies will help you get the most out of video tutorials as a medium of learning to program for beginners.
- Enter the zone of learning
- Complete all exercises and assignments
- Combine similar courses
- Expand the concepts being taught
- Keep a dedicated notebook
- Expand your notes
- Build a different project
- Talk to yourself in the mirror
1. Enter your learning zone
Our initial strategy might appear as low key, but I have found it to be very magical. Observe the amount of energy you can give when you feel excited about doing something. I refer to this energy as getting into the learning zone.
Entering the learning zone is the process of conditioning yourself mentally and physically for a productive day. There are several ways to achieve this. Some high performers have a natural way of conditioning themselves into that space. But most people achieve it through deliberate actions.
Most people get there through workouts and exercising. A good number of people achieve this by listening to music or playing a musical instrument. Daily affirmations work well for me. Find a strategy that works for you.
2. Complete all exercises and assignments
The temptation of getting to the fun part of the course can make you skipped things during a video tutorial as a beginner in programming. The urge to rush quickly, if you are a beginner, is often when the tutorial brings along projects for you to build at the end of the course. But always remember that practice makes you perfect!
I was a victim of this in the beginning. I became the victim of hindsight bias. Being fixated about benefits without paying attention to the process. It is one challenge that occurs in every area of our productive life. Management, team leaders, and solo learners all suffer from these mental rushes for results.
Fortunately, you can avoid the temptation of running ahead of yourself. If you condition your mind to enjoy the process. You will get so much done in just a short period if you choose to enjoy the process. Besides, it is useful to take the time to learn something than to rush through it without achieving the purpose with which you started. It pays to be methodical in everything you do.
3. Combine Similar Courses
One disadvantage of learning on any online video-based tutorials is that there is an information overload on those platforms. I ended up having over four registered courses on Udemy, some free courses on Udacity, and a ton of freecodecamp YouTube videos. The overload of information can lead to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This is basically one's inability to pay attention mostly triggered by stress.
Eventually, I decided to combine the three tutorials and study. It has been rewarding ever since. I gained focus, made impressive progress in JavaScript. I will often take functions, for instance, and study it across the three courses in different sessions. You will achieve so much by following this approach.
You might think that approach is exhausting, but I wish I had started learning this way earlier in my journey. I wasted almost two months hopping from one tutorial to the other with minimal progress. Give it a try if you cannot focus on one course and give your testament later. But I cannot emphasize enough that you focus on one tutorial at a time.
4. Expand the concepts
I believe this is the most important strategy of all. One thing I learned about programming is that you need to challenge yourself. Challenge yourself not to repeat the examples as the instructor is coding them. At least, change variable names and value labels.
What I often do is to change variable names, reconstruct the logic within functions, change function structure, and try function literals within methods. I do anything to make what I am learning to be different and challenging. Surprisingly, most of my twists often turn out as a solution to assignments.
Thank you for reading! I am going to blog my every progress from this point on. Follow me on twitter for us to travel the journey together!
Always remember that it is never late to live your dreams!
(The JavaScripter)