How To Learn

Are you in the process of learning React? AngularJS? Node.js? Gulp? EcmaScript 6? ClojureScript? _Insert your tool, framework or programming language here_? Does the prospect of having to learn a "new way" of programming make you uncomfortable? Have you ever gone through a tutorial and still don't feel like you have a good grasp of the concepts? Do you think learning a new technology is a slow and painful process?

In the software profession, learning is an integral part of our job. Frameworks, languages and tools come and go so fast that in five years you are likely going to be working with a different set of tools. Although there are countless blog posts, tutorials and courses on the internet teaching you any topic you can imagine, that still doesn't mean learning is easy. Groundbreaking technologies break ground by changing the way we think about problems. The bigger the mental shift required, the steeper the learning curve.

In this presentation, I will describe a few techniques that will allow you to both learn faster and get a firmer grasp of concepts - with which you will be able to transfer knowledge more easily to new problem domains. Taken together, these techniques give you a loose framework for learning any new complex piece of technology, whether it be a new framework, library, platform, or programming language - using resources you can readily find on the internet.

Transcript

1. How To Learn
2. How To Learn
3. 0. Hello
4. at an event…
5. What is the Most difficult thing about learning to code? Question:
6. “with so many different methods and ways, how do I choose…? Answer:
7. “As a self-taught learner, I worry that there are gaps in my knowledge. ” Answer:
8. “How deep down the rabbit hole do I have to go? How do I know when I can move on? Answer:
9. “I would like to have a more end-to-end, streamlined learning experience.” Answer:
12. https://www.flickr.com/photos/ jod999/4963201802/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/ archer10/5363283339/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/ keithmidson/11767843716/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/ koalameatpie/14277197585/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/raybouk/ 15169883571/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/ ross_strachan/4380540146/in/ photolist-7F6pYf-ecMjN9-ecMjHN- ecFGgK-aJUTRt-8yzGYS-ecMjD3-
13. Backbone Marionette Ember.js AngularJS Knockout.js Vue React Flux Redux GraphQL React Native Relay NativeScript PhoneGap Ionic Famous Meteor Mocha Sass LESS Stylus CoffeeScript EcmaScript 6 TypeScript Om ClojureScript Elm jQuery D3 Browserify Webpack Underscore Lodash Require.js MongoDB CouchDB ElasticSearch PostgreSQL Testem Karma Grunt Gulp Brunch Broccoli Bootstrap Foundation Falcor Node.js Bower npm Express Hapi Sails Loopback Koa Sublime Text WebStorm Vim MEAN Polymer Shadow DOM
14. https://www.flickr.com/photos/dylanroscover/3450505729/
15. https://www.flickr.com/photos/deapeajay/1928521563/
16. https://www.flickr.com/photos/martinofranchi/2925760927/
17. “I can’t get over the idea that the thing I am learning now will go out of date in just a few years.” Answer:
19. JavaScript Trend Data Based on JS Weekly
20. JavaScript Trend Data Based on JS Weekly
21. Backbone Marionette Ember.js AngularJS Knockout.js Vue React Flux Redux GraphQL React Native Relay NativeScript PhoneGap Ionic Famous Meteor Mocha Sass LESS Stylus CoffeeScript EcmaScript 6 TypeScript Om ClojureScript Elm jQuery D3 Browserify Webpack Underscore Lodash Require.js MongoDB CouchDB ElasticSearch PostgreSQL Testem Karma Grunt Gulp Brunch Broccoli Bootstrap Foundation Falcor Node.js Bower npm Express Hapi Sails Loopback Koa Sublime Text WebStorm Vim MEAN Polymer Shadow DOM
24. “I’ve done Tree House, Codecademy, CodeSchool , etc, etc, but now what?” Answer:
25. “Should I go to a coding boot camp like ?” Answer:
27. lydiashiningbrightly on Flickr
28. How To Survive?
29. 1. Worldview
33. World of Warcraft
35. • you start somewhere • the more you explore, the more you know • if you get stuck, you can explore elsewhere, but… • you can come back to it
37. What you know
38. What you don’t know
39. Be a Damn-Good Explorer
40. Stop Relying On Schools
41. Backbone Marionette Ember.js AngularJS Knockout.js Vue React Flux Redux GraphQL React Native Relay NativeScript PhoneGap Ionic Famous Meteor Mocha Sass LESS Stylus CoffeeScript EcmaScript 6 TypeScript Om ClojureScript Elm jQuery D3 Browserify Webpack Underscore Lodash Require.js MongoDB CouchDB ElasticSearch PostgreSQL Testem Karma Grunt Gulp Brunch Broccoli Bootstrap Foundation Falcor Node.js Bower npm Express Hapi Sails Loopback Koa Sublime Text WebStorm Vim MEAN Polymer Shadow DOM
42. JavaScript Trend Data Based on JS Weekly
43. https://www.flickr.com/photos/dericafox/4476665040
44. Be a Damn-Good Explorer
45. What Makes A Good Explorer?
46. Gravitate towards the unknown
47. Keep a question log
48. Important: Get those questions answered
49. “As a self-taught learner, I worry that there are gaps in my knowledge. ” Answer:
50. 1. Write down 3-5 things that you are most anxious or uncomfortable. 2. For each item, ask yourself 1. If this were the only thing I accomplished today, would I be satisfied with my day? 2. Will moving this forward make all the other items unimportant or easier? The Tim Ferriss Method
51. </Worldview>
52. 2. Focus
53. https://www.flickr.com/photos/dylanroscover/3450505729/
54. Working Memory
55. Backbone Marionette Ember.js AngularJS Knockout.js Vue React Flux Redux GraphQL React Native Relay NativeScript PhoneGap Ionic Famous Meteor Mocha Sass LESS Stylus CoffeeScript EcmaScript 6 TypeScript Om ClojureScript Elm jQuery D3 Browserify Webpack Underscore Lodash Require.js MongoDB CouchDB ElasticSearch PostgreSQL Testem Karma Grunt Gulp Brunch Broccoli Bootstrap Foundation Falcor Node.js Bower npm Express Hapi Sails Loopback Koa Sublime Text WebStorm Vim MEAN Polymer Shadow DOM
57. Isolate Learn one at a time
58. Find the difficulty level that’s just right for you.
59. Good: Learn React! Bad: Learn React, Flux, Redux, ES6, Babel, Gulp, and Webpack!
60. Start From Scratch https://www.flickr.com/photos/elena_karelova/4493012230
61. mkdir react-play subl index.html
64. Find the difficulty level that’s just right for you.
65. Optional: Don’t even use JSX
66. First learn React, then learn flux.
67. https://www.flickr.com/photos/dylanroscover/3450505729/
68. </Focus>
69. 3. Double Down on Evergreen Skills
70. • touch typing • debugging / troubleshooting • source control • using the command line • asking questions online • object oriented programming • functional programming • refactoring • communication • task management
71. • touch typing • debugging / troubleshooting • source control • using the command line • asking questions online • object oriented programming • functional programming • refactoring • communication • task management
72. </Evergreen Skills>
73. 4. Embrace Mistakes
74. Why did you do that?
75. “ Experienced devs make just as many mistakes as juniors , they just recover from them faster. - Kylie Stradley https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSbla50tqZE
76. mello out.
78. “ Trying and failing to retrieve the answer is actually helpful to learning.
80. 10%
85. OFF-ROADERS
86. Bleeding Edge https://www.flickr.com/photos/kecko/3808425393/
87. Easy tutorial?
88. The Fail Something Rule If you make it through the whole tutorial/ lesson/course without failing something once, you fail.
89. Do something Open-Ended
90. Follow a tutorial; take detours if it fails the fail-once rule.
91. Find the difficulty level that’s just right for you.
92. Be a Damn-Good Explorer
93. 5. Recovering From Mistakes
94. Debugging and Troubleshooting
95. Software bugs Mistakes
96. Software bugs Mistakes Really painful
97. debugschool.com
98. debugschool.com
99. Scientific Method
100. “That’s impossible!
101. “Go home computer, You are drunk!
105. there’s a simpler explanation…
106. We make assumptions
107. Planning
108. The plan didn’t work If you are debugging:
109. one of your assumptions are wrong
111. Don’t Trust Your Gut
112. "The scientific method is a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge." - Wikipedia
113. 1. Question (Why is the sky blue?) 2. Hypothesis (Maybe blue dye?) 3. Prediction (Fly a white cloth to the sky and it will turn blue) 4. Experiment (Actually do the above) 5. Analysis (What happened? Why?) 6. Repeat if necessary (Go back to 1) Scientific Method Recipe
114. 1. Question (Why is the sky blue?)✔ 2. Hypothesis (Maybe blue dye?)✔ 3. Prediction (Fly a white cloth to the sky and it will turn blue)✔ 4. Experiment (Can’t be bothered)✘ 5. Self affirmation(Yeah, I am pretty smart)✔ What Humans Instinctually Do
115. Don’t Skip Step 4!
116. </Debugging>
117. 6. How to Cheat: Juxtapositioning
118. What is a Juxtaposition?
119. Mashups
120. Analogies
121. https://www.flickr.com/photos/lori_greig/16204172947
123. Put it on repeat!
124. Juxtaposition
125. Model of Learning Why Don’t Students Like School
126. Model of Learning Why Don’t Students Like School
128. Model of Learning Why Don’t Students Like School
129. Juxtaposition
131. Learning a Portuguese Song
132. Learning Rust with the help of Haskell
133. “As a self-taught learner, I worry that there are gaps in my knowledge. ” Answer:
134. How to Apply it?
135. different explanations of the same concept
136. different explanations of the same concept Different blog posts, different books, different talks different tutorials, different video course lessons.
137. different exercises to demonstrate the same concept
138. take a problem you know well, and model it in a program
139. use your unique skills to teach others programming @sarahfrisk
140. rewrite a program in a language you know
141. rewrite a program in a language you know
142. rewrite a app in a different style/framework/language
143. write a different type of app in the same language phonegap, electron, node-webit
144. same language (JS) but on a different *-side
145. same language (JS) but on a different *-side
146. Re-implement a library (concept) in a different language/framework
147. Juxtapositioning via Negation
148. write code without inheritance
149. write code without objects
150. write code without functions
151. write code without if statements
152. write code without jQuery
153. write a web app without a backend
154. </juxtapositioning>
155. 8. Teach It Back
157. “You don't understand something unless you can teach it to other people. - Kyle Simpson
158. The Protégé Effect: The best way to learn is to teach
159. Lernen durch Lehren
161. Betty’s Brain http://www.teachableagents.org/research/bettysbrain.php
162. There are real people you can teach to!
163. Meetups
164. Speak
165. Mentor
166. ATL
167. Online
168. IRC Chatrooms
169. Tech404.io
171. Blog!
172. Make Screencasts
173. You Don’t Have To Be An Expert To Teach!
174. The Curse Of Knowledge
175. You could be a better teacher!
176. </Teach-It-Back>
177. 9. Epilogue
178. World of Warcraft
180. The End