Continuous learning for developers

Slides of the lightning talk presentation at ArabNet 2012 digital summit

Transcript

1. Continuous learning 9 steps to stay up to date for developers Friday, March 30, 12
2. Challenges • Limited time (day job, due dates...) • New technologies, material to read and learn from • Experience and scope of expertise • Professional environment and workplace Friday, March 30, 12
3. • Challenges are common to all professionals • There are ways around it • Difference: our attitude Guess what? Friday, March 30, 12
4. Attitude 1. No need to know it all Let’s face it, It’s difficult to be a walking Wikipedia. Trying to be something that you’re not is stressful. Admit that you don’t know everything related to your domain. 2. It's OK not to know but not OK not wanting to know Have a student mindset. Have the will and discover new ways to learn. 3. Select topics that interest you Keep your domain specific and master it. Friday, March 30, 12
5. Have a plan 4. Setup a backup system where data is aggregated for processing Browser extensions. Instapaper app (Browser, Mobile iOS). Google Reader. Flipboard. Zite. 5. Talk/Work with friends and colleagues continuously (learning by practice) Attend conferences. Find/create local user groups. Prepare talks (lightning talk). Barcamps. Tweetups. 6. Subscribe/Organize news sources you like to read/hear/watch PeepCode. Confreaks. DestroyAllSoftware. RailsCasts. Github. Podcasts (thechangelog, 5x5 Dan Benjamen) Books. RSS. HackerNews. Reddit. StackOverflow. Slidedeck Friday, March 30, 12
6. ... and act on it 7. Use your free time (driving/lunch breaks) For example, I have the newest videos, podcasts and articles always synched to iPhone/iPad to use anywhere I go. 8. Set some time to actually try out what you’re learning Weekends, late nights, holidays 9. Ship it! Show the world what you’ve been up to and most importantly tell them how you got there. Presentations, blogging, screencasts, chats... Friday, March 30, 12
7. Thanks @cnicolaou Friday, March 30, 12