How to Escape Programming Tutorials (With Advices)
Let's be serious just watching video tutorials or reading articles about some language doesn't mean that you know it. This is why in this video you will learn how to escape the loop of programming tutorials and how to really start writing code on your own.
Also make sure that you watch this video until the end because I will share my tips how to better work with videos and courses.
Let's jump right into it.
I really think that video tutorials and courses are awesome. And not only because I'm selling them but because it's the easiest and fastest way to understand subject on some level. And I'm saying here understand and not know. There are several reason why video tutorials are so awesome. If we are talking about a course it's always structured in planned way. So you start getting knowledge from the very beginning and after each video you are learning more complex things.
It's completely opposite to reading documentation. It's just pure knowledge which gets to you step by step. Also you see problems with code, errors and get advices just directly from the video. So from my perspective it's the fastest way to understand the subject and get introduction (sometimes really deep introduction) in the certain topic.
But here is the thing. Knowledge from the video doesn't mean that you can use this knowledge. Sure you got it but to get to the point where you can write the code yourself in the new language or frameworks takes a lot of effort. Just because watching the course is just a first step. And to make it working you must start to write it by yourself.
First of all just code every video of what is going on in course. Sure you can understand without typing what is going on by during writing code you make typos and errors which you also need to fix on your own. So you start doing something by yourself. And of course it's really nice if you can't solve some problem but you can get advice or feedback from the author of the course.
The next step is to do your homework in the course of additional exercises. Normally they are planned as extension to the video based on the knowledge that you already got in course. So it's easier that just to implement something on your own but you are still doing it yourself.
The next step is necessary but most complicated. You need to start on your own. So either you continue doing the project of the course by extending it with new features or you start your own project. I always start my own projects because in this case I'm doing a project that I like and that bring me joy. And by doing everything from complete scratch I can later say that I did it fully on my own.
Also a lot of people think that they need to know everything about the language or the framework to start their own project. This is just not possible. Normal developer knowledge of a subject is just a house with lots of holes and only with a lot of real coding experience they can fill all this holes. So the best time to start writing your own project is as soon as possible right after watching the course.
Now I want to share some tips how to go through courses or videos efficiently.
Tip #1
Try to increase the speed of videos on clear moments and code that you already saw previously. And a lot of people suggest just skip a video of jump the part of the video. But from my perspective it is wrong because the person who teaches you may mentions important tricks and nuances that you want to hear. With just increasing and slowing the speed it's more difficult to skip important information. Also you might say that with doubling the speed you can't understand anything. You ear will adjust after several videos and it will be fine. But the most important is that speed is comfortable for you.
Tip #2
Ask course creator if something is not clear or you want to make sure that you understand it correctly. This will help both you and other people with same questions who are also doing a course.
Tip #3
It's easy to ask course creator directly but it is better for you if you try to find the answer on your own first. Either by googling or by debugging your own code. In both cases you will understand problem much better than if you just get an answer. This also 2 skills that you will use indefinitely: googling and debugging your own code. So you need them in any case.
Online courses and videos are a great source of knowledge but without writing your own projects it's just a knowledge without real usage and real experience.
So don't be afraid to start. Of course it's not easy but the amount of benefits when you are successful are enormous.
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