Learning To Program - Being A Better Programmer

Be A Better Programmer!
Hi, this is Scott Allen and this is Iris Classon and this is an introduction to Learning Technology. Because many developers come to us and ask us and ask us, how can we improve? So in this introduction we're going to talk about things like where are you in the learning process and what skills might you want to focus on? The rest of the course will then give you specific advice on learning code, learning in the workplace, planning, and time management.

Learning Code
Hi, this is Scott Allen and this is Iris Classon. In this module we want to talk about how you can learn to improve the one thing you do every day, which is writing code. Yes, if you want to be a better programmer one thing you'll have to work at is writing better code today than what you did six months ago or one year ago. There's so much to learn about writing code. Everything from, how do I make my code more readable? What are the good practices to follow? What are the bad practices that I want to avoid? What are the design patterns you can use? Is there a feature for language I don't know about that can make my code better? Well, let's get started with some tips and strategies you can use to improve your code.

Learning in the Workplace
A lot of your learning has to be done on your own time, but there should be opportunities in the workplace as well. I am quite lucky. Where I have worked they have always encouraged their developers to sharpen their skills and there is time set aside for learning and further education. There'll be things such as conference days, Friday fun, lightning talks and presentations, supporting and organizing user groups and workplace groups, but some companies expect you to know what you need to do to that one job and learning beyond that is expected to be done on your own time, not theirs. Another company I know has on paper that you get to spend 10% of your work time to learn new skills, but that never happens in reality because you have to have 100% booked up as a consultant with a customer, but how can we, as developers, do anything about that? In this module we'll give you some specific tips and strategies to persuade management and find those learning opportunities.

Planning to Learn and Learning to Plan
Hi. This is Scott and Iris and this module is about planning. One of the keys to learning and being a better programmer is being motivated to learn and then making a plan. In this module Iris and I want to give you some tips on how to plan to learn and make the most of your learning time. As for motivation, we aren't going to give you any motivational speeches. If you want to be an expert on any subject, you need to motivate yourself from within and put in the work. There are no shortcuts, so let's get started on your plan to learn.