Tips or Tricks on sharpening skills
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Greetings, I've posted once or twice already on different topics, and something came to mind today that I wanted to ask the group about. I'm nearing the end of my first semester of a certificate program at a local CC (C# certificate). So far I am having a great time, but something has become a concern to me lately and I wonder how you all address it. (I will finish Beginning Web Programming and Beginning SQL this semester and head into Beginning C# and who knows what for my summer semester.) In my real job, I sharpen my skills by taking on projects that I know nothing about, learning everything I can, and becoming the best at it that I possibly can. It's worked well for me in learning Excel, AS9100, and got me a few doors into Six Sigma and analysis. But I have found that since all of my college learning time is spent outside of work, I am exhausted when I get home and while I am interested, I am not retaining the information as well as I would like. I want to get out of these classes and be able to present myself to an employer with something to offer them. My friend says that the only way I will learn is to get out there and code. That's cool, I got that. What I am wondering is do any of you have techniques you use to accelerate your learning, beyond just diving into a code and hammering your way through it? I just can't see that as the most effective way to learn, but if it is, and your responses confirm this, then diving in is what I will do. So, any thoughts? Flash cards? Rote memorization? Anything else? Or just dive in as deep as I can and learn as I go?
Beginning Programmer - Still learning as much as possible.
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Greetings, I've posted once or twice already on different topics, and something came to mind today that I wanted to ask the group about. I'm nearing the end of my first semester of a certificate program at a local CC (C# certificate). So far I am having a great time, but something has become a concern to me lately and I wonder how you all address it. (I will finish Beginning Web Programming and Beginning SQL this semester and head into Beginning C# and who knows what for my summer semester.) In my real job, I sharpen my skills by taking on projects that I know nothing about, learning everything I can, and becoming the best at it that I possibly can. It's worked well for me in learning Excel, AS9100, and got me a few doors into Six Sigma and analysis. But I have found that since all of my college learning time is spent outside of work, I am exhausted when I get home and while I am interested, I am not retaining the information as well as I would like. I want to get out of these classes and be able to present myself to an employer with something to offer them. My friend says that the only way I will learn is to get out there and code. That's cool, I got that. What I am wondering is do any of you have techniques you use to accelerate your learning, beyond just diving into a code and hammering your way through it? I just can't see that as the most effective way to learn, but if it is, and your responses confirm this, then diving in is what I will do. So, any thoughts? Flash cards? Rote memorization? Anything else? Or just dive in as deep as I can and learn as I go?
Beginning Programmer - Still learning as much as possible.
Go and buy yourself a good tutorial/reference book, such as Andrew Troelsen's Pro C# 2008 and the .Net 3.5 platform. Use the article depository here at Code Project. However, there are cheat sheets that you might find helpful ... 2 page Core C# and .Net Quick Reference[^] VB.NET and C# Comparison[^] There are video tutorials available from learnvisualstudio.net[^] as well as Microsoft themselves.
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Go and buy yourself a good tutorial/reference book, such as Andrew Troelsen's Pro C# 2008 and the .Net 3.5 platform. Use the article depository here at Code Project. However, there are cheat sheets that you might find helpful ... 2 page Core C# and .Net Quick Reference[^] VB.NET and C# Comparison[^] There are video tutorials available from learnvisualstudio.net[^] as well as Microsoft themselves.
Thank you for the information, that was excellent. I apologize if I wasn't clear, I was looking to find better ways to retain what I am already learning as well. Any thoughts on techniques, or should I just keep writing my little programs?
Beginning Programmer - Still learning as much as possible.
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Thank you for the information, that was excellent. I apologize if I wasn't clear, I was looking to find better ways to retain what I am already learning as well. Any thoughts on techniques, or should I just keep writing my little programs?
Beginning Programmer - Still learning as much as possible.
Nekosohana wrote:
Beginning Programmer - Still learning as much as possible.
Nice to meet you. :beer: I'm a 15+ year programmer - Still learning as much as possible, still know barely anything.
Nekosohana wrote:
find better ways to retain what I am already learning
Never come upon any discussion about retention specific to software development knowledge. If you do, post it back here i'd like to see it. Otherwise I suggest you Google retention techniques in general.
led mike
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Nekosohana wrote:
Beginning Programmer - Still learning as much as possible.
Nice to meet you. :beer: I'm a 15+ year programmer - Still learning as much as possible, still know barely anything.
Nekosohana wrote:
find better ways to retain what I am already learning
Never come upon any discussion about retention specific to software development knowledge. If you do, post it back here i'd like to see it. Otherwise I suggest you Google retention techniques in general.
led mike
Thanks guys. Between those two, I think I have my answer. I appreciate the help from both of you! If I ever hear anything I will send it back this way Mike.
Beginning Programmer - Still learning as much as possible.
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Thank you for the information, that was excellent. I apologize if I wasn't clear, I was looking to find better ways to retain what I am already learning as well. Any thoughts on techniques, or should I just keep writing my little programs?
Beginning Programmer - Still learning as much as possible.
I'm not sure flash-cards and the like are particularly effective but others here may have other experiences. If they work for you - then fine. But if you get home tired and exhausted, then, frankly, learning anything new might be a waste of your time as it is not likely to stick. As you write little programs, you will find that which works, that which doesn't and as long as you learn from your mistakes, then you may possibly be OK. As you get to know the world of C# and .Net, also consider learning about Design Patterns. www.dofactory.com[^] is an excellent source. As is this book Shalloway & Trott, Design Patterns Explained published by Addison & Wesley.
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I'm not sure flash-cards and the like are particularly effective but others here may have other experiences. If they work for you - then fine. But if you get home tired and exhausted, then, frankly, learning anything new might be a waste of your time as it is not likely to stick. As you write little programs, you will find that which works, that which doesn't and as long as you learn from your mistakes, then you may possibly be OK. As you get to know the world of C# and .Net, also consider learning about Design Patterns. www.dofactory.com[^] is an excellent source. As is this book Shalloway & Trott, Design Patterns Explained published by Addison & Wesley.
Thanks, man. You two are a wealth of knowledge! It's appreciated.
Beginning Programmer - Still learning as much as possible.
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I'm not sure flash-cards and the like are particularly effective but others here may have other experiences. If they work for you - then fine. But if you get home tired and exhausted, then, frankly, learning anything new might be a waste of your time as it is not likely to stick. As you write little programs, you will find that which works, that which doesn't and as long as you learn from your mistakes, then you may possibly be OK. As you get to know the world of C# and .Net, also consider learning about Design Patterns. www.dofactory.com[^] is an excellent source. As is this book Shalloway & Trott, Design Patterns Explained published by Addison & Wesley.
Richard A. Abbott wrote:
consider learning about Design Patterns
God bless you sir. It does me heart good to hear people talking about patterns sir. Seriously, this is excellent advice. Some of the best advice that could be offered. Have yourself a hearty 5.
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
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Nekosohana wrote:
Beginning Programmer - Still learning as much as possible.
Nice to meet you. :beer: I'm a 15+ year programmer - Still learning as much as possible, still know barely anything.
Nekosohana wrote:
find better ways to retain what I am already learning
Never come upon any discussion about retention specific to software development knowledge. If you do, post it back here i'd like to see it. Otherwise I suggest you Google retention techniques in general.
led mike
led mike wrote:
Nice to meet you. I'm a 15+ year programmer - Still learning as much as possible, still know barely anything.
Precisely! The more I learn, the more I realize how little I know.
Mark Salsbery Microsoft MVP - Visual C++ :java:
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Thanks, man. You two are a wealth of knowledge! It's appreciated.
Beginning Programmer - Still learning as much as possible.
Some of the cookbooks are excellent sources of knowledge. Also, don't limit yourself to books about a particular language or technology. Reading around the edges is an excellent way to get the pieces to fit together. As has been said though, don't try to pick things up when tired. It just doesn't stick. When possible, set yourself a problem that can be solved in a couple of dozen lines, write the design out and then code it. This exercise shouldn't take more than 15 minutes - it's amazing how quickly you pick things up when you are thinking about them. Finally - get yourself a blog. The discipline of writing things out clearly really reinforces concepts in your mind.
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
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Some of the cookbooks are excellent sources of knowledge. Also, don't limit yourself to books about a particular language or technology. Reading around the edges is an excellent way to get the pieces to fit together. As has been said though, don't try to pick things up when tired. It just doesn't stick. When possible, set yourself a problem that can be solved in a couple of dozen lines, write the design out and then code it. This exercise shouldn't take more than 15 minutes - it's amazing how quickly you pick things up when you are thinking about them. Finally - get yourself a blog. The discipline of writing things out clearly really reinforces concepts in your mind.
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
Pete O'Hanlon wrote:
Finally - get yourself a blog
I'm not sure about that. I have seen some pretty awful blogs pretending to be authoritative. I feel a better approach would be to use WikidPad/[^] (or similar) whilst having the discipline of writing things out, you are not potentially embarrassing yourself in the same way as a on-line blog would. And when you become more authoritative, then by all means publish a blog.
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Pete O'Hanlon wrote:
Finally - get yourself a blog
I'm not sure about that. I have seen some pretty awful blogs pretending to be authoritative. I feel a better approach would be to use WikidPad/[^] (or similar) whilst having the discipline of writing things out, you are not potentially embarrassing yourself in the same way as a on-line blog would. And when you become more authoritative, then by all means publish a blog.
Richard A. Abbott wrote:
you are not potentially embarrassing yourself in the same way as a on-line blog would
There's the key. You get the benefit of feedback. As long as you don't try to overextend yourself, the blog can be a really powerful mechanism. Plus, it's amazing how a bit of embarrasment focuses the mind.
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
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Go and buy yourself a good tutorial/reference book, such as Andrew Troelsen's Pro C# 2008 and the .Net 3.5 platform. Use the article depository here at Code Project. However, there are cheat sheets that you might find helpful ... 2 page Core C# and .Net Quick Reference[^] VB.NET and C# Comparison[^] There are video tutorials available from learnvisualstudio.net[^] as well as Microsoft themselves.
http://idealprogrammer.com - has a catalog of over 1,300 hours of .net video tutorials. Most of them are free. http://idealautomate.com - is a good .net code generator for web forms and gridviews that will speed up your productivity tremendously.