The Student

So who will benefit from The Becoming a Programmer Series?

I know it sounds like a cliché, but the idea was to build the courses I would have loved to learn from when starting out.
Something that guides me one step at a time, leaving no gaps in the process.
Here is what I mean...

You decide to learn to program and pick the JavaScript language, for example.
Next, you buy the Learn JavaScript in Thirty Days course and you start learning.
After a while, things are getting difficult, all the while you have not yet fully comprehended the beginning parts as well.
Soon you quit the course and decide that life is too short for this sh*t.

My son, who is also a software developer, while at university, helped during a "Learn Python" day session.
His job was to help people install Python and help when the code didn't do what it was supposed to.
By the end of the day, the attendees built an app that could do an API call to their Facebook profile.
Those attendees paid lots of money for that session.
They were cheated into thinking they could learn Python in a day.
Most attendees did not know how to install software.
Needless to say that they had no idea what an API was.
My son was so disgusted with the whole process that he never returned to assist.

So what went wrong here?
Simple! They progressed way too fast.
We need time for things to settle in our brains.
Although we have technically unlimited storage space, we do not have unlimited energy.
Most of us can focus for three hours a day.
Five hours max!

So, when learning new things, we have to learn in small chucks.
Each chunk needs to make total sense.
And each chunk must be linked to stuff already known.
Remember associative learning?

This is how I intend to teach you.
One small thing at a time.
You will know what to learn, why you need to learn it, and you will learn just enough for the job at hand.

The Becoming a Programmer Series is focused on progressing slowly while leaving no gaps.
So, once you have worked through my series, those other online courses will make a lot more sense for you.
It's just wise to build a solid foundation before you start building the walls and roof.

So here is a short list of people I think may benefit from my method:

• You want to go at this on your own with no intention to attend university.
• You are planning to study computer science at university but need a thorough introduction into the world of programming.
• You are curious about what this programming thing is all about.
• You are already learning to program but find that there are things that do not make sense, and you need to fill in the gaps.
• And, of course, everybody else who wasn't mentioned above.