There is an opinion that I often come across - it is impossible to study on your own, you need professionals who will lead you along this thorny path - to explain, check, control. I will try to refute this statement, and for this, as is known, it is enough to give at least one counterexample. There are such examples of great autodidacts (or, simply, self-taught) in history: the archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann (1822-1890) or the pride of Georgia - the artist Niko Pirosmani (1862-1918). Yes, these people lived, studied and created for the most part in the XNUMXth century and were extremely far from the world of information technology. However, still “the most important goal of learning is to learn how to learn,” as Aristotle said. In this article, I will share with you practical examples that allow you to effectively organize an independent educational process.
You can still study on your own. Moreover, it is quite possible to achieve high results at the same time. You will be surprised: as a person from the field of commercial education (I work in the training center "“) can speak on this topic, sawing the branch on which he sits. However, let's go in order.
I am a person who has been working in the field of education all my professional life (and this is more than 17 years): I am in education and I am FOR education. And I would like to share with you practical examples that allow you to effectively organize an independent educational process. These techniques are a generalization of my personal experience. Of course, I do not claim to be the ultimate truth. But if each of you finds for himself at least one technique that he wants to use in his personal practice, I will consider my task completed.
My first advice is that if you decide to educate yourself (no matter how much time you are willing to devote to it: 10 minutes, an hour, a day ...), try to avoid other activities during this time to make it as effective as possible.
UCLA professor of psychology Hal Pashler said, "Even the brain of a Harvard graduate becomes the brain of an eight-year-old if you make it do two things at the same time."
Refuse to multitask when studying, and you will get the maximum effect from education.
But I promised to share practical techniques. I will illustrate these methods of self-education on the topic of front-end development. Firstly, this topic is extremely interesting to me myself (from the moment when I worked as a school teacher of computer science and taught it to children). Secondly, the direction of front-end development is one of the most popular and rapidly developing areas (). Well, and thirdly, even if we are not front-end developers, we are consumers of the results of their work.
So, we need to acquire new knowledge and acquire practical skills on our own. Where do you get them from? What is the source for you? Internet, textbooks and other people - right? Let's start with the Internet.
1. Search effectively
There are many search sites. Different search engines have different search algorithms. As a result, different scope - each covers (or in more technical terms, indexes) part of the information present on the Internet. Therefore, you need to use different search engines to get the maximum coverage of sources.
But how to organize a search so as not to drown in a huge amount of "information noise"? You need to learn how to select healthy grains. Yes, now search engines perceive queries in natural language. Algorithms for issuing relevant search query results are constantly being improved. Search engines acquire a huge set of additional features. But the question "How to search for information effectively?" remains relevant to this day.
Almost every search engine has an advanced search and a query language on which it is built. But not everyone takes advantage of this opportunity on a regular basis.
I'll use Google as an example. If I want to learn front-end development, I'm interested in technologies that I should pay attention to and resources that are worth reading.
- Let's go to the page
- We set the parameters. For example:
a. with the phrase: Front-end Development,
b. with any of the words: 2018,
c. Search in: English,
d. Country: United States,
e. Date of update: last year,
f. Location of words: in the title of the page. - Click Find.
- And on the search results page, we select those resources that will serve as a starting point for us in studying the topic.
You can also use to refine your search terms.. These simple tricks will help you get more relevant results and save you a lot of time spent searching for quality information.
2. Study online
Now, probably, everyone knows about MOOC - mass education available on the Internet for everyone. Among the most famous sites are , , , , . Most of these resources contain courses in English, but there are also Russian-language ones - for example, (where, by the way, Sberbank Corporate University hosts its courses).
In my personal hit parade, the undisputed leader is — for a professional approach and involvement of experts from the industry. I also often use Coursera - they have something that other resources do not have, for example, cross-checks. This is an opportunity not only to receive comments from other users, but also to get involved in the process and act as an expert (and this is also one of the methods of self-education, and I will talk about it later).
In my personal opinion, Russian platforms are still somewhat inferior to foreign ones both in terms of the quality of the material and the form of delivery to the listener, but if you answer the question “Do you speak English?” answer "Yes," then this is also a great option.
Consider the search algorithm for the desired program using an example.
- Go to course directory
- Choose a category:
- Set the filter "free": Type - Free Courses
- Specify your level: Skill Level - for example, Beginner
- Clarify the skills we want to hone: Skill — HTML, CSS, JavaScript
- And we get a list of courses that you can sign up for absolutely free. Their advantage is that most of them are developed with the participation of vendors, and training takes place on real projects.
If you are a novice specialist and do not know in what sequence you need to build training, what courses to take, what tasks to solve, then you have the opportunity to enroll in the so-called. "Complex Programs". Educational specialists have already built the entire educational trajectory, it remains only to follow it.
How to find such programs
- Go to the section
- Through the School of Programming () find the direction we need: .
How to understand which of the found courses is better? There is no universal recipe here, everything depends on the goals, objectives and qualities of a particular person. However, I can give some recommendations.
- Read reviews to get other people's opinions.
- Acquainted with course, which describes the content, structure, techniques, fragments are presented by which you can evaluate how professional the approach to developing the course is, whether the teacher presents the material in an accessible way, what additional mechanisms of self-control or automatic control by the system are.
Having collected these factors, you can determine for yourself whether it is worth taking this course.
Another common question is related to self-organization - a maximum of 8% of students reach the end of online courses. People looking for solutions to specific problems drop out of training as soon as they are found. Another reason is the length of the course. Most people are sprinters by nature and find it difficult to run long distances.
If you still want to finish your studies, first of all, develop in yourself those qualities that self-education requires:
- learn to plan time;
- find the right motive for yourself;
- invite friends to join you in training, so that you have someone to discuss and analyze what you have learned.
Also, the problem of self-organization is successfully solved when regular and final reporting to management or other persons is necessary. The certification system also works, but only in cases where there is a need to confirm the status.
3. Look for experts
Look for people whose knowledge and experience you can draw on. People from the industry who have established themselves as high-class professionals who are ready to share their experience openly and free of charge. Do you think this is fantasy and this does not happen? Happens. There are a couple of tricks you can use to find these people.
Consult official sources - for example, organizations that develop standards. They have working groups set up to develop specialized content. And information about them, as a rule, is publicly available.
Let's look at a specific example.
- Go to website
- Go to Working Groups -
- Among them, we choose the one that is of interest to us at the moment. For example, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS).
- We go to the category of participants and get access to all organizations involved in the development of these standards:
- We find invited experts - specialists who are recognized by the world community. Invited Experts:,
Usually, experts in this field are willing to share their developments. You can find recordings of their talks, check out the list of resources they used, see the slides and even the code they showed. And learn from their example.
By the way, I especially recommend Lea Verou - she has a lot of "delicious" developments that she puts in the public domain. She inspires a huge number of people around the world with her example. And I am no exception.
The second way to find experts is video hosting, where you can find recordings of conferences on the topic you need. This or not so widely known in our country , where a lot of materials are stored, which are sometimes simply not available on YouTube.
And again with an example:
- We go to YouTube. Search:
- An effective search also works here, and you should not neglect it. Choose: Filters → Channels
- And we get a list of channels dedicated to this topic.
- For example: Front-Trends → Playlists →
- Choose any speaker. Let's say She is an excellent expert with a lot to learn from.
- Voila.
So you can find professionals in the right field and get access to their developments.
4. Make artificial intelligence work for you
Here my advice is very simple and even somewhat contradictory in our age of "Big Brother" - leave "digital footprints":
- Subscribe to channels to be offered "similar" ones;
- "Like" and bookmark videos and materials;
- Subscribe to the pages of professional communities you are interested in in social networks.
And according to the "digital footprints" you will be given offers related to the topic of interest to you. This is an opportunity to enter the professional community, from where you will get useful information and practical examples.
5. Read books
There is an opinion that with the availability of information on the Internet and countless online courses, reading books ceases to be relevant. However, this is fundamentally wrong.
Books are necessary to get a three-dimensional view of certain concepts, ideas, problems and technologies. They expand the horizons and are designed for deep study of the material.
However, reading should also be effective.
How to choose books to read?
For theoretical research , regulations, etc.
If we are talking about technical literature, then I am guided by simple logic - I use the recommendations of authoritative sources. By them, I mean recognized experts from the industry (many I subscribe to in ), as well as respected electronic publications and specialized portals (for example, , , , ).
In general, I prefer practice-oriented sources. At the same time, it is very important for me:
- so that the language of presentation is simple and humanized (I love books-interlocutors, where questions are asked, the thought is excited in the course of reading),
- the quality of the rolled material. Of course, the content is more valuable. But the wrapper allows you to draw a conclusion about the attitude that was invested in the book, gives an idea of the time and effort spent on giving life to the book, about the search for the right way for the author (and the entire team involved) to express themselves through the book. As they say, the devil is in the details. And I really notice them.
Here are a few examples of books that I definitely recommend:
6. Use different tools
“I remember only what my hands do” – this is how one can interpret the well-known teaching principle “Learning by Doing” in the world pedagogical practice.
Sooner or later, you will need to somehow consolidate all the accumulated knowledge in practice. You need to constantly train - to do this, find special tools that will allow you to organize such training most effectively.
Where can you get these tools?
Based on one of the previous points - from experts who share their working tools - you can find interesting projects on their blogs and on sites where they publish their materials. These projects allow you to practice the new technologies you are studying, work methods, and develop your own know-how. And there are a lot of them.
In animation, for example, a change in an animated property over time is described by a certain curve, or rather, by a set of its parameters (coefficients). The most realistic, from the point of view of the viewer, animation effects proceed non-linearly in time (it is enough to briefly familiarize yourself with the principles of animation laid down by Walt Disney to be convinced of this). For example, some object begins its movement gradually, then its speed increases, then it gradually begins to decrease, etc. Mathematically, similar dependencies are described using Bezier curves.
Take a look at the interactive simulator (Bezier curve), where you can clearly see how the shape of the curve affects the nature of the animation of moving an object in space. The algorithm is this:
- Customize ()
- Set animation time 1,5-2 seconds
- Run test - creates the right animation effect: there is preparation for the beginning of the action, the action itself and inertia at its completion.
More interesting examples:
I will dwell on a couple of the most significant, from my point of view.
- Password Compliance Check :
Task: it is necessary that the form field used to enter the user's password accept as possible values only sequences of at least 6 characters long, containing at least one number, letter (regardless of its case) and any symbol. Verification should be carried out on the user's side using standard browser tools (for this purpose,, whose value is a regular expression).
:
- /^.{6,}$/ — any 6 characters
- /^(?=.*d).{6,}$/ — at least one of them is a digit
- /^(?=.*d)(?=.*[az]).{6,}$/i — at least one of them (case insensitive)
- /^(?=.*d)(?=.*[az])(?=.*[W_]).{6,}$/i — at least one of them (not a letter or a number)
- Another example is the pattern gallery. : it's amazing how the code turns into a geometric pattern!
Sequencing:
- Scale 90%
- Zig-zag - background code
The main idea is to use various tools that are freely available on the websites of specialists and allow you to hone your skills for free.
7. Become an expert
Once you've gotten your hands on it, take it to the next level and become an expert yourself.
How to do it? Easily.
Remember the tale about the teacher: “I told them three times, I already understood everything myself, but they won’t understand in any way”? You need to broadcast your knowledge in order to consolidate it. And as a tool, I suggest using the StackOverflow service. This is a specially created resource where developers look for answers to their professional questions. And the same people answer them - the developers. This is how an extensive database of problems is collected, each of which has a solution. And you can become the author of answers to these questions, understanding a particular topic and sharing your experience.
You kill two birds with one stone: firstly, learn to solve this problem yourself. Secondly, learn to talk about the solution algorithm and thereby more reliably consolidate new knowledge in memory.
The sequence of actions for
- In the search field, we drive in a query - for example: CSS
- As a result, we have the issuance of all questions with the tag "CSS"
- Go to the Unanswered tab. And we get
Or:
- We follow the same scenario.
Don't forget about - a network of websites for working with questions and answers in various fields, as well as a domestic resource (thanks, , for a tip).
Results
I have shared with you a few simple tricks that will help you "learn to learn" and make the process of self-education more effective:
- Search effectively.
- Take (and complete) massive online courses.
- Look for experts you can learn from, talk to, and consult with.
- Use the power of artificial intelligence: leave "digital footprints" so that it works for you, expanding your professional circle and horizons.
- Read books. Just make sure you choose them wisely. Those whose authors ask you questions and stimulate your mental work will work best. Do not forget about the aesthetic component: reading should not only be an intellectual pleasure.
- Train with a variety of tools that can be found from the experts. And don't be afraid to experiment.
- Finally, become an expert yourself in order to put the accumulated knowledge into practice.
You might think: why then do we need training centers?
I will answer:
Vacancies are open at the Networking Academy!
Source: habr.com