- Jessica C.
- Thursday, May 27, 2021
I am not an IT specialist, but I am good at "Tech Stuff." Want to know my secret?
A few years ago, I discovered the biggest secret of "Techie" people. By "Techie," I mean the folks who use words like defrag and reboot. People who talk about IP addresses and go on rants about Big Data. You might be thinking. I'm not a "Techie" person, so what does that have to do with me? Well, to you, I'll say, this secret is for all of us.
The secret is Google!
You can use Google, Firefox, Safari, or Bing. Even Duckduckgo will do. The key is using a web browser to reach out and sort through the plethora of resources available online. Top professionals and non-specialists alike tend to Google things when unsure how to do something or cannot remember every step of a process. The main difference between Pro and Novice searches, in my opinion, is the specificity of the question asked.
For example, if a novice and a pro wanted to know something about coding, a beginner might type into the Google search bar something like, “how do I code.” On the other hand, a pro would type something like “how to use C# to call an action in Unity." It is like the difference between Googling “how to learn a foreign language” vs. “What are some French words related to baking.”
There is a lot of information out there, so it pays to be specific. However, an excellent way to be more straightforward is to create a plan. Take, for example, this coding-specific remixed communication plan.
- Goals:
- What are your coding goals?
- Why are these your coding goals?
- What small parts make up your goal?
- What can you do right now that would give you a sense of accomplishment?
- Projects:
- What do you need that you do not have to complete your first project or step?
- How can you attain those/that thing?
- What will keep you accountable for the completion of your first project or step?
- Feed-Back:
- Who do you most want to see your finished first project or step and why?
- What reaction would you like that person to have when they experience your finished first project or step?
- Is there anything you can do to ensure that that person as well as anyone else who experiences your finished first project or step has the reaction you prefer?
- How will you measure how people are reacting to your first project or step?
- Medium:
- How is your first project or step displayed, or how do people interact with it?
- Will your project consist of multiple forms of interaction/display? For example, will you have a blog and a newsletter and a website or just one or the other?
- Could you change the way people engage with your project? Would that make any difference?
- Milestones:
- What tasks do you need to complete to finish your first project or step?
- Are some more important than others? Are some dependent on others? How will that affect your workflow?
- How will you maintain your motivation for reaching your milestones on time?
- Engagement:
- Does participation with your project rely on some action on your part? For example, do you need to continually create new content to keep people engaged, or is your project a one-off?
- What encourages people to engage with your first project or step?
- Do you have a call to action for people interacting with your project? Is one necessary? Why or why not?
- Evaluation:
- What does a complete and successful first project or step look like to you?
- Could it look any other way? Why or why not?
- Is there any form of measurement you can use to show how successful your first project or step is?
- Once this first project or step is complete, how will it tie into your overall coding goals?
- How will you apply what you learn after finishing your first project or step to your next project or step?
- Has what you learned made you reassess your overall coding goals? Why or why not?
- What will happen if you do not get the results you want from this first project or step?
From my experience, the best way to learn about coding is to code. Also, from my experience, learning how to code can be frustrating. For example, I was coding one day, and after creating fifty lines of code, I could not get my code to work correctly. I had no idea why my code did not work as I had followed the instructions to a T, or so I thought. To find a solution, I spent hours reviewing my code and googling potential solutions. After spending a lot of time reviewing and researching, I finally realized that I had typed a colon in the middle of the third line of code instead of a semicolon. That was the whole reason it wasn't working!
After a few frustrating coding situations, you may feel that coding is too complicated and become tempted to quit trying to learn. It may even make you begin to question why you wanted to learn how to code in the first place. Something I think can help when dealing with that level of frustration is the hopeful delayed gratification of producing something you think is fantastic—a fantastic something you are super excited about and invested in creating.
To that end, instead of just finding random coding activities online, figure out what you want to do with code. Or think about things you have interacted with that are made up of code that you enjoy, like a mobile game app or an online chat room. What made you like it? What made you hate it? How could you refurbish that concept for your custom personal uses? Then, use that insight as a jumping-off point to create a custom coding adventure.
At that point, instead of just learning code for code's sake, you are learning code for something that will be relevant to you and your coding goals. So, when things get super frustrating, you will be less tempted to throw your computer out the window.
At this point you must be wondering, "how does one even begin to create their personalized custom coding adventure?" Wonder no more! We will cover that process in: The secret to being "Techie" Pt.2!