Where I have come from since starting to go down the learning path of online

For me, learning is something I have not always been about. It was not until my late 20s that I started enjoying flexing the gray matter. Now I cannot learn enough almost into my 40’s. Never a minute wasted though and just trying to be better every day. Ironically I am a marketer by day but still dabble in code in my free time. Udemy has been a big source for me as one of the many learning platforms I like to use. 

Self-starting is based on discipline but also finding the right teachers is key

One of the first courses I took was a boot camp from Dr. Angela Yu, and though I had a great CS degree it was amazing to me how much I grew from a course that cost me $12 at the time. The course covered it all (CSS, HTML, Basic JavaScript), and post-launch she has added many other courses. To be honest I would have paid $200 for the level of developer it helped me become. It was not only the curriculum but also the voice, and no one ever talks about that. You are sitting there for 100 hours of online videos you had better enjoy the person speaking to you. The quality as well was a big deal. I could tell that she and her team really put in the work on the visuals which made it that much more enjoyable. 

What makes a good teacher for online learning

We live in a land of creators and most are just in it for the money. There is nothing wrong with that but so many of us have become accustomed to having a million tutorials and not sticking them through. At times that is not because we do not want to continue but the overall course is just not up to par. Some of the things I really think are important for an online teacher are:

  • Good communication on the screen and quality audio
  • Visuals that are more than just a screen share of their code editor
  • A breakdown of the setup prior to any coding so you can get your environment set up to match
  • A solid opening and closing of the course instead of just diving right in

I am not saying that if a course does not have all these you will not enjoy it but I bet you will feel a lot better about the money that you spent. Online everyone is out there with a YouTube channel showing you how to do something but that could be looked at like the 100 pizza joints in your town they all are making the same food but no doubt you have a favorite and it stands out. 

Udemy and the platform compared to others I have tried

Udemy in general is an easy platform and similar to all the other ones out there. I like the ease of purchase, lifetime access, and even the customer service. I have turned some courses back in, which is fine if you do not preview the entire thing prior to doing so. Most of this has been about coding but I have used this platform for learning about the stock market, drawing cartoons, and even guitar. I feel very fortunate for the availability that we have as humans and I guess this could be an appreciation note to all the creators out there that put in that extra effort. 

%d bloggers like this: