> On 03/26/2014 01:03 PM, Kyle Waters wrote: >> ... So when offering classes it's good to offer thing >> they can't learn from a manual. An introduction to getting started >> programming is of course useful, but once you get to a certain point you >> should be able to turn them loose to learn the language on their own. > > +1 > > -- Walt
+1 here too. When I do a presentation or am teaching someone, it's always in a context of practical information you'll hit while doing the actual work in the real world. It's not enough to know *what* you are doing. It's important to know *why* you are doing it. This allows you to look critically at the whole architecture of the project, the tools and technologies, and determine what makes sense. Trying to *force* an architecture, a tool or a tech into a project is common, and very bad. It always ends in disaster. I think it's helpful to teach how to work smart and focused. Learning what *not* to do is important too, common mistakes to avoid. I have a friend of mine who just mentored at Girls On Rails last month, where he had a team of eight women. He was concentrating on different practical things, because it's not just Ruby, it's also databases, HTML, CSS, and they all must work together. Web development is a Geshtalt. So I believe events like camps and user groups are a great tool to get exposed to multiple approaches, tools, and tech. The personal contact often results in practical advice you don't get from a manual. That's a very good thing. -- Cole _______________________________________________ UPHPU mailing list [email protected] http://uphpu.org/mailman/listinfo/uphpu IRC: #uphpu on irc.freenode.net
