2K12 Resolutions
Today, I (briefly) met the new Code Academy class and am so excited to get to really know (and pair) with the new students! However, the new members of the new class weren't the only ones to get good advice out of the alumni Q&A this morning: after listening to the other alums, I realized it was time to revive this blog. Which is really a way of saying "stop writing everything down in a notebook and hiding everything you've written from the rest of the world so that you actually do what you're say you're going to do."
Over the holidays, I took a small break from coding - and BYOBuddy - to evaluate what I learned during Code Academy (more on that later), what I wanted to learn next, and how to facilitate that learning. I came to the conclusion that I need to work on a bunch of frontend skills:
UI design
JQuery
Getting more familiar with new HTML5 features
Becoming more fluent with CSS3
Sass
JavaScript
Mobile
And a bunch of backend skills:
Get better at TDD (and I still need to wrap up the last 3 chapters of the Hartl tutorial)
SQL
And a bunch of random skills:
Remember to use git and push code to github! Geez. Shame on me.
Make the switch over... to Vim.
To facilitate this learning, I've set up a small number of breakable toys, before returning to BYOBuddy. I've decided to tackle most of my "needed frontend skills" first, so I'm:
Honing my basic Illustrator skills through Lynda's "Up and Running with Illustrator tutorial" (just wrapped up an entire course 15 minutes ago!)
Reviewing basic RoR concepts by helping a friend build a small form app for his startup (about to start in a few minutes)
Do a deep dive into Git
Going through Lynda JavaScript tutorials
Plunging into JavaScript by helping another friend build a map feature for his startup
Finish the Hartl tutorial by the end of the week
Building an interactive "menagerie" of animals to practice JQuery, HTML5, CSS3, and Sass (i.e. an illustrated zoo of breakable toys! Sketches forthcoming )
And there you have it - a post that will help me put my money where my mouth is (or, should I fail at building, put my foot where my mouth is).
Bring it on, 2012.












