Mandy Hartman shared insights on how to get the most out of web development learning. Drawing from her own experiences transitioning into the field, Hartman presented key strategies for new learners.
Mandy highlighted the importance of structuring learning by consistently dedicating specific daily blocks for acquiring new skills or understanding new topics. She endorsed the power of community, encouraging learners to find support and motivation in groups like workshop-specific Discord channels or Slack groups.
Additionally, Hartman highlighted the importance of building a portfolio through side projects to showcase skills to potential employers, and stressed on the importance of leveraging support networks, including friends, family, and mentors.
Hartman's talk was an inspiring and practical guide for those embarking on their web development learning journeys, emphasizing structured learning, community support, practical application, and portfolio building.
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Transcript
Hello, my name is Mandy Hartman and I also go by Hartmandy online and Though I'm not able to participate in person this year for epic web conference I wanted to share my lightning talk for anyone else who's participating virtually like me so I'm just gonna be chatting about my
kind of learning journey into web development and some tips and tricks that helped me get the most out of my Learning investment through boot camps and workshops. So a little bit about me I'm still fairly new to development. I came from a background in academia and museums and archives
So these tips and tricks have really helped me through Learning any new topic or skill? I've rocked up to grad degrees and started a PhD last year So these things have really helped me through really all of my learning journeys but my transition into tech came from
Building this digital archive site with my partner who is also a software engineer and it's called Black Mountain College yearbook or BMC yearbook so through that project and taking boot camps and workshops and Learning on my own
That's kind of how I've transitioned into development. I also participated in the hundred days of code on Twitter or X and I am still participating in that I've continued it to 365 days of code And I did that even after I got my first Development job because I am still learning every day
So I think that these four tips are really helpful for anybody at any level whether you're brand new to web development or you're Trying to learn a new framework or really at any point in your journey I think the first one that is most influential or was for me is Consistent daily learning. I think that's where a hundred days of code really came in handy
but if you can set a time every day or like a Block of time at some point in your day That's intentionally for learning. I think that that's the most powerful way to do this for me Sometimes there's only 20 minutes Sometimes I'd have a few hours But I would try to sit down before my workday started and just if it was a workshop
Crank out a lesson or if there's a topic I really wanted to focus on Just giving myself time to do nothing but that just to learn. I think that that's the most helpful thing. That's Really worked for me. It's consistent daily learning whatever that looks like The next tip is accountability. I think that challenges like a hundred days of code or social media
can really Be a big motivator can really help you stay accountable Especially if you have to check in for a hundred consecutive days or 365 consecutive days but even if you don't have that a lot of workshops come with Discord channel or slack or something like that where you can chat with people that are learning alongside you
Which is kind of my third point which is finding community So I think that that's a really beneficial thing If you're learning any new skill is to find Other people that are also learning or other people that are at the point where you want to be. So if you can find
Mentorship like I did someone that can kind of point you in the right direction. I think that that's really helpful But even if you don't have that just having friends and family that can be good cheerleaders. My pets were my cheerleaders They sat beside me every day while I was learning
So just having community that can support you while you're trying to make your learning goal is very helpful and My last point is applied learning. I think that it was really beneficial for me to participate in my workshops
And if I learned a new topic like a better way to do routing or a better way to do authentication I could do it in my workshop Solidify the knowledge and then apply it to something different So if I learn a new thing with routing I could go over to my archive site and update the routing and make sure it's The best it can be
So I think that that's helpful to really make sure that you've understood this new concept that you can apply it to something a little different and If you can't figure it out, then you have to go Google or Stack Overflow or chat GPT, which is another skill in and of itself
So having that extra step to just make sure you can apply it Is very helpful and then when you're Done with your workshop and your side project and you have more things to show your potential employers So it helps you kind of put more things into your portfolio as well. So those are my four tips
I think really the secret to making the most out of boot camps or workshops is to Be consistent and just set kind of small daily goals and then you can hold yourself accountable in achieving them and Then being part of a supportive network like the amazing people of Epic web
This is really helpful while you're learning something new. So thank you guys so much. I hope you're enjoying the conference
