can I learn from books instead?

Hey Antonio, I feel you brother. I too feel that I have my own style of learning. That's what I like about this website. I too sometimes zone out during the videos. I like books (and reading in general) as well because no matter how many times you daydream, the book never jumps ahead. You can come back to the same line and paragraph because it is not moving. Anyway, enough my ranting.

So here has been the learning style I have developed at treehouse: If I can't pay attention to the videos or feel they are speaking gibberish to me, I will spend some time reading about the topic at

http://www.w3schools.com/

I found at least two books put out by Treehouse on Amazon. There may be more, and if there's not I hope they will do some more. There also good books not by treehouse as well, i'm sure. Maybe someone else can make some recommendations.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=treehouse+web+development+books&sprefix=treehouse+%2Caps%2C337&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Atreehouse+web+development+books

Ultimately, I feel like it is a good idea to not limit myself to one approach to learning. I can watch videos, but when I'm not in the mood for the videos or they are just stressing me out I can go to w3schools for another perspective on the same subject. This seems to help for me and relieves some of the anxiety I get when I feel something is not clicking for me.

So, I don't know what works for you, but you might consider a multi-angle approach to your learning process. It really does boil down to what works for you. It's important that something not feel like a chore. Also, just playing with code on codepen or somewhere can help bring the fun back and engage your mind a little more.

Hi Antonio!!! It is good idea to read a book, but I find it more effective when watching the video. Yeah, you might feel like it's in the classroom, but no it's depending on you. It's not like just copying code, you have to do and practice along and it will be the best way to learn and do. By the way, I can recommended some books for you. Which course or language you want to study?

Maybe some Adderall could help you with zoning out.

thanks for the website James. you made some really good points too. for some reason the videos just stress me out, even though I'm able to pause and rewind. Sreng I'm not sure about the languages but I want to learn skills that would allow me to find a job. is web design the easiest field to get in to?

Antonio, Here are a few strategies to try.

Play the videos at double speed, then immediately take the quizzes and coding challenges. That should hold your attention, and it may even make it easier to learn. The other thing you can do is to flip through the videos with stills, and learn from each still frame. Do that quickly and then take the quizzes and coding challenges. If double speed is too fast, then reduce it by .25 to 1.75, or 1.5. Or slow it down to what feels comfortable to you.

The other thing you can do is to keep the videos open in separate tabs, and refer back to them as needed. When you have passed the quiz or code challenge, then close that group of videos and move on to the next segment of the course. Full screen on the videos makes it easier to see the code, although it is not necessary.

Copy each code answer to a word file, and review your answers later to get it firmly into your memory. You can also refer back to them as a reference when needed while working with each program.

You're an active learner: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_learning

I am too, sitting down and following a video without doing anything is boring.

Keep your mind busy whilst watching a video by following along in a workspace, pause the video and jot down some notes about what you're learning or even read the transcript aloud whilst the video is playing. Think of your own ideas, keep your mind busy (but focused) and keep at it. You'll soon find your own way of learning.

Video about active learning: http://youtu.be/UsDI6hDx5uI

Try the Pomodoro Technique: http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/the-pomodoro-technique-is-it-right-for-you.html

Check out Jon Ducketts books. He has two, one on HTML & CSS and another on Javascript. They're the only books I own that I'd recommend to anyone. Everything is broken down in to nicely sized chunks of information, as well as that whatever way he laid out and coloured the books I found made things a lot easier to learn - so a pro if colour is a part of your learning style like me.

Just a talk of learning style: start your own parallel project then magic will happen.