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iOS

Posted by Ryan Maneo
Ryan Maneo
4,342 Points

How to learn

Hello treehouse community. I'm Ryan. I've made it up to "Enumerations and Optionals" on the Swift 2.0 course. And I've hit a wall... I am simply not retaining earlier information, making it impossible to do code challenges or progress properly. (Literally, if I don't know the syntax or syntax possibilities, the code challenge is simply not-doable.)

This begs the question... how should I be using Treehouse? For an Hour+ a day, right? Okay, but how much of that is videos and how much of that is practice? Should I only watch one video and practice what it said for an hour? OR watch a series of videos and practice what I learned in those? Also about video watching, unless you have dual screens or a massive cinema display, its pretty much impossible to type the code whilst watching the class. Which begs another question, is that what I'm supposed to be doing? Typing along? Or should I just be watching the video and making notes on the side then later adding the code in? Sorry if I sound toxic or something, I'm not, I love Treehouse. But I really need advice on how to use it properly in order to get the most out of it. ~Ryan

2 Answers

Jennifer Nordell
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STAFF
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Jennifer Nordell
Treehouse Teacher
Jennifer Nordell
.a{fill-rule:evenodd;}techdegree
Jennifer Nordell
Treehouse Teacher

You're right about the screen size being an issue. What I find myself doing is pausing the video as they're speaking. When they start typing I'll wait until they almost get done and pause. Then I type what they've gotten so far. Then I unpause and continue typing as they're finishing up. Unfortunately this makes everything a bit choppy. But this is just what's worked for me.

This means also that I get plenty of practice typing the code and making sure it matches what they have. When that video ends... I replay it. But this time I turn up the speed and let them just talk while I listen. And I watch what they code, but there's not really a need to type it again. If/when they get to a point that I think was unclear, I set the video back down to normal speed. If I feel that the entirety of the material was unclear, I do not play the video at a faster speed and instead just listen to see if I can wrap my head around the point they're trying to get across.

Also go back to a section you've completed say a week ago. And put them on full speed 2.0x and just listen and look at the code. Run the coding challenges again. There's about a 99% chance they'll be muuuuuch easier the second time around. This helps reinforce the basics of what you're learning so that it's less likely you'll be lost in the next section.

I hope some of this helps! :smiley:

Ryan Maneo
Ryan Maneo
4,342 Points

Thank you so much! I'll definitely try that!

Reed Carson
Reed Carson
8,306 Points
Reed Carson
Reed Carson
8,306 Points

I just made the video take 1/2 the screen and had a playground open on the other half. Yes I typed along with the video, but make sure you pause the video to type otherwise you will miss information. But you HAVE to type the code out yourself, just watching the video will barely help, there's no way you'll retain the syntax. If you havent learned the syntax you could go back and rewatch the videos, and type everything out again. Basically you have to actually write code, thats the only way to learn it. It doesnt matter if you read every book or watch every video ever made, you have to write the code. Just write a bunch of random code; take a lesson from the video and then code your own examples. I started a separate playground page for each topic and I had those saved so if I ever need to reference something, I can just pull up my page on that topic and look at the syntax.

Basically you need to write the code yourself, as much as you can, as often as you can. After you learn enough, you can start making your own app to practice too.

Ryan Maneo
Ryan Maneo
4,342 Points

I do write the code along. I've even created the "Fun Facts App" and customized it, then later coded a "Quote Generator" I almost never pause it though unless I miss something. Was that the mistake? Should I be pausing, writing code, pressing play, repeat? I've just been watching the videos and trying to write along clicking back and forth.