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General Discussion

Posted by Joseph Brini]
Joseph Brini]
66 Points

Learning

I am having trouble remembering all the coding the video is teaching, What is the best way to learn to code at the same time the video is teaching me how to code. After 2 or 3 steps or codes its difficult to remember after the video has finished playing, and then its time for me to write the code when asked at the end. How does everyone do this. I am completely new to coding. Any suggestions on the easiest way to learn using treehouse.

Simon Coates
Simon Coates
28,695 Points

I tend to focus on the large scale ideas, and make notes on the smaller scale techniques that i don't know. The smaller techniques or syntax, you can revisit a few times (makes them manageable), but the big pictures guides you in terms of which techniques to apply. I rewatch the harder videos, and test my recollection by seeing what i can code purely from memory. Some things you may need to see a couple times to get an instinct for how they work. How to think about a given topic is key to being able to break it down into learnable chunks.

2 Answers

Jennifer Nordell
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STAFF
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Jennifer Nordell
Treehouse Teacher
Jennifer Nordell
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Jennifer Nordell
Treehouse Teacher

Well, I can tell you how I do it. I watch the video and I code along with them. However, this does make watching the video a little "choppy". I wait until they are coding and when I believe they are almost done writing the line they're working on... I pause the video. Now, I continue typing what they're typing . But take a second right there (and without typing anything) see if you can predict what they're going to type next. Then resume the video.

Now, when the video is complete if I feel something was unclear, or I didn't exactly understand why we wrote this particular line in this fashion, I'll go back and replay the video. At this point, I leave my completed code up, and open up a text editor (notepad/sublime/whatever you're using). When I replay the video I crank up the speed to 2.0x and wait until they get towards the part I felt I was getting lost. Then I slow it down again. This time I don't code. I simply listen and try to wrap my head around the point they're trying to make. If they say something where I have one of those "Ah ha!" :bulb: moments, I write it down in my text editor and save it with a file name that indicates the course and the video I'm watching. These are great to have especially if you're going to take a couple of days break from coding! :smiley:

Hope this is useful! :sparkles:

Jeremy Hill
Jeremy Hill
29,567 Points
Jeremy Hill
Jeremy Hill
29,567 Points

I think the best thing to do is while watching the video pause it occasionally to absorb what you just learned; you may even want to follow along in your workspace. It would also be a good idea to play around with the concepts you just learned before moving on to the next. If you just watch it once and move on then you will have trouble remembering. If you notice after you complete a few tasks during a course it will say something like: "Congratulations you completed your recommended tasks for the day!"; when you see that it would probably be a good time to review what you just learned before moving on. Think about a small program that you could write that would incorporate the concepts you just learned and see if you get the expected output. This would help you retain what you learn.

I hope that helps.