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HTML

Posted by Daniel Wilson
Daniel Wilson
2,327 Points

What is the best way to make the material stick?

This is my first week here at Treehouse and I'm a beginner starting out as an aspiring Front End Developer. This is my second day here and I already feel at home and I'm learning so much. Thing is, I've always been a hands on type of learner and I'm trying to figure out how to better understand and apply what I've learned. What do you think is the best way to make the new information learn stick and become applicable? Thank you guys.

Bryce Santos
Bryce Santos
11,157 Points

I've been questioning that myself, but have found a good way is to give myself exercises. Like... "okay I'm going to challenge myself by coding my site this way today". Or, even to help build a portfolio or for fun, ask a friend to ask you to build them their ideal simple website.

3 Answers

Jennifer Nordell
seal-mask
STAFF
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Jennifer Nordell
Treehouse Teacher
Jennifer Nordell
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Jennifer Nordell
Treehouse Teacher

Practice, practice, practice! I can highly recommend codepen at this link: http://codepen.io/ The basic account is free and you can even code directly from a mobile device. I've been known to sit and work on website mockups in waiting rooms! It supports HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Adam Castillo
Adam Castillo
7,585 Points
Adam Castillo
Adam Castillo
7,585 Points

I am in the same boat as you Daniel. I have only been apart of Treehouse for a couple of months, I am currently working on the front end web development track for HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. For me personally, I feel the only way to learn this stuff is getting as much exposure as possible. I try to devote an hour a day on Treehouse, so I can pound this stuff into long term memory. Some other great sites I use for practice are www.codeacademy.com and www.coursera.org. Both of these websites in my opinion are not up to par with Treehouse, but it does offer some free resources. I also try to watch some videos on development conferences to keep me informed on current trends, http://archive.generateconf.com/videos. I hope these resources are helpful to you. Enjoy!

Raymond Nicholas
Raymond Nicholas
3,949 Points
Raymond Nicholas
Raymond Nicholas
3,949 Points

I know that for me, it was very tempting to just sit through the video and absorb the content, but I second Jennifer in feeling like you have to get your hands dirty and practice and make as much stuff as possible. Finished with Nick's make a website project? Try tinkering something on your own based on it.

I also agree with Adam in trying multiple resources. Codecademy is great since you will be constantly entering code to get through each stage (kind of like the code challenges here, except more frequent). I also use Coder Manual, a one-person-run bootcamp created by Rob Dey (General Assembly instructor). Sometimes another site may explain content in a way that reinforces what you learned on the first site.

Also, to make it "stick," I have been treating it like a traditional class. Taking notes (especially on syntax and "little details" that are easy to forget), scheduling a set time after work to do the challenges, and thinking about your hoped for career path. Also reading a lot of tech sites (news/columns) helps to keep abreast of what's going on in the field.