k

#codingbarbie

[dreamdolldeveloper]

      ★ . . . 𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌 𝐃𝐎𝐋𝐋 𝐃𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐋𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐑 . . . ★

hello, i'm dreamdoll. you can read my bio here. this is my coding/studying blog where i talk more about my coding and language adventures as a beginner!

     ★ early twenties.      ★ self studying      ★ interested in web/app dev, neuroscience, all things stem, languages, and a bunch of other things.

     —   my “main” side blog: @dreamdolldiary      —  i follow from: @saintdreamdoll

[saintlermes]

[codingquill]

If you enjoy developing and coding, there are several paths you can pursue:

Front-end development

Back-end development

Full-stack development

It's important to note that there is generally more competition in back-end development compared to front-end. Therefore, securing an internship in back-end development may be more challenging than in front-end.

However, if coding isn't your preference (which doesn't mean you shouldn't be in the field), there are alternative career options you can explore:

DevOps engineering : My next post will be about DevOps

Testing (consider obtaining the ISTQB certificate)

Management of tech projects

These options provide diverse opportunities within the IT industry.

[dreamdolldeveloper]

has anyone ever heard of codepen.io??? i discovered it today wanting to find more ways to practice nested flexbox and it's cool from what i've seen

[dreamdolldeveloper]

nested layouts is not okay for my brain that likes things to be coordinated and easily seen

div div div div div div div dvidv divbdv dvihndconszdoivbsdsdaefgkndlrj;aeklmdfc;inew mfkljnw'inowfm'eijpwsdfzrigJWE:ipmv "ITou

[dreamdolldeveloper]

It’s taking me forever to get through this BASIC html and css course

for life reasons and also bc i’m just slow

[dreamdolldeveloper]

[dreamdolldeveloper]

dreamdoll watchlist ★

5 Techniques of Every Successful Student

key takeaways:

★ background:

main theme: build the bigger picture first

he talks about trends he notices between his students that are successful vs unsuccessful

threshold concepts: refers to core concepts in a subject where understanding these concepts is key to transforming the way students understand a whole subject.

a threshold concept can be described as transformative (a significant shift in understanding), probably irreversible (difficult to unlearn), integrative (reveals the association between various topics), sometimes bounded (specific to a particular discipline), and potentially troublesome (difficult to grasp, counter-intuitive)

in simple terms: provides a barrier to allow someone to see and understand a topic in a way they were never able to before

example of experiencing a threshold concept is stumbling over a block in the dark and you're suddenly lost and confused, you don't know where you are- disorientated. like when you're listening to the teacher and suddenly, you don't know what they're talking about anymore. when you're reading a book and you don't know what you just read. you lost your way and you don't know how you lost your way.

what we want is to have lightbulb moments more frequently. have more control to increase the speed of our learning. we want to be able ot overcome these threshold concepts as quickly as possible to become a learner who just gets things a lot faster

in order to do that: we fundamentally need to understand: there are a few fundamentals to learning that affects the student.

★ learning

learning is recursive. learning something once and relearning it over and over again. not that we didn't understand it the first time but it's better and easier to understand when you've known the basics/the foundation of. the bigger picture.

and excursive. a learning journey that has allowances for diversions. you can progress through the material and you don't always have to go in a linear line, you can go back and forth, have multiple different ways of learning something. take diversions and side routes to get to the same place of understanding the concept.

what are some techniques that allows us to engage in active learning in a sustainable, consistent way that anyone can start applying?

it's not the techniques itself but the trends they follow aka crafting the bigger picture.

★ attributes of a good learner

1. priming

pre-study. instead of looking a piece of text and learning it, top from bottom straight away. scan it to get a general understanding.

mentally create a framework on how to think about it instead of what to know. read the heading, images, diagrams, questions.

create a mind map on how the big pictures connect to one another.

don't worry about the details.

big picture = easier lightbulb moments = faster threshold concept = faster learning.

2. how to stay active and attentive while in the class:

for those who start to feel drowsy, sleepy, unable to pay attention. think about needing to be aware if someone is about to throw a ball at you. with information, you have to be ready to catch that information that you are consuming.

ask questions, aloud or inside your mind. lots of questions. questions every minute. if you ask a HOW and WHY question, it causes us to relate that question at a higher mastery of knowledge. not only do you want/need to understand a single concept but the relationship that, that has with other multiple related concepts to see how does it fit together.

3. revision within 12 hours of the initial learning event.

the longer you wait, the higher risk that you're going to forget. you reap higher benefits if you were to review the same day rather than 2 days ahead .

reviewing the same day also maximizes SDMC (sleep dependent memory consolidation) aka "studying while you're asleep" your neural pathways that were active during your learning session repeat while you're asleep. think of it as rewinding a tape. this action in the brain causes neural pathways to strengthen with this repetition.

the way you review is important. make sure it highlights, again, the big picture. chunking aka taking the pieces of information from your learning session and priming to connect it all together. like a puzzle. creating a mind map is a good way to do this.

don't try to use too many words. if you don't use words in your notes, this activates parts of the brain that normally would not be activated if you were to use words. make words and sentences a last resort.

make it reasonably minimal. learning comes naturally and authentically. you don't need to write so many notes (ironic bc i'm... taking... notes....). humans are naturally good at learning. adapting. writing too many notes actually reduces cognitive load. aka the confusion we get. confusion is actually good for us. not too much but not too little either.

4. delayed note taking.

instead of taking notes right away, hold it off. keep the information in our heads a bit, think about it, let that confusion come in and let the brain do it's thing. asking those how and why questions

skip the paraphrasing and have simplified notes. in our head, not on paper. it helps the brain to rely on itself rather than on paper. when we get rid of that fear of having to write constantly in order to learn we unlock a huge opportunity for effective learning

5. pre-exam revision.

examine the topics that are most challenging to you. the things you feel the weakest on. make it challenging in a meaningful way. recall it instead of recognizing it.

learn in a way that is different each time. this is the best way to test your knowledge and connection to the subject. if you learn something in the same way every time, you saturate that technique to it's ability. and therefore, you won't have any room to improve/effectively learn.

for example, instead of rereading your notes, try to rewrite them or draw diagrams from your current knowledge aka recall.

another example of a technique is the feyman technique.

[dreamdolldeveloper]

dreamdoll watchlist ★

key takeaways:

python is a good beginning coding language to start with

start with: variables, datatypes, loops, functions, if statements, oop

if you covered the basics, it would and should take you approx. 2 weeks.

first project: do something interesting/useful. start small.

simple games or a food recommendation system with specific ingredients

panda dataframe

use API = application programming interface = different pieces of software interacting with each other. grabbing data from another source

after your first project, learn about data structures and algorithms. how API works. learn how to read documentation.

dictionary

linkedlists

queues

heaps

trees

graphs

learn about more things and how to implement them into projects.

correct mindset:

implementation and application > theory and concepts knowing ≠ being able to do it

stay curious.

explore things outside of what is prescribed in a resource. that's how you learn about different concepts and how you deeply understand the concepts that you already know.

the best programmers they've met are the tinkers. these are the people who play around with their code and try a bunch of different things.

getting stuck:

it all comes down to problem solving. be comfortable with not knowing things and staying calm while trying to figure out the problems

how to learn even faster:

find a community where you work on projects together. you will learn so many things from other experiences programmers just by interacting with them. and accountability because you just can't give up

learning is never ending. you will always be learning something new.

[dreamdolldeveloper]

back to basics

mostly free resources to help you learn the basics that i've gathered for myself so far that i think are cool

everyday

gcfglobal - about the internet, online safety and for kids, life skills like applying for jobs, career planning, resume writing, online learning, today's skills like 3d printing, photoshop, smartphone basics, microsoft office apps, and mac friendly. they have core skills like reading, math, science, language learning - some topics are sparse so hopefully they keep adding things on. great site to start off on learning.

handsonbanking - learn about finances. after highschool, credit, banking, investing, money management, debt, goal setting, loans, cars, small businesses, military, insurance, retirement, etc.

bbc - learning for all ages. primary to adult. arts, history, science, math, reading, english, french, all the way to functional and vocational skills for adults as well, great site!

education.ket - workplace essential skills

general education

mathsgenie - GCSE revision, grade 1-9, math stages 1-14, provides more resources! completely free.

khan academy - pre-k to college, life skills, test prep (sats, mcat, etc), get ready courses, AP, partner courses like NASA, etc. so much more!

aleks - k-12 + higher ed learning program. adapts to each student.

biology4kids - learn biology

cosmos4kids - learn astronomy basics

chem4kids - learn chemistry

physics4kids - learn physics

numbernut - math basics (arithmetic, fractions and decimals, roots and exponents, prealgebra)

education.ket - primary to adult. includes highschool equivalent test prep, the core skills. they have a free resource library and they sell workbooks. they have one on work-life essentials (high demand career sectors + soft skills)

youtube channels

the organic chemistry tutor

khanacademy

crashcourse

tabletclassmath

2minmaths

kevinmathscience

professor leonard

greenemath

mathantics

3blue1brown

literacy

readworks - reading comprehension, build background knowledge, grow your vocabulary, strengthen strategic reading

chompchomp - grammar knowledge

tutors

not the "free resource" part of this post but sometimes we forget we can be tutored especially as an adult. just because we don't have formal education does not mean we can't get 1:1 teaching! please do you research and don't be afraid to try out different tutors. and remember you're not dumb just because someone's teaching style doesn't match up with your learning style.

cambridge coaching - medical school, mba and business, law school, graduate, college academics, high school and college process, middle school and high school admissions

preply - language tutoring. affordable!

revolutionprep - math, science, english, history, computer science (ap, html/css, java, python c++), foreign languages (german, korean, french, italian, spanish, japanese, chinese, esl)

varsity tutors - k-5 subjects, ap, test prep, languages, math, science & engineering, coding, homeschool, college essays, essay editing, etc

chegg - biology, business, engineering/computer science, math, homework help, textbook support, rent and buying books

learn to be - k-12 subjects

for languages

lingq - app. created by steve kaufmann, a polygot (fluent in 20+ languages) an amazing language learning platform that compiles content in 20+ languages like podcasts, graded readers, story times, vlogs, radio, books, the feature to put in your own books! immersion, comprehensible input.

flexiclasses - option to study abroad, resources to learn, mandarin, cantonese, japanese, vietnamese, korean, italian, russian, taiwanese hokkien, shanghainese.

fluentin3months - bootcamp, consultation available, languages: spanish, french, korean, german, chinese, japanese, russian, italian.

fluenz - spanish immersion both online and in person - intensive.

pimsleur - not tutoring** online learning using apps and their method. up to 50 languages, free trial available.

incase time has passed since i last posted this, check on the original post (not the reblogs) to see if i updated link or added new resources. i think i want to add laguage resources at some point too but until then, happy learning!!

[izzycodes]

Sunday 21st January 2024

>> I made a post yesterday of me mini-ranting about how I don't have any proper career goals because the ones I made years ago I've achieved now, so I'm questioning myself "What now? 🙃".

Then I remembered I have a recruiter mate and I emailed him asking for help and he gave me a long list of what I could do now to get better from my position. And I like sharing help so here's what he said + my own notes of what I understood from them~!

Hope this helps you too~!

🩶 Assess Current Skills and Set Goals

Identify your strengths and weaknesses.

Set clear goals for technical and leadership skill development.

My notes: I am good at some languages/technologies whilst I am a complete noob in others. Yes, I use them but I am not confident in them and always have to Google what is going on. I need to make a list of all the languages I am good at and those I am not so good at. Maybe even list why I'm not good at them. The same goes for non-technical skills. Got to make plans/goals on how I will improve them and get out of my comfort bubble on my comfort technologies and expand! Leadership skills would probably improve when I get solo projects given/have to present at Team meetings on my own in front of everyone~!

🩶 Technical Skill Enhancement

Deepen your proficiency in current programming languages.

Explore new technologies and frameworks relevant to your field.

My notes: I already answered this in the top one, but I shouldn't neglect my current skills to be able to learn the new ones. With the languages I am good and confident in, I still feel as though I haven't reached the more advanced stuff of that language. OOP stuff skill scares me in any programming language so I need to face my fears and learn it. From time to time, check what's popular in the market in terms of technology used and see which one aligns with my dream tech stack to use in the future and make plans to learn and develop myself~!

🩶 Project Leadership and Collaboration

Volunteer to lead small projects or take on more responsibility in current projects.

Collaborate with cross-functional teams to understand different aspects of project development.

My notes: At work, I eventually (since I'm still new) should ask to be the lead on some projects just like my higher-up developer is to me. Lead my own projects, without having to report to someone unless in dire need or when the project is complete for testing, etc. The team is small so I should talk to the non-developers in the team and see from their POV how the project is. Understand different types of people in the team and communicate effectively. All of this can be transferred to non-work projects like an online group project on an Open-Source project on GitHub for example - lead projects and taking more responsibilities. Being able to talk to people with different skillsets as we work on a group project~!

🩶 Attend Workshops and Networking Events

Attend workshops, conferences, and networking events to expand your knowledge and connections.

Seek mentorship from experienced professionals, including CTOs.

My notes: My gosh, I dread this honestly. I'm still a relatively shy person so going to workshops and events still brings small anxiety but that's something I do want to break~! I will never know what I will learn, who I will meet etc if I don't go to one! I want to aim that this year I would like to go to one, preferably in or near my city. I always love the idea of having a mentor, honestly, I was going to pay someone to help mentor me on that part ( >> loads of cites offer mentorships for programming!!! ) but I feel like my manager right now is that person so I will keep working with him to develop more~!

In conclusion, self-improvement as a programmer is both challenging and super hard to get started BUT rewarding in the end~!

[code-es]

Coding resource!

exercism.org

A free website where you get specific problems to methodically learn small concepts of a programming language. Do 10 minutes to 1 hour every day, and then you will keep practicing every day, and you will be able to use the skills you learn in your real projects. They walk you through the problem all the way, and it's a super good way to learn!

[izzycodes]

Debug Help | Resources ✨

[tenaciousdeveloper]

Hi there! 👋

This blog is going away soon.

If you need to get in contact with me you can add me on Discord: tenaciousdeveloper. You'll find me hanging out regularly in the Codeblr Blogs Unite server.

Also, if you would like to connect in some other way (email, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, etc.) feel free to message me in the next few days.

Goodbye! 🙋‍♂️

[dreamdolldeveloper]

oh no :((( ill miss you sm! wishing you well forever and ever 🤍

[dreamdolldeveloper]

am i dumb

today i feel defeated because i didn't know you could put a css grid within a grid during this exercise i was doing. it wasn't shown in the tutorial and i only knew because i compared my code with the model code. so when i found out i was ike ???#%#$?^$&

i was so stuck on why this text was below a photo instead of sitting next to it and i feel like i should've known??

i'm just beating myself up at this point but i really couldn't put the pieces together and i'm sad that i'm DUM.

i mean i understand it now but AT WHAT COSTTT it felt like i was blatantly copying what the instructor put in their code even though it kinda wasn't so i feel like a fraud but a dummy at the same time bc i couldn't figure that out :(((((((((((((

this is an example of the problem i was facing:

#real #true

context: the lesson was introducing css grid and explaining how display inline blocks don't automatically apply vertical alignment so grids are better.

here is my html and css for these example i made and whatnot:

(these contain div elements using the nested layouts technique)

2. i put them in a grid and removed the inline blocks as told by the tutorial (photo is at 100% width) and the text ended up like this:

the text is below the icon now (rounded photo)

3. found out that the instructor put a grid within the text and icon and so i did the same thing and

this is the html and css + the final outcome:

skjdnwesfh;kjrbgjbfjbgkjrdngkdjtfgnjdfbgrehb

tjgnrjgnregjbr

if i couldn't figure this simple thing out on my own

how will i figure anything out on my own

rip #aminotcutoutforthis #lordsend helpkwe;l;fwef

[tenaciousdeveloper]

You are not dumb. You're going through the learning process. Things like these may look simple once it's explained to you or you've figured it out, but they're really far from simple. HTML and specially CSS may seem easy, but they're really not. They're easy to get started but difficult to master. It takes time and dedication to learn it right.

Once again, you're not dumb, this is just part of the process and struggle of learning something new. It happens to me all the time as well, and I've been doing this for decades now.

Now you know how this works. You've learned it. You did it! 👍

Onto the next concept. 👉

You belong here. You are cut out for this. 💪

Hang in there. You're doing great! 🙌

[dreamdolldeveloper]

thank you so so so much for your kind words as always <3333 i'm forever grateful for you!

[dreamdolldeveloper]

am i dumb

today i feel defeated because i didn't know you could put a css grid within a grid during this exercise i was doing. it wasn't shown in the tutorial and i only knew because i compared my code with the model code. so when i found out i was ike ???#%#$?^$&

i was so stuck on why this text was below a photo instead of sitting next to it and i feel like i should've known??

i'm just beating myself up at this point but i really couldn't put the pieces together and i'm sad that i'm DUM.

i mean i understand it now but AT WHAT COSTTT it felt like i was blatantly copying what the instructor put in their code even though it kinda wasn't so i feel like a fraud but a dummy at the same time bc i couldn't figure that out :(((((((((((((

this is an example of the problem i was facing:

#real #true

context: the lesson was introducing css grid and explaining how display inline blocks don't automatically apply vertical alignment so grids are better.

here is my html and css for these example i made and whatnot:

(these contain div elements using the nested layouts technique)

2. i put them in a grid and removed the inline blocks as told by the tutorial (photo is at 100% width) and the text ended up like this:

the text is below the icon now (rounded photo)

3. found out that the instructor put a grid within the text and icon and so i did the same thing and

this is the html and css + the final outcome:

skjdnwesfh;kjrbgjbfjbgkjrdngkdjtfgnjdfbgrehb

tjgnrjgnregjbr

if i couldn't figure this simple thing out on my own

how will i figure anything out on my own

rip #aminotcutoutforthis #lordsend helpkwe;l;fwef

[dreamdolldeveloper]

me being absolutely dramatic yet so filled with harsh criticism to be "perfect" and getting love from other developers to calm me down <333

[empress-of-dark2005]