[Help] How do you decide which is the best way to implement your idea?
Hi all,
I am working on building a platform to help novices learn how to code by building projects. This idea came after helping my girlfriend make the switch from working as a waitress to learning how to code.
Most platforms out there bombard you with a ton of information that is really hard to comprehend for someone that has no clue about how programming works.
I am a firm believer that the best way to learn something new is to build a small project (like a chat app or todo list or voting system) and get good at knowing a couple of concepts and expand from there.
I am having a hard time implementing my idea. I am not sure what's the best way to make it fun, unique and valuable.
The initial plan was to have a set of actionable tutorials. But now I am thinking if I should create a bot that novices can interact with. What do you guys think? Any feedback is appreciated.
What does your girlfriend think? I think she would be a great resource to tap into given that she is your target audience. Also, I'm assuming that she's not super into tech and would give great general feedback as opposed to tech-feedback.
In general, I'd say tutorials and small projects are great. Even better if it's something that people can take it further and use in their life.
She was not into tech. She recently got interested in it. Well, she and a friend were my initial audience. I created a couple of actionable tutorials for them. I showed her how to create a small chat app and a todo list. It got her more interested than what she learned on other platforms like Codecademy where most examples are not day to day practical things.
Ah - she and her friend would be great people to ask! And their success at coding will help influence other people as well.
Hi Sergio, I’d suggest exactly what you mentioned and create a small project to start with in the form of a tutorial. I’ve helped a lot of people learn to code on my blog with an Instagram tutorial and a Basecamp tutorial for Ruby on Rails and it’s very rewarding.
I think real life projects are a great way to learn to code and when I start doing in-person sessions next year, I’ll definitely make everything project based.
Do things that don't scale.
Teach some people to code (one on one or in a group) - understand their challenges and what works/doesn't work.
Use that feedback to build a scalable version of the solution. When you really understand the problem, the solution should seem obvious :)