How To Learn to Code (We know it’s Important)
At this point, we all know that learning to code is an important thing to do. We’ve all heard the phrases thrown around that coding is “The new basic literacy”, “The most important 21st century skill”, “The key to closing the tech skills gap”. President Barack Obama was the first president to write a line of code, and mayors and governors around the country are requiring that computer science be added to their schools’ classes. Organizations like code.org are doing great work bringing basic computer science courses to the classroom, inspiring students to develop this important skill.
So the key question is not “Why should I learn to code?”, but “How do I learn this?” At Upperline, we think a lot about this question, and it guides our mission and teaching philosophy. Learning to code should be fun. It should also be hard. It should inspire more questions than answers, and promote self-expression and self-efficacy. We’ve put together a list of our top suggestions for the “How?” question — we hope you find it helpful. And if you’ve recently learned to code, tell us what worked for you in the comments below.
Learning to code should be fun and hard at the same time
When you feel challenged by what you are doing — stepping outside of your comfort zone — you’ll learn faster and see amazing progress. At Upperline we teach real-world software engineering using the tools and approaches that leading developers at companies like Twitter and Airbnb use. We don’t water down our curriculum because we know that these skills are what students really want to learn, and that learning rigorous material makes us better learners overall. But staying outside of your comfort zone is difficult if you’re not having fun — that’s why we focus on building lasting friendships, playing fun icebreaker games, and creating an atmosphere free of competition and the pressure of the traditional school environment.
You learn faster when you work together
Learning to code is like training for a marathon. It takes time, dedication, and focus. It is often difficult to stay motivated if you do it alone. Instead of coding for 6 hours a day by yourself, find a partner or a group of people to work with and hold you accountable as you learn programming. Upperline is like joining a running club. These people will push you, catch your mistakes, and serve as resources as you dive into the world of software engineering. In our summer courses, we strike a balance between individual work and group projects and assignments so that students feel like everyone around them is both a teacher and learner.
A Supportive Environment Matters
If you went to a beginner dance class and felt like everyone was judging and criticizing you, would you want to continue learning? Of course not. We learn best when we feel like the people around us want us to succeed, and actively help and support us. As you learn to code, find your supporters and cheerleaders — the people you turn to when things get tough and you feel like quitting. This is a very big part of Upperline courses — we make sure that every student has the support from their peers and instructors so that they can succeed in learning to code.
Pick a project that is important to YOU.
You’ll care about learning a lot more, and therefore learn a lot faster, if you are working on a project that is important to you. Rather than being told to build another To-Do list or Tic-Tac-Toe game, pick a project that connects to one of your passions. If you love cooking, build an app that helps you find recipes with what you have in your fridge. Interested in astronomy? Create an app that connects to NASA to tell you about asteroids around earth. Have an interest in business? Build a business card generator. As long as you are working towards something that matters to you, you’ll be motivated to work harder and learn faster. In every one of our Upperline courses, students get to build their own ‘capstone projects’ at the end of the class. That way, they get to infuse their learning with their interests in new and creative ways.
Learning to code can be tough if you do it alone and don’t have good resources or guidance. But with the right structure and a group of people who support you, coding can be one of the most creative, fulfilling, and exciting passions to pursue. Have any other tips on how best to learn to code? Feel free to reach out to us at info@upperlinecode.com
