![Cover image for [Keynote] One Rule to Rule Them All: Learning in Public](https://community.codenewbie.org/images/4UY7HTzVK7kNX7WevTxTASkP6RRs38S3bt8ix26NLB0/rs:fill:1000:420/g:sm/mb:500000/ar:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9jb21t/dW5pdHkuY29kZW5l/d2JpZS5vcmcvcmVt/b3RlaW1hZ2VzL3Vw/bG9hZHMvYXJ0aWNs/ZXMvMHY2emljMWFl/cmQ3Z3JyOGI5NTMu/cG5n)
In this keynote for CodeLand 2021, we'll cover the idea that learning is an essential part of your career, and it's crucial to find the best learning method that fits you. We'll explore some learning techniques with a critical focus on the last - Learning In Public.
Takeaways:
- Feynman's technique to learning anything
- Spaced Repetition
- Guided and Unguided Learning
- Learning in Public
Resources
- Feynman's Learning Technique
- How to Remember Anything - Spaced Repetition Puzzle
- Learn In Public Essay
About Gift Egwuenu
Gift Egwuenu is a frontend consultant at Passionate People and a content creator based in Haarlem, Netherlands, She loves engaging with and advocating for open and inclusive developer communities and loves sharing her knowledge and experience by creating tech content for developers.
This talk will be presented as part of CodeLand 2021 on September 24. After the talk is streamed as part of the conference, it will be added to this post as a recorded video.
Top comments (57)
thank you for sharing. I really enjoyed your talk, the question "how do you stay up to date?" for me its tricky, because I tend to get overwhelmed with all the information available, I try to sort out the main things, I also have a trello for that LOL
That's a common thing I find many people struggle with. For me I have different mediums that I use for staying up to date. In order for me not to get overwhelmed with information I use some tools to help me.
That is an interesting point you speak about! To not get overhelmed, would be nice to have some concepts about to focus on things. When i started to code i followed to much people and was subscribing all newsletters and stuff. I was really overhelmed and it was too much stuff. Sometimes i was in panic because i don't want to miss anything.
True! I should add that actually. First pick an area of focus so you don't feel obligated to learn everything at the same time.
the keynote had me curious about learning styles and techniques and made me realize that i actually used them before without even realizing it. i love that you give the vibes that learning should be enjoyed and would be much better to be shared with a community. thank you for sharing this topic, learning to teaching is definitely an amazing cycle. <33
Thank you :)
Same! It was until I stumbled on these ideas that I realized oh wait I do this already.
I have been keeping an engineering journal for some time. I always have thought I ought to polish it up a bit and turn it into a blog, and the idea of learning in public really pushes me to want to do this. Any recommendations on how to go about this in terms of platforms?
That's a great start! I can recommend you start with a minimal solution by sharing on platforms like Dev.to, Hashnode, CodeNewbie as well and when you can create a space for yourself on the web by building your own blog.
Egwuenu, I really loved this quote you shared with us:
"Similarly, the impulse to keep to yourself what you have learned is not only shameful, it is destructive. Anything you do not give freely and abundantly becomes lost to you. You open your safe and find ashes.” - Annie Dillard.
Very inspiring 🕊️☀️
Indeed the quote is a gold nugget. 👍🏻
Thank you @lauragift_
Thank you! 😁
Your presentation got me thinking more deeply about learning in public, specifically how it represents what I know at a specific moment. It seems like a streaming service would be good for this, something like twitter. In this way, it seems like a historical record of what I was thinking at that time. What are some good platforms for developers to share their current thinking as learning in public?
I've been wanting to publish content that I could save as a reference and look back on it later. However, this gets problematic because I want to go back and edit it when I learn a topic better. This didn't seem to fit well for blogging, because it seems that blog posts should be mostly left as they were originally posted, not constantly edited. Saving my reference notes might be better hosted in a dedicated website or contributed to a wiki. What thoughts do you have about the difference between sharing current understanding (as a moment in time) vs. publishing material for teaching others or providing reference (which will be improved and edited)?
Great to hear! You already have good ideas for platforms that will fit - Twitter, Twitch or YouTube for streaming.
I have a good one for you. The solution you need is a DIgital Garden not a blog. The idea is that content you share remains in state where it can be edited at any time.
I like this concept so much i'm planning on migrating my blog to a digital garden.
Examples of blogs following this concept.
maggieappleton.com/garden
joelhooks.com/
Thanks for sharing the idea of Digital Gardens, what a great concept. I look forward to reading more about them.
Where did you start learning in public? Did you start with YouTube videos, blog posts, tweets?
Whoops I got ahead of myself, answered :)
:D
My first attempt at doing this was from the #100DaysOfCode Challenge and after that I continued exploring other ways of sharing /learning in public.
Love this idea of learning in public, Gift! It's been difficult for me to do this for mental health reasons, but I'm making progress.
If someone were to create a "today: I learned ..." feed, is it necessary to turn it into a tutorial or could they be summarized tweets or short takes? What works best for staying motivated? What about turning off comments or is the point to interact as well?
When I have tech issues and I ask question on a forum, I usually move on to solve my own issue while waiting on a response, creating sort of a log by posting multiple times. If no one has responded to the original question post, they will usually chime in after they see that I'm working towards a real solution in the thread. If nothing else, I have a record of my solution.
I need to try and use this to learn new things instead of just solve my current tech issues, I guess.
Thank you for sharing your ideas and encouragement!
Thanks @fizzybuzzybeezy , I understand that and how challenging it can be for you. But there are ways you can still do this. I like the idea of creating a Today I Learned section on your website. It's not necessary unless you want to do it. I think of it a library of knowledge for myself that I can always come back to and if it helps other people that find it then that's a plus.
I think keeping a log of things you learn and adding to your website (i see a good opportunity of automating this) is a good way to stay consistent and to stay motivated you have to keep in mind that this is your way of keeping a log of your knowledge so you don't forget.
Exactly the same way you follow up with questions you post on forums.
Sharing your knowledge is an important thing, but I wish I was confident about my knowledge :(
Everyone has a unique perspective and the things you know and can explain will likely resonate with someone. It's ok if it doesn't resonate with everyone but sharing what you have learned WILL help someone and as a bonus it helps you understand more clearly the things you learn.
I agree Christina! 🔥
Wow, never thought like that. I was probably bothered by how I will be judged. But there is always more than that...
You can start small. If you feel more comfortable sharing in a smaller group, like a work slack group, or group with friends. Then share on more public platforms after you feel more comfortable.
The good part of learning in public, is you can get help from others more knowledgable on the topic and i think that's a plus.
Try it and i hope you feel confident enough to share.
Thank you so much, will try this for sure!
No shame in plugging your videos! :) I'm excited to check them out!
I wonder if the 99% learning in private is due to imposter syndrome?
Yes! That tends to be the reason why many people don't share. I think it's helpful to note that a ton of people struggle with Imposter syndrome but a way of overcoming it is pushing them to at least try. When they do that and think it's not a good fit then it's okay to learn in a way that's comfortable for them.
I missed the talk on imposter syndrome, but sounds like I should listen to it again.
That makes perfect sense! :) Thank you for a great talk!
I love the idea behind "Learning in public." It's something I'm still struggling with in my journey, but I love to hear how others are achieving it.
Thanks Gift for sharing this, i really enjoyed this session. It was a perfect classification of learning techniques which all of us use without even realizing it.
Once if more and more people starts Learning in Public, i think there is no way to go back. Even, it might make other techniques to be the most difficult ones as there will be infinite posts regarding every topic as everyone starts discussing in public forums. And it will be difficult for everyone to find correct solution instantly without discussing.
So, I am just curious will it be beneficial everytime in long run? Definitely I agree with you that it will help in increasing our knowledge. But what if when we need solution instantly?
Thanks :)
I think in this case, anyone that shares publicly especially in a way to teach others needs to do their due diligence and if for some reason they find that what they shared isn't the right thing it's okay to take feedback and corrections and update what they already shared.
Thank for sharing Gift, this is one of my goal learn and teach.
Thanks for this nice keynote, i will definitely try to learn more about learning concepts and #learninpublic. When i started to code, my first project was: code-ressourcen.de to safe my learning ressources and sharing on the same time.
I love that concept of sharing the process of learning and teaching others. And that the best thing you can do is sharing your mistakes actually resonates with me. One just can't get the feedback learning in private. Thanks so much for sharing your experience!
Thank you for sharing! Thank you for teaching this “old dog” a new trick.
Your presentation helped me shed away a lot of old ideas. 👍🏻
Great to hear that @towers1209 ! 😊
Thanks for sharing your fount of good ideas — “Show Your Work”. 👍🏻