Many of you who know me, know that I am an avid learner, my brain loves to run in a thousand separate directions (usually at the same time) and I’m always on the look out to teach myself some new skills. In fact, my entire career has been carved off the back of that drive for knowledge, from my first foray into computers as a teenager, to my first Microsoft Certifications, I’ve continually opted to do the majority of learning off my own back, interspersed with some instructor-led stuff when it’s been prudent. I certainly feel like I’ve come a long way since those early beginnings, but i’m probably no more structured about it, however much I tell myself I am.
I’ve set some fairly lofty goals in the past, usually to fall far short of them again and again, but it’s 2015, so once again I have some learning goals set forth, here are a few of this years challenges, I wonder how far I will make it in 2015.
Computer Science
My arch-nemesis has always been programming, I often get asked ‘are you a programmer then?’ when people find out I’m in IT, and I politely explain that the difference between an IT Pro and a Developer is about as vast as the difference between an astronaut and a barrister, but it’s something I loved doing in school, and I seemed to be fairly decent at it back then (I mean, it’s hard to suck at Pascal and Basic, but you get the point). For years I’ve attempted to teach myself to code, and never quite got there, partly due I imagine, to how much math I have forgotten over the years. But my IT Pro world is becoming more and more automated and scripted, and success in my field tomorrow will rely much more heavily on being able to craft my own tools as it will by utilizing the tools provided, and thus I am back in the trenches, trying to learn to code.
Fortunately, it’s 2015, and after a few years of everybody banging on about how critical learning to code is, how it should be taught as fundamentally as English or Math (not sure I 100% agree, but still), the resources out there for people like me are endless, as are the tools and support networks to make it easier than ever before. below are some of the tools I’ll be utilizing during 2015 to help me become a better coder.
edX / Harvard – Computer Science 50x
What an amazing resource edX is, a remarkable collection of courses from some of the most prestigious universities around the globe. CS50x is a very basic introduction to computer science and is based off of the formal class at Harvard University. This years class is based on the recordings and lectures from the 2014 campus program, and can be completed over the course of the entire year with the awarding of an honor code certificate upon successful completion of all the problem sets and module requirements. a brilliant introduction for people with no computer science experience, or those with some understanding (and some more challenging problem sets if so desired). Many regions also have community groups and local study groups established if in person brainstorming is more your style. I tried it last year, but I let everything get in the way, not in 2015!
https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-computer-science-harvardx-cs50x
Additional Computer Science
Over on hacker news a few months ago I caught a link submitted by the maintainer of this wonderful list of free online computer science resources (I believe somebody requested something similar for Math, but I have yet to track that one down). If you are done with CS50x, or a little above that already, the list here is fairly exhaustive.
https://github.com/prakhar1989/awesome-courses/blob/master/README.md
Some other online resources I take advantage of
Treehouse (Free to Boise Library Card holders)
Microcontrollers
A fitting follow up to some basic CompSci is diving into the world of micro-controllers (probably Arduino to start with) and figuring out some of the cool things you can do with these tiny little balls of fun. The Internet of Things promises to turn absolutely everything into a connected, sensor-laden mesh of data spewing cleverness, and at the heart of all of this are microcontrollers. I’ve had one sitting on my desk along side a Raspberry Pi B+ for a few months now, and it’s time to figure out something cool to do with it, I love the idea of a submersible that I could take diving with me, or a drone able to capture scenes while I’m out in the desert on the ATVs, there are plenty of examples of clever uses for these versatile little boards, and they have spawned an entire industry of hardware hacking and innovation that shows no sign of abating. Count me in!
Computer Aided Design
I probably wouldn’t consider this a huge priority for me, and I likely won’t get the opportunity to dig as deep into this space as I’d like, but we live in a world where bits and atoms are merging, and the possibilities that technology such as 3D printing and desktop manufacturing bring are conceptually limitless. I have a big interest in this space, and the broader desktop manufacturing and maker movements that I was never really fully aware of until reading a copy of Chris Andersons book ‘Makers: The new Industrial Revolution‘ a book which I have shared with numerous others since first picking it up.
I envision acquiring my first 3D printer this year at the latest, i’m already way behind that curve, and basic CAD will be required to fully utilize the benefits of this technology. I’m planning on starting out with some basic Sketchup, which will provide me a decent foundation for both 3D printing and my other interests such as Woodworking and Welding, as well as providing me a bit more of a basis for more advanced CAD training down the road. The end of 2014 saw NASA deploy a 3D printer on the ISS, and ultimately email digital plans for a ratchet, from earth, that were then printed in space, where the tool was utilized. to say this is a staggering achievement with monumental potential is an understatement, and I imagine one day we will all have something similar in our garage, ready to help out with some basic maintenance, or help us unlock whatever we can imagine.
Woodworking
I gave this a go last year too, I’ve started to build up a bit of a tool collection and have had some fun doing some silly stuff, working with wood is very humbling for me, I spend the majority of my time sitting in front of more than a few screens, surrounded by every conceivable technology and convenience, and working with wood is my escape. It’s hard to describe why this is, or how I came to conclude this, but the act of forging something out of my mind into reality, by my own hand, is a soothing process, and one I would love to explore further.
I’m still pretty new to it all, and every time I start a project I realize I need more tools! (Thanks Sears), I’d love to take an actual class somewhere, I had a wonderful one lined up when I lived in Washington, but it’s a bit more complicated to attend now I live eight hours away, I have found some wonderful resources online though, and while they don’t impart as much as actually getting into the garage and making some cuts, they are a great source of techniques, ideas and general best practice. Here are some of my favorite resources so far
Norman Pirollo’s Woodworking Class @ Udemy
Who knows, maybe I’ll learn a few new skills this year, it’s sure to be a busy one. What are you going to learn in 2015?