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Ashlee (she/her)
Ashlee (she/her)

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How to Study for a Test by Making a Website

With my crazy schedule of driving 1.5 hours one-way for a class four days a week, I haven't had as much time to write code outside of work. I also see tons of people on Twitter talking about React or Gatbsy, which makes me want to dig into them even more.

So, I'm making an informational website on Discrete and Combinatorial Mathematics II to study and practice my Gatsby skills. πŸ˜‰ The course material is separated very nicely already: 7 advanced topics and 6 core topics. So far, there's one page for each which are linked from the home page with a little summary description.

Preview of the home page.

On each page, I plan on showing a list at the top of the important terms and definitions the relevant textbook section and I'm also inserting the examples most helpful to me.

Preview of a topic's page.

Finally, I'm also creating a glossary page where all of the important terms and definitions will be formally described and linked to from any of the other site pages.

Preview of the terms page.

I feel extremely nerdy for doing this and it's actually incredibly fun. I'm trying to pick up on little things along the way too, such as practicing semantic HTML. I found this really cool post while looking up the differences between <section> and <article> elements.

I hope this post inspires you to do whatever it takes to accomplish your goals. Figure out what tactics work for you, and just get it done.


Did you know I have a newsletter? πŸ“¬

If you want to get notified when I publish new blog posts or make major project announcements, head over to https://ashleemboyer.com/newsletter.


Image by Craig Garner on Unsplash.

Top comments (7)

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dbanty profile image
Dylan Anthony

What a cool concept! Love the idea of building something with a new tech as a way to study. Way to make note taking fun and doubly productive!

Now how do I use Rust to get better at sight reading music? Hmmm

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ashleemboyer profile image
Ashlee (she/her)

Hmm... πŸ€”

Maybe make a timed quiz-type deal? It shows you a note, and you type the letter on the keyboard as quickly as you can? Then make it more complex with 2 notes... 3 notes... and if you like analyzing things you could track your progress to see if you’re getting faster.

I have no idea what Rust is but I’m about to go Google it so hopefully my suggestion is actually even doable. 😬

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dbanty profile image
Dylan Anthony

Wow, I was kidding a bit but that’s a great idea. Would give me an excuse to draw to the screen with some sort of GUI toolkit. Then maybe I could even learn to detect MIDI input from my keyboard o_O.

I might have some hacking to do. Thanks!

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ashleemboyer profile image
Ashlee (she/her)

Can’t kid about interesting app ideas around me. I think out loud and have no self control once I start going 😁

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petersimnz profile image
Peter Sim

Awesome, Ashlee!

There's a Learning Pyramid that purports to show how well you retain ideas using different modes:

Learning Pyramid

I understand that the evidence for this is somewhat anecdotal, but nevertheless:

  1. You're an active learner;
  2. You're practicing by doing;
  3. You're creating a resource for teaching.

So, what a great way of studying for tests.

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austinstanding profile image
Austin Standing

Reminds me of Make It Stick, you may enjoy it if you haven't read it already.

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ashleemboyer profile image
Ashlee (she/her)

I have a couple of unfinished ones too... when this final is over I need to sit down and have a massive planning session! So many UFOs πŸ™ƒ