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Simon Stranks
Simon Stranks

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Week 1 - First Week of Learning; Summary!

My first week of full-time studying completed! It seemed like it was a long week, which is testament to how much new information I absorbed and new skills I put into practice. But the feeling is a positive one, it was a productive week where I learned more than I initially anticipated.

Drawing on my abilities to grapple with new software and technologies, getting to grips with VSCode was comparatively easy compared to AutoCAD as a Landscape Architect. At the end of the week, I was already utilizing various keyboard shortcuts to increase my workflow and not touching the mouse at all, and using the split-screen editing to see the live preview.

The Git terminal was more intimidating at first glance; the command line functionality feels like the Latin language, an older but more revered power. However, this too was short lived for by the weekend I had already learned how to move around directories, create files, initialize a repository, add, commit, and finally push/pull contents to my GitHub repository online.

Learning the basics of HTML was straight forward enough, no real problems with that. Next week I’m going to complete some intermediate and advanced learning to round it off. I don’t think there’s much more to do except keep putting it into practice, and perhaps revisit it later when learning to maximize SEO on websites.

I implemented a few basic CSS styles in my HTML practice explorations and I’m looking forward to learning more about it this coming week. One week in and I’m already tired of HTML’s basic visual rendering – it’s like Netscape, Windows 95, and the birth of internet all over again!

The first chapter of “Pragmatic Programming” was more riveting than I expected it to be in all honesty, as I anticipated it to be dry. In fact, it was really encouraging as I realized it was conveying aspects of professionalism that I was already implementing in my previous role as a Landscape Architect, such as the “Broken Window Theory”. It seems like this book will appeal to my meticulous and consistent proclivities.

I have found two courses I aim to complete during my studies:

  • Harvard’s CS50 Course
  • Udacity CS101 Course

These should give a nice background of the more formal learning that comprises Computer Science degree courses, helping to round out my knowledge base (and really test my cognitive ability!).

Plenty of resources and tutorials now on my list to research and learn from, lots of post-it notes stuck to my desk, lots to be getting on with! Onwards and upwards!

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