Zed Shaw is teaching two four-week Python classes (online)
codelesson.com
codelesson.com
-- "Find courses you're interested in from our course list. After you've selected a course, we'll send you more information about our Web-based learning system. "
I kinda want to know before signing up, selecting, and/or paying what your Web-based learning system is about. From what I can see on the site, there will be some directed readings, evaluated assignments, and a place to do Q&A. Those are nice benefits but I'm looking for a quality teacher to pay that premium. I'd like to know if there is audio/video lectures, what the required texts are, etc. Unfortunately there is no FAQ and the only obvious way to ask is the "Contact Us" link which takes you to a generic feedback page.
It's unclear from FAQ what's "instructor-led" actually means.
Anyways, now that you're here, do you guys do video lectures/interaction of any sort? I think that would persuade me to follow through~
Philosophically, we are avoiding the notion of live video formats for a couple of reasons. First, there are products that exist to do live video today (Skype, etc.). But more importantly, the big benefit of an online course is that because the course has no set meeting time, students and instructors can time-shift (this is the same benefit of email versus talking on the phone). With live video, you lose that. That isn't to say that live interactions in our courses aren't an option (you're still free to pick up the phone), they just aren't a differentiator for us.
Because our courses are instructor-led, you're going to get answers to your questions, which is something that pre-recorded videos can't really provide.
It might be a personal thing, but I learn much better when I can see the teacher and follow along with them. My best teachers have always been my most passionate teachers, and I think many of us either know of Zed's reputation or have had first-hand experience with it.
Zed giving readings, assignments, and feedback: worth the money. Zed getting all up in your business, taking you down a notch or two, and building you back up again: priceless.
Posted this since I've seen so much praise for Zed's Python book here on HN.
(I found that out in the process of attempting to report an error in version 0.1 - it's already fixed in 0.5, and 0.5 is 4x longer.)
I understand the desire of programmers to start from ground zero, but come on. The internet is full of easy beginner tutorials. Bookstores are full of intermediate materials.
But there is a shortage of expert advice from experienced professionals. Let's see some of that!
One thing that surprised us about our first CodeLesson course is that it was populated by a few startup CEOs, some of whom had coded in college, others who were learning to code for the first time.
though i agree with the idea that there are very few resources geared toward expert/advanced users. i'm not sure how flexible the course material would be in this case tho.
i think being able to get feedback from someone like zed allows one to QUICKLY and EFFICIENTLY get to the meat and heart of ideas and concepts. whereas in my experience with other instructors you're sometimes wondering in the back of your mind whether the person actually knows what they are talking about.
it's similar to being able to study directly with a zen master. except in this case it's not zen, it's zed.
Grats to Zed.
http://codelesson.com/courses/suggest
What topics would you like to see covered in a software engineering course? What kind of person would you like to see teach it?
Go here instead: http://codelesson.com/courses/view/introduction-to-programmi...
http://learnpythonthehardway.org/
Basically, I'll be setting up the first 26 lessons for class A, then the remaining 26 for class B. The purpose of the course is that you get my time to help you through the book and grade you on your progress.
It's actually pretty simple and should be a ton of fun.
http://codelesson.com/courses/view/the-ruby-programming-lang...
if so, what about mongrel too? :)
will he be doing anything different from traditional student/instructor methods? curious as to what zed's personal take on this is as well.
http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-comput...
Seem like everyone on HN is either a teacher or a prophet nowadays. ^_^
That said, I do think people should do what they love, and try to monetize the doing of what they love, so more power to him in this endeavor.
Sometimes, getting started all seems a little overwhelming. Having someone show you everything and hold your hand can give you the context you need to really understand what's going on. Once you have context and understanding, the rest is easy.
everyone is always at a different level, and people pick things up at different speeds as well. i learned to snowboard in less than 8 hours. yet i've gone off and on with ruby/rails for over a year and still can't get the hang of it with any fluency. different strokes for arnold and willis.