learn-co-curriculum/welcome-to-learn-verified
Welcome to Learn! Over the next 800-1000 hours you will learn everything you need to know to get started as a Full Stack Web Developer. Before you get started, just a few thoughts about to learn best using learn.co. It's going to be harder, and more rewarding than any other learning experience you've ever had, we promise. Let's learn together.
Learning How To Learn
The most common misconception we get when people start this course is that we're teaching you Ruby, Javascript, HTML and CSS. Don't get me wrong, we are going to teach you those things, but that's actually not the most important set of things you're going to learn.
Over your career as a professional developer you're probably going to end up programming in languages that haven't been invented yet. The most important thing we're going to teach you is how to learn. Using the technologies above, we'll work with you to build the skills required to read and understand error messages and to google for the answers so once you get a job as a developer, when you have to learn a new library, framework or language, you'll know just how to go about doing so. We'll also teach you this first set of languages so that you can contribute immediately using them as a junior software developer.
The Learn IDE
When you first start learning to code the amount of setup you have to do to get your computer ready to really make something can be frustrating. To counter this, we created the Learn IDE. If you haven't already, you should download the Learn IDE now. The Learn IDE uses a popular programmers text editor (Atom) and also provides you with a terminal window for running commands, just as you would as a professional developer. However, instead of having to configure your local computer to allow you to program, it runs your commands on a remote computer so you can jump right into the programming - rather than spending hours configuring your computer. Bear in mind, using the IDE does mean you will have to be connected to the Internet while you program, but it's a much easier way to get started.
Once you've completed your first portfolio project review, you can then look into setting up a local environment. There are lots of ways of getting your computer set up for programming (especially if you have a Mac or run a version of Linux as your operating system), but the way recommended in the link above (using a "Virtual Machine" - a separate computer within your computer) is the only one we can provide support for. If you have any more questions about when to move from the IDE to a local environment, this article should help!
Instructional support
We provide a wide range of instructional services and it's really important that you take advantage of them if you want to succeed with the program. The key resources are: Ask A Question, Study Groups, Project 1:1's and Section Lead 1:1's.
Ask A Question
Whenever you get stuck for more than a few minutes, start by clicking on the "Ask A Question" button at the top right of learn.co. We have a team of Technical Coaches who will respond to you ASAP (usually within a minute) and if they can't get you going again with a couple of comments, they'll set you up with a screenshare where you get 20 minutes of personalized 1:1 support. We usually try to get you on a screenshare within 30-45 minutes of connecting with you, although at busy times it may take a little longer. Make sure to use Ask A Question early and often. It's the best way to get immediate help with labs.
It is important to realize that Ask A Question is an educational - not customer support - function. Their goal isn't to tell you the answer (we could email you all of the answers for the whole course but that wouldn't help you to become a programmer). Their goal is to help you to learn how to learn by asking you questions and helping you to get better at key tasks like reading error messages and googling for answers. It'd be quicker for us just to tell you the answers, but our goal is to help you to build the skills to succeed as a professional developer, and the most important skill a developer has is the ability to figure things out on their own.
Study Groups
You can host your own study groups to connect with and learn with other students. However, we also run over 40 study groups a week that are "Flatiron hosted" to help you to learn to code.
There are seven different types of study groups:
Orientation: Optional advice and information on getting started with the program. Usually on Mondays every week. If you can't make it, feel free to watch the recorded version here
Motivational (Thoughtful Thursday, Coders Unite, etc): The objective of these is to allow students to connect and chat about their experiences of being on learn and to motivate each other.
Office Hours: A chance to connect with an instructor to ask any technical questions you might have
Portfolio Project Prep: A chance to talk with an instructor about any questions you might have about designing or building your portfolio project review app
Lab Specific: A combination of code along and a description of the underlying concepts.
Live Lecture: A study group that focuses on a key concept rather than a specific lab.
Advanced: Technical study groups covering content not specifically within the core curriculum like algorithms or Test Driven Development.
Make sure to sign up for at least one study group a week. They're a great way to see other perspectives, to pick up tough topics, to get your questions answered and to connect with your peers in the program.
Project 1:1's
Most of the time on Learn, you're going to be working through readme's (lessons that only require you to read some text or watch a video) and labs (where you have to write code to get tests to pass). However, there are also five Portfolio Projects where you get to build a complete app from scratch. If you have questions about how to get started with your portfolio project or get stuck while working on it, instead of using Ask A Question, schedule a session with a Technical coach here. Filling out the form will pair you with a coach that specializes in helping students with the project you're working on.
Section Leads
Section Leads are your Instructors. You’ll have a designated Section Lead for each major section of the curriculum, who is responsible for making sure our students are successful in that part of the course. Section Leads also conduct 1:1 Project Reviews to determine whether students are prepared to move onto the next section.
Contact information for each Section Lead can be found here: http://help.learn.co/instructional-support/receiving-course-support/who-are-the-section-leads
Educational Coaching
We offer the opportunity to speak with an Educational Coach as a non-technical support to check-in and help you stay accountable to your goals, anchor to your motivation in learning to code, and make steady forward progress at a pace that is right for you. If you are interested in this resource and would like to be paired with a coach, please email edcoaching@flatironschool.com and let us know about your goals in learning to code!
The Learn IDE In Browser
The IDE In Browser is the fastest way to get coding on Learn. If you are not already using the IDE In Browser take a look at this support article.
Career Services
As you go through the curriculum, we know you are concerned about what the end looks like. More specifically, we bet you are interested in how getting a job as a software engineer works here at The Flatiron School. Well! Rebekah, our VP of Career Services put together this video to answer your burning questions. Enjoy! <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sn5MUV_NY0k?rel=0&showinfo=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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