The Class Overall

I chose this class, because I wanted to learn a new skill. Something I could walk away with and use. Something tangible. Overall, I think the class gave me that. I think I was a little thrown off by the style of the course, which seemed to involve a lot of self-teaching. However, when I think of my wife’s experience during her MBA, I remember it being much the same. If that’s the idea behind a masters program – that you go through it with a little more independence – I think I can appreciate that. And I think, overall, it worked well in this course.

What I Learned

I learned to struggle through new concepts on my own, which isn’t such a bad thing. I think I couldn’t have learned a lot quicker with more hands on during class, but perhaps the hard lessons of identifying and correcting my own mistakes made the lessons all the more permanent. Obviously I learned a lot about coding. I think the best lesson I learned is to ride the backs of people that are dedicated and know what they’re doing. That is why, for example, I was happy with my decision to use a WordPress theme. I think if I would have gone with a random developer’s theme, I may have missed out on the responsiveness and constant updates, and probably would have run into a few bugs.

Why What I Learned Matters

It doesn’t really, right? I mean if I don’t put it to use, why would it? So, I think the answer to this question is that I have to make it matter by using it to make a difference in my work, my personal endeavors, and possibly even the endeavors of family or friends. Like Luis did. He built that site for his mother’s family business. Who would have done that for her? I think that’s what will make what I’ve learned matter – when I use my newfound ability to do something that no one else could have, or would have done.

What I’ll Do With the New Knowledge and Skills

I think I’ll just build on it. I have a site now that I’m pretty happy with. I think I’ll continue to work on it when I have time, and perhaps build another site. I think I’ll volunteer to help people with their ambitions to have a presence on the Internet, and perhaps even study the coding of some of my favorite sites. I’m also thinking of creating a T-shirt company that sells shirts with random code, written in short witty ways. <!– my back end rocks –>

Thoughts on Re-Reading the Initial Readings

Obviously a lot of it made much more sense. Some of it was still a little out there, perhaps intended for a more professional developer. However, most of it seemed to hit on some key points we covered in the class. The underlying theme being how this all relates to journalism, which I think at least one of the readings discussed. Some of the readings will serve as a good reference for future projects.

What I Want to Learn After the Class Ends

Honestly,  just want to fix the remaining issues I have with my site. I think if I can do that, I’ll be happy. Perhaps in the future I’d like to learn how to create a phone application. It seems like the new “get rich” thing to do (and yes, I’ll throw you a couple mil’ when I sell my big application to Apple). But other than fixing my site and getting rich, there’s really not a lot more I can think of right now. Honestly, it would probably be a waste to try to learn more while I still have so much more to learn and practice with the topics we covered in this class.

See you Tuesday …. don’t cry.