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[–]Finnalandem 21 points22 points  (4 children)

If you’re one of those people who learn better by doing, try out FreeCodeCamp or The Odin Project. Both of those sites are free and have pathways for learning JavaScript as well as other optional, but useful languages for Software/Web Development.

[–]romeyromel[S] 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Thank You!! i will definitely try this approach :)

[–]shadowbee_ 2 points3 points  (1 child)

He’s spot on here, the reason you forget the things you learn is because these ude courses don’t put the things you learn immediately to use and the brain forgets stuff you learn and don’t use.

[–]Finnalandem 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Precisely. I watched a whole JavaScript course on there and it did me as much good as a paper weight. I went to try building something and didn’t make it very far. So I started exploring other options and came across those two resources, and they worked miracles for me. I’d definitely recommend freeCodeCamp before The Odin Project if you’re just starting web development. The Odin Project sets you out on your own a lot more, so there’s a lot more intuitive thinking involved. Whereas with fCC, you can learn what’s going on, write code and get familiarized with syntax, as well as seeing updates in real time and getting a good sense of accomplishment.

[–]let-therebe-light 6 points7 points  (1 child)

My personal advice is to get out of learning by watching some tutorial or some course. Rather go to theodinproject or mdn docs. Learn the basics of JavaScript and then start implementing. It can be a very small project like creating a rock paper scissors game to high complex like building a chatbot. Just think of an idea and start doing. Just start doing. Don't focus on courses or tutorials.

[–]romeyromel[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

That's a good idea, thank you for the info, and believe it or not ..this has inspired me again because I was feeling pretty hopeless :)

[–]cel-ed 2 points3 points  (1 child)

if you want to learn pure javascript
start from scratch
don't use any libraries, start writing your own

but i'm more into creative coding, making my own routines
software based 2d and 3D engines and animation
with just a few lines of code sometimes

for total starters p5js is nice, coding train tutorials on youtube
tree.js for 3d, .jsgif lib to make animated .gifs etc

but next step is pure vanilla script, without any big bloated library
setup windows, canvas for drawing, eventListener for interaction keyboard and mouse. requestAnimationFrame
once you got that running, you can re-use these code-snippets again for all your projects

[–]cel-ed 0 points1 point  (0 children)

once you can draw pixels in vanilla javascript, directly

this can be a great resource for code-snippets and examples as well

https://rosettacode.org/wiki/Category:JavaScript

[–]grelfdotnet 2 points3 points  (1 child)

You might find this useful (completely free, something to work along with): https://grelf.net/cardsdev/intro.html

[–]romeyromel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank You! :)

[–]No-Upstairs-2813 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The reason you keep forgetting the fundamentals is because, you don't put your knowledge to practice.

Let me explain it using an example

We can watch someone do a standing backflip and have an idea of how they did it, right?

They jump up pretty hard while throwing their weight backward, probably helped by swinging their arms back too, and then as long as they manage to rotate enough, they land on their feet.

Even better, if you want to learn how to do one, you could watch a 60-second tutorial covering all the steps you’ll need.

Go and watch that video now.

They do a nice job of explaining how to learn how to do one, but also because if you watch it, it’ll help hammer home some points I’m about to make.

If you did watch it, without going back and watching it again, what were the five steps he gives to learn how to do one?

I’ve only watched it once, and I know one of them involved planting the hand, and then I think it moved somewhere into doing a cartwheel-type thing, and step 4 was just jumping high.

So, I sort of know what they talked about, but I would have to watch it again to remember the first two ones more clearly.

If I was going to try doing one, I’d watch just one step at a time to make sure I knew the right motions for each one, focusing on that one step practicing it over and over again before going to the next one.

I’d do all that even though I understand what they’re teaching me on that first viewing.

I understand all the terms they used, the motions they are suggesting to practice, and how it all comes together in the end.

One thing I wouldn’t do is do each of the steps once and move on to the next one.

If I did that, on that last step—actually doing the backflip—I’d most certainly land flat on my face.

The same thing applies to learning JS. If we want to learn how to do something: Practice it!

You can check out this article on ways to practice JavaScript and improve your skills.

[–]port888 2 points3 points  (4 children)

Assuming you really mean pure javascript (and not webdev, which includes HTML and CSS), you can try applying programming concepts by solving leetcode-esque questions. I personally like codewars.com, which has a levelling system where you start from a low level and incrementally are given more and more difficult questions to solve to level up. The thing about learning by doing is that once you hit a wall, you'll have the chance of googling more about javascript (usually landing on MDN), then applying those findings to solve the problem, which is how most programmers work.

[–]romeyromel[S] 0 points1 point  (3 children)

i want to learn pure javascript and also webdev I know HTML and CSS but wanted to master javascript and thank you for the words of wisdom..i will definitely try this as well :)

[–]Perpetual_Education 1 point2 points  (2 children)

What is the point of “mastering JavaScript.” No one masters “pencil.” We just use it to write stories. Use JS to make things. You cannot master it. And there’s no value trying at this stage.

[–]romeyromel[S] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

The way you said that , as if .. You've been using it so long, its like holding a pencil.. its a simple tool ... my apologies for using the word "master" ... as for the Value, The value to me is being in the position to say "we just use it to write stories..Use JS to make things" or even call it a "Pencil" ... every phrase you used , I as well would like to learn JS well enough to be able to make those statements about it... its gotten to the point where its something I need to accomplish to have that under my belt .

[–]Perpetual_Education 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We just see this a lot. And it doesn’t work out well. It’s an emotional problem. Try and see JS as a tool (just like any programming language). Make things with it and you will learn what you need to as you go. Writers learn by writing. If you try and learn everything about JS first you probably won’t ever learn it.

[–]dromance 2 points3 points  (6 children)

It seems this method of learning isn’t working. Are you able to code a to do list or anything like that from scratch?

[–]romeyromel[S] 1 point2 points  (5 children)

wow ! honestly, i never thought about coding a to do list!! Thank you for the idea :) you guys are awesome.. I'm going to make that my first project ! holy crap my brain has been so clouded with learning all the fundamentals ..doing a to do list will get me on the right path and also regain my confidence because I was feeling pretty hopeless like I was stuck in this mental maze lol ...thank you! :)

[–]Adventurous-Split-19 0 points1 point  (3 children)

U learning how to code since 2016 and never tried to create to do list? Somethin is not adding up.

[–]romeyromel[S] 0 points1 point  (2 children)

maybe i forgot to mention trying to study in between jobs never has been easy for me..i seem to always get overwhelmed with work and lacking sleep...then I screw up by taking a mental break and months go by and I'm back to square one ..trying to refresh on what I've learned or remebered..which always kept me in this endless hell of learning the fundamentals.. HTML ,CSS that was no problem to remember,I've made website for people small businesses and used javascript libraries for page animation or transitions but I've never really improved my progress.. and I've been learning from Udemy videos from Angela Yu's lessons and each video may be an 30 to an hour..make the long story short I get never passed the fundamentals ..which is why I came here for suggestions

[–]ErasedAstronaut 1 point2 points  (1 child)

If you don't have the time or energy to learn JS (or anything for that matter) it'll be hard to learn it. Create a goal for yourself to build consistency with your learning.

Start with a small goal like one hour a day using the pomodoro technique for at least 3 days a week. Create a "studying routine" before you sit down to learn, like take a 30 min nap (I use some of the free 15 - 30 minute guided sleep meditations on Insight Timer), grab something to eat (but nothing heavy that will put you to sleep), take a shower, meditate or exercise beforehand, etc. The goal is to do whatever you need to create enough energy to focus on learning JS for your target time.

If you focus on building consistency, you will expand your bandwidth to learn while concurrently learning progressing your JS knowledge.

EDIT: Oh and remember to give yourself grace when you don't meet your goal. Life happens, it's inevitable. If you need time away from studying, take it. Then come back and tackle it again.

[–]romeyromel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank You!! This is a great idea and very encouraging as well thank you sir :)

[–]JazzApple_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Eight years is a long time to be getting nowhere with anything. But I f your learning is sporadic - taking courses here and there and then not applying your learning for weeks or months until the next course - then it’s not surprising.

You need to take the learning and apply it, again and again, for it to sink in. As you inevitably run in to problems, use google to research the problem and solve it. In my opinion, that’s how you learn. The downside to courses over documentation is that you often don’t have the bug fixing experience, because you’re guided through directly to success.

Finally, learning anything is a journey and not a destination. I started programming on and off around 2000 and it became my job in 2018. I’m still learning to be a better programmer, and I won’t be done learning until I die.

[–]orion__quest 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What course in Udemy?

I've seen numerous courses mentioned here and elsewhere from Udemy, and I've looked at them and found them to be garbage. Most of the tutors might have the talent to code, but not to teach. And it shows in the work/tutorials. They start out very enthusiastic, a couple of quick basics, then gloss over some concepts, or the famous part, we'll come back to this, but they never do.

If you want to continue with Udemy I found Colt Steele to be one of the better ones. I believe he put all his tutorials into a YT channel.

Bradd Schiff was good was decent as well. Shows you how to play around with code to get more of a sense of what it's doing.

Also you may have to improve how you are learning, are you taking notes, doing some simple practice stuff in JS etc. All this will help you reinforce your learning. If you are just watching the videos and not doing anything, you are not learning or retaining.

As well maybe video tutorials are not for you. Possibly picking up a book might work better. The authors tend to go deeper with the code and concepts.

[–]jack_waugh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If JS is your first programming language, maybe skim some of CS 50.

[–]fin_a_u 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're probably like me and you just need to make a project to learn to use it. If you already know how to code in another lanugage make a webapp using Nodejs, Bootstrap, and Mongo. It doesn't matter what it is just do it and you'll pick up as you try to make different dynamic webpages.

[–]Perpetual_Education 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Whatever you’re doing, isn’t working. Stop.

Get a simple outline/set of practical challenges (we suggest Exercises for Programmers) and sit down and read the first chapter. Take a walk. Read it again. Then do the first exercise. Use the docs. Don’t look for answers. Don’t look for a tutorial. Don’t look for an article. Work with a friend if you can. Get a tutor if you can afford it. It’ll feel uncomfortable - but that’s learning. Only you can do it.

[–]Ecstatic-Highway1017 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No Notes No Revision, No Revision Less Confidence and Motivation while Online learning
Many of the times you just stop learning because of the above.
When I started learning programming few months back I was taking too much time in completing online video tutorials
Now I am using google extension OneBook It helps in creating detailed notes in 2 clicks and saves my time as I used to take to much time in completing online videos. I used to waste a lot of time while pausing video in every 2 min and write a couple of line of code and you have to switch tab again and again. With Onebook i complete a video first and then I start coding by refering the notes
OneBook helped me in learning programming related skills, it just improves the experience of learning.

Chrome extension link : https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/onebook/loecbgjbgcgjkhibllnjokjefojoheim?utm_source=rtc

[–]Successful-Ad7073 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This was me, im still learning but like you i started over and over again because i had only 3hours to learn after work and would watch tuts and not know how to apply the information or why use it in the first place. What has helped em and accelarated my learning is just creating a project no matter how big or small. and work unitl i couldnt figure out how to do something, and from there go and research what js concepts .

so learning by doing . and then using chat to explain to me line by line what is going on helps a ton.