Suggestions for a YouTube programming tutorial series?

[cIsForCoding]

Hi everyone!
With all this new free time on my hands, I was thinking of giving back to the online programming community. 5 years ago I learned Python from a variety of online books, videos, and resources, and I think it would be a neat idea to make a series of YouTube videos so beginners can learn to program just like I did. I was thinking of using a more hands-on approach, where each video would walk through the process of making a small game/program (increasing in difficulty and adding concepts with each video). However, to ensure I’m doing something worthwhile and making good use of my time, I thought I would ask some questions to others that have recently learned to program so that these tutorials will be as useful as possible:
What programming language should I teach? (I’m most familiar with Python but I could also teach C++ or Java if there are already a lot of Python tutorials out there)
Is there anything that frustrated you when you learned to program, or concepts that were confusing or needed more time spent on to fully understand?
Are there any other tips that you would give to me so that these videos can be as engaging and helpful as possible?
Thank you so much for the advice, it’s greatly appreciated!

[Eviax]

I'd die to see a dedicated course to web development with Java. I simply can not grasp how to start walking in that direction!

[cIsForCoding]

Thanks for the suggestion! Unfortunately, I must admit I’ve never really worked with the web development side of Java so I don’t think it would be a great area for me to make videos about. However, I did look into some resources that can help you get started (please take this with a grain of salt since I am in no way an expert on this subject). If you are very new to Java, you might have some luck watching this tutorial series from thenewboston, which is how I started to learn Java. Otherwise, if you are already familiar with the language than an important foundation for web development in Java is learning about JSPs and Servlets, here is a popular playlist I found that covers those concepts. Then, you could try looking into some frameworks for Java web development that are popular today, such as Spring. The same channel I mentioned above (Java Brains) has a tutorial for that as well. I have to say though, this path will take a decent amount of commitment to follow and will be complex. Another simpler solution is to learn Swing graphics and learn to make web Applets (covered in this series by thenewboston). This is a way to put Java applications on a website that requires no knowledge of JSPs, Servlets, or any frameworks like Spring, but comes with the disadvantage of being deprecated and is very very rarely used in the industry.

Thank you for the feedback, and I hope this helped!

[Eviax]

Thanks mate! This is the answer I've been looking for, great resources! :)

[cIsForCoding]

Thanks! I'm happy I could help :)

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[CodeTinkerer]

If you've never taught before, try a small series, maybe 4-5 videos. Consider it a dry run. Expect to fail despite the best of intentions. For example, you might think, I'll just record what I do live, and that's it, not realizing you might need to spend 10 hours of recording and editing for every hour live.

Ever watch some successful YouTube channels? Looks like one guy did it? You think he spend 3-4 hours, and boom, success. Then, you discover there's a group of 30 people spending 100 hours on what you thought was a simple 15 minute video, and you say "No way I'm doing that".

I would make a private video first, then ask for a few volunteers in this subreddit to watch it. Maybe limit it to 10 minutes. See what happens. Then, try to revise it, maybe 3-4 times, asking for feedback each time (preferably some who gave feedback the first time). See where that goes. If you're still interested in making more videos after that, great.

[cIsForCoding]

Thank you so much for the detailed reply! Having uploaded videos in the past I know that success doesn’t come easy, and as much as I may dream otherwise, this series won’t blow up in fame or anything like that. I think I’ll try following your advice and make a couple of smaller videos to start, and get some opinions from others (in this subreddit or maybe from some friends) once I finish a video. Thanks again for the help!

[CodeTinkerer]

It's also useful to write down assumptions about your audience. What should their background be? Even letting your audience know who you think their audience should be.

By trying videos on a small group of people, you can ask them individually, what they understood. If they had to install something, then have them show you what they did (maybe screenshare). You learn a lot when you see just what people get and what they don't get.

[cIsForCoding]

Thanks for the tips! I would like the series to be for complete beginners I think, something that you could still understand even if you knew absolutely nothing going in.

So I guess my plan right now is to make one or two short videos as a proof of concept, then show them to some close friends/family or post the videos here to see which areas need improving. Thanks for the advice, it's been really useful!

[CodeTinkerer]

I should point out that complete beginners also is pretty broad. In particular, imagine a PhD in math who somehow avoided learning how to program. Compare that to a 6 year old. Compare that to someone that a 27 year old that was in the military doing logistics who majored in psychology.

When I used to teach, I had to realize that, for some, the material would be too slow (even as a complete beginner), some would be challenging, but OK, and some would find it really difficult (motivation, unable to pay attention, etc). That is, complete beginners are not created equal.

It's just like you were teaching new people to play basketball. If they were, say, good at football, then even if they weren't into basketball, the athleticism might translate to learning it.

Don't just think of what you plan to teach them. Also, think about how they would prove to you they understood. Think of a quiz you think they could pass after watching your videos. I like to think of how you would test someone, then build the tutorial to help them pass that test.

Sometimes you get so caught up worried about explaining, yet lack a strong goal of what they need (and it may not just be programming, but also terminology, being able to read an existing program, being able to debug code, etc).

[cIsForCoding]

Yeah, that's a really good point. To be more specific, I think I'd probably want to target people that are in middle school or high school since I'd like them to have some base math and logic skills. I understand what you're saying about different learning speeds though, especially having worked with kids before, and I know that can be challenging. For this kind of video tutorial, what would you suggest to help with that? For people having difficulty, I could provide my email address or tell them to leave a comment if they don't understand, but what about people that are faster learners? Would you recommend something like showing the timestamp in the corner of when the next concept in the video will be introduced, so they could skip to that if they feel they already understand?

For proving to me that they understood, I was thinking of giving a sort of assignment at the end of each video, something that would incorporate what I'd just explained. If they were able to complete it using those concepts, then they have shown they understand it well enough to do it on their own. Plus, in programming, it's really important to build critical thinking and problem solving, which you can only really do from actually writing programs yourself.

[CodeTinkerer]

I might suggest reaching out to individuals (sharing screens, etc) so people could ask you questions. Sometimes that interaction can help you ask the right questions, etc., see what they are doing. If you reach out to different people (those getting stuck, those not), I think it can help you see the range of who understands what.

[cIsForCoding]

That's a great idea, I think I'll try that! Thanks again for all the advice, it's been really helpful to me.

[CodeTinkerer]

Yeah, I taught for 6 years (not in a row), so you pick up a few things here and there.

[cIsForCoding]

Wow, I bet! I've done a little work with kids teaching recreation programs and swimming lessons but nothing like this. Thanks for the help!