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Ask HN: Is it possible to learn web dev/coding from videos?

6 points by Onixelen 10y ago

Can you learn enough from mainly videos to be employable as a web developer/software engineer?

akras14 10y ago
Yes
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- zelon88 10y ago
  I also believe that it is. There is so much data contained within video that it's impossible not to obtain something if it can be presented correctly. The trick with coding videos is grabbing the users attention, not losing them, and showing them the results they can expect. If they're not engaged, they're learning. With so many subsets it can be hard to achieve engagement, People want to learn different things, but everyone needs to learn some things. The most efficient way to learn some things is not necessarily the most efficient way to teach some things.
handpickednames 10y ago
I'd say you can learn enough from any medium if you try hard enough. However, just "watching" those vids won't suffice. You have to practice (= write code/complete a project).
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homoSapiens 10y ago
As long as you code along yes. I'm a self-taught programmer, I learnt from watching videos and reading a lot.
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coralreef 10y ago
Probably, but learning programming is mostly just a lot of practicing programming.
a_lifters_life 10y ago
Its possible to learn a bit, but nothing beats actually doing it yourself - even with some tutorials
dragonwriter 10y ago
> Can you learn enough from mainly videos to be employable as a web developer/software engineer? Probably, though mostly books/online text is probably better. (Or, really, no, you can only do it by mostly doing web programming, but you need some external resource, and either text or video [among other things] -- or a mix -- can serve as that external resource.)
ruairidhwm 10y ago
I think so - I've used Laracasts extensively and have learned a great deal from it :)
ajeet_dhaliwal 10y ago
The best way is to work on your own project. Read or watch some videos to start but quickly start a project yourself.

6 points by Onixelen 10y ago

Can you learn enough from mainly videos to be employable as a web developer/software engineer?

akras14 10y ago

Yes

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zelon88 10y ago
I also believe that it is. There is so much data contained within video that it's impossible not to obtain something if it can be presented correctly. The trick with coding videos is grabbing the users attention, not losing them, and showing them the results they can expect. If they're not engaged, they're learning. With so many subsets it can be hard to achieve engagement, People want to learn different things, but everyone needs to learn some things. The most efficient way to learn some things is not necessarily the most efficient way to teach some things.

handpickednames 10y ago

I'd say you can learn enough from any medium if you try hard enough. However, just "watching" those vids won't suffice. You have to practice (= write code/complete a project).

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homoSapiens 10y ago

As long as you code along yes. I'm a self-taught programmer, I learnt from watching videos and reading a lot.

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coralreef 10y ago

Probably, but learning programming is mostly just a lot of practicing programming.

a_lifters_life 10y ago

Its possible to learn a bit, but nothing beats actually doing it yourself - even with some tutorials

dragonwriter 10y ago

> Can you learn enough from mainly videos to be employable as a web developer/software engineer? Probably, though mostly books/online text is probably better. (Or, really, no, you can only do it by mostly doing web programming, but you need some external resource, and either text or video [among other things] -- or a mix -- can serve as that external resource.)

ruairidhwm 10y ago

I think so - I've used Laracasts extensively and have learned a great deal from it :)

ajeet_dhaliwal 10y ago

The best way is to work on your own project. Read or watch some videos to start but quickly start a project yourself.