Continuous Learning and the Abundant Sources of Information Available

I’d like to start us off by visiting a time when most of us have fond memories – our childhood.

When you were a child you were constantly interested in different things – it started the first time you asked your parents “Why?” Why is the sky blue? Why do birds fly south in the winter? So why do we as adults stop asking why?

Why you might ask

I believe it’s because our goal once we start school (learning) is to finish school (learning) and get a job (who said I’d ever have to learn anything at the job – that’s what I went to school for!!).

If you are reading this blog – there’s a good chance that you are in the group of people who have decided that continuous learning is a life-long decision and doesn’t stop when your schooling is done.

So why do I feel this is important in the field of software development – because our reality is changing on a constant basis – be it new programming languages, new design patterns, new methodologies, new frameworks, geographic logistics, or new ways to collaborate.

Abundant Sources of Information

"Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it."
-Samuel Johnson

Web Sites - There are literally hundreds to thousands of sites out there that can aide you in learning a new topic in the IT Profession. In fact, in doing this blog, I researched how I could podcast it – and found various step-by-step tutorials on the web. When I first started my software development career, I learned Active Server Pages (ASP) through sites like http://www.4guysfromrolla.com/ or http://www.asp101.com/ . These sites were extremely valuable in building my knowledge in the subject!!

Rich Media – Lately there has been a blossoming of internet related content from Google Videos and YouTube, to PodCasting and Blogging, to posting of mp3’s from conferences (http://www.itconversations.com/, http://www.infoq.com/, agiletoolkit.libsyn.com). This information is very portable, in fact I think half of the stuff on my iPod right now is either a PodCast or mp3 from some conference or another.

Audiobooks – Another avenue of information available either in bookstores or on the web. I have a membership with Audible (www.audible.com) – although you’re not likely to find too many IT books here – and again it’s portable!

Books – Ah, the old standby. Although the title eludes me at this time, I read a book around a year ago and one line in it was – whenever you go into a bookstore, make it a point to purchase one book – even if you aren’t going to read it straight away. I have adopted this advice and my library of books is growing quickly and I have read a large number of the books I have picked up in that time.

People - Are always a good source of information in a formal or informal setting!!!

With all this information available – anyone with the curiosity to keep asking why will be able to find what they are looking for. So make it your goal to decide “I want to learn something new and relevant to me” and then take the time to learn it.

"If we value the pursuit of knowledge, we must be free to follow wherever that search may lead us. The free mind is not a barking dog, to be tethered on a ten-foot chain."
- Adlai Stevenson