Continuing Education at Work (PyDX)

Abstract:
The list of things we want to learn is infinite. How many of us have marked talks to watch, or books to read, yet have never gone back to them (until our browser crashes and we lose everything that was in an open tab)? Left to my own devices, I often only learn what I directly need in my work, despite the best of intentions. It wasn’t until I started running a couple lightweight continuing education programs at work that I followed through on my goals around continuing to expand my technical knowledge base. This talk will discuss setting up programs to finally get yourself reading those technical books and watching technical talks. We’ll discuss strategies for making these programs low maintenance and long-lived, as well as flexible enough to help both more and less experienced folks. If you’ve been looking for a more structured approach to self-education, this talk is for you!

This talk was presented at PyDX 2015 in Portland, ~36 minutes: https://youtu.be/MZg-L1Sblog
Blog post: http://kwugirl.blogspot.com/2015/10/continuing-education-at-work-talk.html

Transcript

1. CONTINUING EDUCATION ! AT WORK Katherine Wu @kwugirl ! ! Software Engineer
2. @kwugirl PROGRAM OVERVIEWS WHY THIS IS A GOOD IDEA 3 GENERAL PRINCIPLES PROGRAM DETAILS FINAL THOUGHTS
3. PROGRAM OVERVIEWS
4. @kwugirl technical book club PROGRAM OVERVIEWS >
5. @kwugirl PROGRAM OVERVIEWS > TECHNICAL BOOK CLUB
6. @kwugirl LunchConf PROGRAM OVERVIEWS >
7. @kwugirl PROGRAM OVERVIEWS > LUNCHCONF
8. WHY THIS IS A GOOD IDEA
9. @kwugirl “Book club gives me shiny hair and clear skin!” —someone
 “In just 3 visits, LunchConf made me grow 2 inches taller!” 
 —someone else WHY GOOD IDEA >
10. @kwugirl “All of the learning, none of the stress!” WHY GOOD IDEA >
11. @kwugirl “Watching conference talks is a whole different experience when you get to talk about them afterward.” WHY GOOD IDEA >
12. @kwugirl WHY CONTINUING ED? WHY GROUP LEARNING? WHY AT WORK? WHY GOOD IDEA >
13. @kwugirl WHY CONTINUING EDUCATION? WHY GOOD IDEA >
14. @kwugirl it’s fun! WHY GOOD IDEA > CONTINUING ED
15. @kwugirl good for your current job WHY GOOD IDEA > CONTINUING ED
16. @kwugirl “LunchConf has been such a super thing for me :) 
 just totally used non-greedy regex in researching a customer issue” WHY GOOD IDEA > CONTINUING ED > CURRENT JOB
17. @kwugirl “I get to notice all the gaps in my knowledge before they become fatal flaws!” WHY GOOD IDEA > CONTINUING ED > CURRENT JOB
18. @kwugirl good for your career WHY GOOD IDEA > CONTINUING ED
19. @kwugirl WHY GROUP LEARNING? WHY GOOD IDEA >
20. @kwugirl use peer pressure on yourself WHY GOOD IDEA > GROUP LEARNING
21. @kwugirl active learning WHY GOOD IDEA > GROUP LEARNING
22. @kwugirl “How come ch4 says ___,but ch7 says ___? WHY GOOD IDEA > GROUP LEARNING > ACTIVE LEARNING
23. @kwugirl “It’s the human interaction, hearing from others, explaining my thoughts, and getting instant feedback that really helps lock knowledge in for me.” WHY GOOD IDEA > GROUP LEARNING > ACTIVE LEARNING
24. @kwugirl “I’m not the most social of people, and yet learning socially is how I learn best.” WHY GOOD IDEA > GROUP LEARNING > ACTIVE LEARNING
25. @kwugirl learn more WHY GOOD IDEA > GROUP LEARNING
26. @kwugirl WHY AT ! WORK? WHY GOOD IDEA >
27. @kwugirl more convenient WHY GOOD IDEA > AT WORK
28. @kwugirl take advantage of resources WHY GOOD IDEA > AT WORK
29. @kwugirl make material more relevant WHY GOOD IDEA > AT WORK
30. @kwugirl develop relationships WHY GOOD IDEA > AT WORK
31. 3 GENERAL PRINCIPLES
32. @kwugirl ADDS OVERHEAD GETTING STUCK MANAGING EASY TO DEPRIORITIZE GENERAL PRINCIPLES >
33. @kwugirl make it GENERAL PRINCIPLES > adds overhead EASY
34. @kwugirl make it GENERAL PRINCIPLES > getting stuck managing DECENTRALIZED
35. @kwugirl make it GENERAL PRINCIPLES > easy to deprioritize USEFUL
36. @kwugirl GENERAL PRINCIPLES > EASY E DECENTRALIZED D USEFUL U
37. PROGRAM DETAILS
38. @kwugirl GETTING ! STARTED DETAILS >
39. @kwugirl pick your own starting point DETAILS > GETTING STARTED EASY USEFUL
40. @kwugirl DETAILS > GETTING STARTED > STARTING POINT
41. @kwugirl DETAILS > GETTING STARTED > STARTING POINT
42. @kwugirl recruit participants DETAILS > GETTING STARTED
43. @kwugirl gather a core group DETAILS > GETTING STARTED > RECRUIT DECENTRALIZED
44. @kwugirl get different experience levels DETAILS > GETTING STARTED > RECRUIT USEFUL
45. @kwugirl loop in mentors DETAILS > GETTING STARTED > RECRUIT USEFUL
46. @kwugirl pick a consistent time and location DETAILS > GETTING STARTED DECENTRALIZED EASY
47. @kwugirl discuss & set ground rules DETAILS > GETTING STARTED
48. @kwugirl the first rule of book club is… DETAILS > GETTING STARTED > GROUND RULES EASY
49. @kwugirl come to book club! DETAILS > GETTING STARTED > GROUND RULES EASY
50. @kwugirl if 2 people are around, will meet DETAILS > GETTING STARTED > GROUND RULES EASY
51. @kwugirl ok to leave a talk DETAILS > GETTING STARTED > GROUND RULES USEFUL
52. @kwugirl have a place to record things DETAILS > GETTING STARTED DECENTRALIZED EASY USEFUL
53. @kwugirl RUNNING THE EVENTS DETAILS >
54. @kwugirl moderating DETAILS > EVENTS
55. @kwugirl commit to doing *all* the reading DETAILS > EVENTS > MODERATING USEFUL
56. @kwugirl bring work examples DETAILS > EVENTS > MODERATING USEFUL
57. @kwugirl assign 2 moderators DETAILS > EVENTS > MODERATING DECENTRALIZED
58. @kwugirl rotate assignments DETAILS > EVENTS > MODERATING DECENTRALIZED
59. @kwugirl have a forum for continued discussion DETAILS > EVENTS DECENTRALIZED EASY USEFUL
60. @kwugirl RESUSCITATING ATTENDANCE DETAILS >
61. @kwugirl ask questions DETAILS > RESUSCITATING ATTENDANCE EASY
62. @kwugirl light guilt-tripping DETAILS > RESUSCITATING ATTENDANCE
63. @kwugirl remind of goals DETAILS > RESUSCITATING ATTENDANCE USEFUL
64. @kwugirl CHOOSING THE NEXT THING DETAILS >
65. @kwugirl choosing the next book DETAILS > NEXT DECENTRALIZED EASY USEFUL
66. @kwugirl choosing the next talk DETAILS > NEXT DECENTRALIZED EASY USEFUL
67. FINAL THOUGHTS
68. @kwugirl don’t have to run these programs forever FINAL THOUGHTS > DECENTRALIZED
69. @kwugirl adapt for the work culture you’re in FINAL THOUGHTS > EASY USEFUL
70. @kwugirl may your bookmarks decrease in number! FINAL THOUGHTS >
71. CONTINUING EDUCATION ! AT WORK Katherine Wu @kwugirl ! ! Software Engineer bit.ly/ContinuingEdAtWork DECENTRALIZED EASY USEFUL E! D! U
72. @kwugirl THANKS FOR FEEDBACK & HELP PRACTICING! ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS > Adam V Alexis G Alice G Amy B Emily H Eric B Erika A Jason C Andrew G Cory J Daniel S David P Karl S Kelsey Y Ruby A Zoe K
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