Technical Explanations

Video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpnLCkhv-1g

From the Pluralsight Author Summit 2014. Teaching is difficult because learning is difficult. Teaching technical topics is even more difficult! I present techniques for crafting a story and connecting with students, including Problem/Solution, Good/Better/Best, Before/After, Analogy, and Timeline. Also discussed: creating a great demo project and organizing the flow of information with good pacing.

Transcript

1. #AS14 TECHNICAL EXPLANATIONS Geoffrey Grosenbach • •
2. #AS14 TEACHING IS DIFFICULT LEARNING IS DIFFICULT BECAUSE
3. CLASSIFIED #AS14 7-10 minutes
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5. CLASSIFIED #AS14 “Writing as if you have unlimited reader attention is presumptuous because readers are not doing you a personal favor. Reading your writing is not their hobby. It’s their job.” – Matthew Butterick
6. CLASSIFIED #AS14 “A book is a user interface.” – Kathy Sierra
9. #AS14 Your Audience •Who is your audience?! •What do they know now?! •What comparable experience do they have?! •How will they use what you’re teaching them?
10. #AS14 TELL A STORY
11. #AS14 Explanatory Tools •Problem/Solution! •Before/After! •Good/Better/Best! •Compare/Contrast! •Analogy! •Timeline
12. #AS14 http://jeremypowerscrosscamp.com/
13. #AS14 http://fstoppers.com/peter-­‐hurley-­‐the-­‐art-­‐behind-­‐the-­‐headshot
14. #AS14 BEFORE AFTER http://fstoppers.com/how-­‐to-­‐photograph-­‐real-­‐estate-­‐architecture-­‐and-­‐interiors-­‐tutorial-­‐with-­‐mike-­‐kelley
15. <h1 style="font-size: 3em”>! Man Bites Dog! </h1>! GOOD !<style>! h1 {! !font-size: 3em;! }! !</style>! BETTER
16. BEST <link rel="stylesheet" ! type="text/css" ! media="all" ! href="style.css" />!
17. #AS14 Compare/Contrast •Native! •No dependencies! •Easy to end up with deep indentation! •Many functions needed, which can become confusing •Procedural style! •Inline! •Easy to read! •Dependency required! •Experimental APIs CALLBACKS PROMISES
18. #AS14
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20. Timeline Whence JavaScript?
21. #AS14 Tips • Teach one thing at a time! • Use real examples! • Always be teaching! • Introduce terms in a demo! • Think of (and use) a good demo project
22. #AS14 TEACH THING ONE
23. CLASSIFIED #AS14 USE EXAMPLES REAL
24. foo = “bar” hourlyRate = 23
25. #AS14 http://strobist.blogspot.com/
26. #AS14 cyclic collective altimeter virtual horizon
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28. #AS14 cyclic collective altimeter virtual horizon
29. #AS14 Demo Project •Simple! •Real world! •Introduce concepts in sequence! •Not too many edge cases! •Fits in 2-4 hours
30. #AS14
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33. Globomantics
34. #AS14 Organization •Abstract ! Concrete! •Concrete ! Abstract! •Simple ! Complex! •Spiral
36. #AS14 Pace •Mental buffer! •Conceptual jumps! •Scope
37. #AS14 Teach with us! geoffrey@pluralsight.com Email