by Kelvin Omereshone
What I learned from Google I/O Extended 2018 in Warri, Nigeria
Hello, everyone. I’d like to tell you about what I learned by attending the just concluded Google I/O Extended hosted by GDG Warri. Charles Freeborn Eteure, who was the organizer, was really amazing — thumbs up sir! I also met an astonishing UI/UX designer — Miss Perrie — and her talk on the importance of good design was marvelous.
This quote kept coming to mind:
Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow — Anthony J. D’Angelo
So, I was very humbled to see quite a number of young people turning up to attend this event, even though it was the first of its kind in Warri. At the event, I was approach by many people who wanted to know how to get started learning web development or programming in general.
Those questions opened my eyes to some valuable lessons:
- Young folks are really eager to learn about the whole tech ecosystem.
- There is a need for guidance for the young upcoming developers.
- The whole idea of what developers do is still hazy to most people in Delta State.
- There is a deficit in the knowledge of where to get resources or seek help.
- More awareness needs to be spread in order to re-orient the mindset of Deltans about technology in general.
With all these lessons in mind, I want to point out some cool resources and also give some advice I think will be helpful for any beginner developer (especially to the young developers-to-be from #IO18Extedended).
“In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.”
― Eric Hoffer
Advice to young developers
Know the why before the how.
What this means is that you have to know why you want to get into tech. It’s not so much knowing it intellectually, but you have to know it emotionally (and have a strong conviction) as well.
This is necessary because, like anything worth learning, development in general is difficult but do-able. So I reckon having a strong tangible reason is a formidable force in keeping you coding and moving forward in those trying times of frustration or a coding rut.
Attitude is everything
You have to maintain a learning attitude. What you don’t know, ask and read about (in any order you want) and you have to do it daily. Coding is a skill, and like any skill you get better at it by doing it. This article is great at pointing out what learning style will suit your uniqueness.
Go back to the fundamentals
Lastly and most importantly (I think), development is both an art and a science. Like both fields, it has rudiments — learn them. It has pioneers (top dogs, senior developers, mentors) — find them and follow them closely. It is challenging — embrace it (because it makes you better). And it is geared towards fostering solutions to new problems or making an old solution better — focus on that!
Checkout these resources and articles
Oh and before I forget — this article has links to useful resources that may be of help on your journey — if you are just starting out, do check it out. You can reach out to me as well. Read this , this and this for more inspiration — we all need it on this exciting journey!
“If you know the why, you can live any how.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche
Thanks for reading. Do leave comments (they’re very much appreciated) and claps as well. Happy coding!