Last week I wrote about my first impressions of Java as a programming language. This week I'm going to write about my first impressions of the course I am using to learn that language.
I am using Udemy's Java Programming Masterclass for Software Developers. The course is a couple hundred dollars normally, but Udemy hosts massive sales all the time - I snagged it for less than $15, and did the same with the course I used to teach myself the basics of Redux back in October. If you're looking to get it and aren't in a hurry, I'd recommend keeping an eye out for those sales.
The course is created and taught by a man called Tim Buchalka. The format is a series of videos - just a couple introductory ones where you're watching him talk in front of you, and then the rest are capture of his screen as he codes. In addition to the videos there are coding exercises that you can actually enter in and get confirmation on. I've only completed the first couple sections of the course, since I'm busy with the holidays. That being said, from what I've seen so far the program is really solid.
There's a lot of good content presented clearly and thoroughly, in an order that makes sense, and with guidance on how best to learn from the course. And best of all, there's a lot of support. Since so many thousands of people have taken this course over the years (he even keeps updating it as Java updates!), there's a big community of people who have had the same questions as you most like, and there's a good system for searching the discussions by lecture so you can find the help you need.
Tim himself is a good presenter. He has an Australian accent and talks just a bit fast, which may be difficult to understand for some, but there's good close captioning provided. I tend to leave it on all the time even though I don't have any trouble understanding him, just to help my processing.
Personally, since these early stages are just teaching me a different style of content I pretty much know already, having worked with Javascript and Ruby, I have been watching every video on at least 1.5x speed and only pausing when I want to take a little extra time for notes or to copy some code. The entertaining result is listening to an extremely fast Aussie amiably explaining things to me, and that's just great.
As I get a little further into the meat of the course I may have more to say about it, and I'm certain I'll have more to say about Java!
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