Question

How should I study independently?
Should I write everything I learn down?
Should I keep track of what I have learned so far?
Should I plan on what to learn beforehand?
Should I respect a daily/weekly schedule?
Should I focus on specific topics, or should I focus on specific resources (tutorial platform, course, book, blog)?

Thank you

Answer 1

Depends on what you want to do/how you learn. Personally, I find no better alternative than studying through a well written book. This is what I'm learning with now: http://www.amazon.com/Starting-Out-Java-Structures-MyProgrammingLab/dp/0132989999

It's fantastic (the 4th edition is the same-ish at 1/4th the price), and so far I have the first 250 pages memorized- I aim to have the 1,100 down by december. Most say not to bother memorizing syntax, but since I'm good at it, it's liberating to not be dependent on an IDE for syntax.

This book is essentially a walkthrough for beginners, if followed in order, it displays information with great clarity- as the information that it assumes you to know accumulates from chapter to chapter. Welp, that's my experience so far.

And above all, having a strong conviction will show you the way.

Answer 2

So you're not noting anything down?

Answer 3

The more regularly you use some skill, the easier it is to remember and develop. So find little programming projects and keep at them. Make your own utilities or games. Improve them as you learn more.

When learning, summarizing a topic is good. So rather than writing down some detailed list of what you know, you could make more a summary of each topic as you go. Then test yourself by seeing if you can reconstruct the topic from the summary.

Answer 4

Do what is best for you, many people learn and remember best by writing things down, and make summaries.
I do, but I hardly ever look at them again :-).
So I'm not to meticulous about it. It's a way to have the feeling that everything has gone through my brain
Getting experience and using what you've learned is something you really cannot do without.
I hardly plan or schedule etc, since I feel it just detracts me from learning instead of helping me. If was it was for real, at uni and exams, of course I planned time for class, homework, labs, revision, exam preparation etc.
What you have to focus on, pay extra attention to, will depend on it's relevance to the topic, whether it is one of you weak points etc.

Answer 5

@abtster Weak points, yep. That is one of the reasons I said using a summary to self test is good.

Another good thing to do is challenge yourself. Once something becomes easy, find something harder. So once you know the basics, pick a larger project or something like evaluating the best algorithm for doing something. Learned Java on a desktop? Start learning Java for Android, which means you have new challenges.

Answer 6

One thing that's real nice about studying independently is that you can stop and play with something so you REALLY understand it. You don't have to keep up with someone else's schedule.

Answer 7

I agree with all that's been said. Though I'd keep in mind that syntax is not the only skill needed to program- practicing with algorithms, and developint the skillset to solve hard problems is just as important. (projecteuler.net is good for practicing development of algorithms, in math problems that require you to write programs).

the book: algorithms and data structures by Niklaus Wirth isn't a bad book for this.