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Which Type of Project is Right for Me?

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Which Type of Project is Right for Me?
Which Type of Project is Right for Me?

When you’re learning how to code, you have to get your hands dirty before you actually get it. Online courses and reference materials are a great way to build your foundation, but they’ll only take you so far. To really cement your skills, you’ll need to start building projects.

But how, and what kind?

Before jumping into a project, it’s important that you pick one that aligns with your current skillset and needs. What are you trying to achieve? Are you looking for a passion project or something that’ll help you build your skills and find a job?

To help you figure out what kind of project is right for you, we’ve outlined each of the different  kinds of projects you’ll find here on Codecademy. Read on to learn about what they involve and when you should tackle them.

Practice projects

You might already be familiar with practice projects. These are the ones you complete as you progress through your courses, and they help test and instill the new knowledge you gain from them. For example, in Learn HTML, you use basic HTML elements and syntax to create a fashion blog.

More guidance: Master the fundamentals

Practice projects come with two levels of guidance. Those with more guidance give you the opportunity to practice a skill you’ve just learned with a little more help.

Not only are they guided with clear, step-by-step instructions, but they’ll also show you how the concepts and methods you learned can be used in other contexts. And they help pinpoint the gaps in your knowledge, so you know exactly what to go back and study if you find yourself stuck on a problem. Plus, they’re exciting!

People often hesitate before learning how to code. Practice projects can help you get over this mindset. When you’re first learning about syntax, you realize that it isn’t quite as complicated as you’d imagined. Then, when you start putting it all together to build your project, everything clicks. You realize that coding is just like any other skill. With enough time and effort, anyone can learn how — including you.

Less guidance: Test your skills

After mastering the basics of your programming languages, you might start looking for ways to put them all together. This is the time to take the training wheels off and tackle something a little more complex.

Less-guided practice projects are a step above those with more guidance. They’re more comprehensive, testing your cumulative knowledge rather than individual skills, and there’s less hand-holding.

Instead of being guided along every step of the way, you’ll get a set of requirements and some starter code — then you’re mostly on your own. You’ll also receive a checklist of tasks to help keep you on the right track, and you can always reach out on our forum if you need any help.

Still, these projects give you a chance to bring your skills to the next level. They encompass a wider range of topics than the practice projects that are more limited in scope, so you’ll have to use everything you learned to complete them. For example, this project asks that you use everything you know about HTML and CSS to create your own cheat sheet.

Portfolio projects: Code on your own

Finally, we come to portfolio projects.

At some point, you’ll want to start coding on your own, and portfolio projects give you the chance to do just that. You’ll be given a set of requirements, a user story, and all the information you need to set up your own development environment — then the rest is up to you. You’ll work autonomously, drawing on the full extent of your programming knowledge and skills as you develop your own solutions, just like you would in the real world.

As their name suggests, these projects are designed to help you create a portfolio. Since your solution is left up to you, you’ll end up with a totally unique project that you can share with potential employers to help land an entry-level position.

You can find portfolio projects at the end of every Career Path, and they serve as a symbolic milestone in your development. Coming up with your own solutions and building everything from scratch will help you become more confident in your abilities, and it’ll also give you a sense of what coding is like outside of Codecademy.

Each type of project marks a different stage in your development as you’re learning how to code. Check out our project library and see which one is right for you. Then, once you’re done, share them with other learners in our forum! You’ll get tips for improvements and optimizations, and your code might even help someone else with their own project.

Solstice

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Solstice

Today marks the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. It is also the first day of winter, which means the days will begin to lengthen and temperatures will become colder.

How do you feel about the winter season? Do you look forward to snowy activities or do you dread the onset of colder weather? What might you do to take advantage of the joys of this season, even if it isn’t your favorite?

Tell us in the comments, then read the related article to learn more.

Want more Picture Prompts? Find them all in this column.

Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.

Word of the Day: auspicious

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Word of the Day: auspicious

: suggesting or showing favorable circumstances and good luck

_________

The word auspicious has appeared in 49 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on June 7 in “See You in 2022: Wary New Yorkers Are Delaying Celebrations Again” by Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura:

Even as the pandemic recedes, company executives are being cautious about scheduling big gatherings, said Dorit Farrington, who owns the Aqua Azul yacht with her husband. “It has been so, so tough,” she said.

… At the Ganesh Temple in Flushing, Queens, officially known as the Sri Maha Vallabha Ganapati Devasthanam, the director, Ravi Vaidyanaat, complained that no couple had booked a wedding in May, even on days considered auspicious in the Hindu calendar. And he still has plenty of slots the rest of the year.

Can you correctly use the word auspicious in a sentence?

Based on the definition and example provided, write a sentence using today’s Word of the Day and share it as a comment on this article. It is most important that your sentence makes sense and demonstrates that you understand the word’s definition, but we also encourage you to be creative and have fun.

Then, read some of the other sentences students have submitted and use the “Recommend” button to vote for two original sentences that stand out to you.

If you want a better idea of how auspicious can be used in a sentence, read these usage examples on Vocabulary.com.

If you enjoy this daily challenge, try one of our monthly vocabulary challenges.

Students ages 13 and older in the United States and the United Kingdom, and 16 and older elsewhere, can comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff.

What Are Your Holiday Plans This Year?

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What Are Your Holiday Plans This Year?

How will you be celebrating the holidays this year?

Are you looking forward to time off from school? Are you wondering whether it is safe to gather during the pandemic? Are you dreaming up the perfect gifts for your loved ones?

You may be experiencing all of the above. In “How to Get Through the Holidays,” several Times reporters share advice for navigating the mixed emotions of a second pandemic winter:

Students, click through the entire story, then tell us:

  • What are your plans for the holidays this year?

  • How are you feeling going into this holiday season? Excited? Nervous? Overwhelmed? Which of the slides in this story best captures your emotions right now?

  • Before the pandemic, what did you usually do this time of year?

  • Did you alter your holiday celebrations last year because of the pandemic? Will you do so again this year?

  • Do you have any favorite foods, songs or traditions that remind you of this time of year? What do you like about them?

Want more writing prompts? You can find all of our questions in our Student Opinion column. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate them into your classroom.

Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.

The NexGen Learning System Rankings for 2021

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The NexGen Learning System Rankings for 2021

Is it me or does it seem that people are really nice around this time of the year? Some of these folks can be well, let’s just say coal is quite popular, the only time of the year.  When I first went to the UK, I remember seeing happy Christmas everywhere I went.  Nowadays? Merry Christmas.

I still do not get the whole boxing day event, over there, even though it has been explained to me, and I read up on it, to be in the “know”.  Christmas pudding is, definitely, or can be a delight. The first time I heard of it, I thought, Fruit Cake, which in the states, could be used as a fine paperweight or a lethal weapon (do not try this at home).   Yet, I found Christmas pudding to be quite delicious. It’s not pudding, it is a “cake” that some people make months in advance and let sit there on their counter.

I bring up all these fine festivities because this is the time of the year to remember.  To look back. To ascertain. To wonder, what gifts they will receive.  Perhaps it will be some Moose toys for their dogs (thank you, D2L).  Or a series of good tidings from a variety of folks you are fortunate to know.

And if you are lucky enough, maybe just maybe, this holiday edition will include THE wonderful gift. 

Here is mine to you, actually it is not a gift, it is the Top 10 NexGen Learning Systems for 2021 

NexGen Learning Systems 2021

In the past, I did a grid, then a T-Grid, then a series of box grids. The last being, Leader, Solid (I think), and Risers.  For 2021, I initially pulled away from doing any type of grid, been there, done that, kind of approach.

However, for this post, I am still NOT DOING a grid.  Rather, a series of bullet points, under each header.

I base this analysis on four key factors.

  • Every system says they are NexGen. I can say unequivocally that is a misnomer and misstatement.  They may see themselves like that, because they have a shiny and slick look, and are relatively new, but that doesn’t mean you are NexGen.   I ignored these statements.  Just like my dad ignored the carrot.
  • It is based on my Learning Systems Template, with the items I have highlighted (in my latest version of my template – yellow)/and some are listed below, which I deem as Tier 5 NexGen.  For Tier 4 and Tier 3 please review previous posts for those years.  Thus, I focused on at least 50% for Tier 5 (although the higher the better, but even today, vendors are still a work in progress on these items), 85% or higher for Tier 4, 100% Tier 3.
  • Every item received points.  Tier 5 is worth more points than Tier 4, and Tier 4 is worth more than Tier 3.
  • I added an additional factor, that in the past when it comes to NexGen, I didn’t.  Admin UI/UX, – how updated it is, and in relation to 2021. This is where some people think only of agile, ignoring the functionality and design for Administrators and their knowledge and expertise in this field (remember the 20%).

Although not considered for this year’s NexGen, if you download the template and see “Rose” filled cells, this means Tier 6 (Now that is FutureGen).

Tier Five NexGen

I saw a system a few months back, that told me they were NexGen and had all the features that I had for Tier 4.  I can state that is not true.  I won’t say who the vendor is, but they are big into adaptive learning and push that as the key for their system. Adaptive learning doesn’t mean you are NexGen.  It’s interesting, but interesting doesn’t qualify as NexGen, just as interesting.  For the record, I like the system, but it still lacks some capabilities.

There are systems I should add, that have been around for nearly two decades that many vendors often cite as not being NexGen.  Why? 

Because they have been around for a long time, and I guess, the assumption is they never update their system.  Which is of course, ludicrous.  But, no surprise, it works – the term “traditional” gets attached, and no matter what some of these vendors do, it stays with them, just as the holiday chili stays with you, thru the new year.

Tier Five Functionality

You can consider the following areas, categories if you will as Tier 5, there are functions within them, okay with the “coaching” section, that are Tier 4, but overall, a chunk of it is Tier 5.  In the latest template, I note this on the side.

  • Digital Coaching – I also included the “experts” area here, although in my 2022 template (to be released next month), this will become a separate section
  • Skills Functionality (second tab on the template – This is really at infant level, again some vendors are further ahead than others.  I highlighted a few yellow, and a few “Rose”, but think NexGen overall.
  • Video Skills Validation with Scenarios/Digital Coaching- Tier 5 – NexGen, again, a few are highlighted “Rose” for Tier 6
  • Microsoft Teams – Totally Tier 5. Remember an integration is far different than deep integration.  Integration just means a link connected, deep means that you can take content/etc within Teams, never have to leave it, and all the data gets pushed back into the learning system (this is what you want)

Tier 5 by Area – Functionality

Workforce Development 

You are not likely to see a whole mass of these features in a learning system that focuses solely on the customer education market.  So, keep that in mind if you are comparing a combo system versus say Thought Industries (focuses solely on CE market).

  • Skills mapped to content/courses
  • Skills mapped to content for a career path
  • Content tied exclusively to job roles/job level
  • Ability to create assessments (validation) tied to specific content with a skill or set of skills to be taken and completed by the employee

Learning Environment (This is for the learner side)

  • Learner drag and drop functionality (usually seen with widgets/blocks) on the home dashboard – The admin sets this up ahead of time (i.e. you can do this, by each learner), and then the learner, can move the widgets around.  There are systems that default this way – a huge plus.
  • Search by Ratings (example: Five-star content) – This is Tier 5, but as you saw in my Degreed vs Fuse vs EdCast TXP, the latter two have it on their roadmap for 2022.  I think this is more common, thus I debated is this Tier 5 or Tier 6.  I went Tier 5 but did not dock anyone for not having it, since I can see Tier 6 too.
  • Search by type of content (Duration, Video, eBook, etc.)
  • Search by content related to a specific or set of skills/interests (Example: Leadership)

Machine Learning

  • Recommends courses based on previous courses/content that has not been completed (nor is required to do so)
  • Recommends content/documents/videos/etc. based on completed courses or content  – I am personally not a fan of this option, because it defeats the purpose of why WBT – online learning with courses was created in the first place – and IMO skews the recommendation playlist/data because of the completed only angle.
  • Ability to include other items to enhance recommendation of courses/content

Playlists/Channels

  • Learners can add Podcasts to their playlist – This means a link to a podcast or series of podcasts via Spotify, Apple, or any other podcast site

Curation

  • The system uses ratings or voting from other end users to identify the most popular or trending courses
  • Content excluding courses can be listed in the trending/Most Popular and/or Recommended

Video Management – This means capabilities that can be achieved with a video contained as a separate piece of content

  • Video content can be extracted as a text transcript seen on the same screen (either below or next to the video). This is different than “Closed Captioned”
  • Video text transcript – the learner can click on different words or sentences and the video will go to that exact point, enabling the viewer to watch that specific segment
  • Ability to bounce/move to different video points in a video without having to go in a linear (straight) approach. Appears as pointers. End-user can leave and go back at any time to that exact point in the video

General

  • Ability to capture external training (non-company specific) data (for vILT and/or ILT) – This is going to be hot in 2022, it started to appear more in 2021

Notifications

  • Ability to send (SMS) – text messaging – Seriously it is 2021, what are learning system vendors waiting for? I for one, and I am not alone, will look first at text messages and prefer them, over folks calling me. This is still rare in the industry. Why? Again, Why?

Social

  • Open ID (Example – Able to login with your G-mail account, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Outlook 365, etc.) – Many people do this every day out on the web.  Another, come on, it is 2021 (soon to be 2022).

Administration

  • Drag and Drop on the administration side – People love this when they can use it. Vendors apply the “nobody is asking for it” on this capability. Trust me, when people see this, especially when they can select from some “widgets” or their own personal favorites, they will use it.  The static is out. Most folks I will admit, even with this capability will not use it. Then again, less than 30% of all functionality on the admin side, is ever used by admins.  Vendors seem to forget that but know it.

Analytics/Metrics

  • Analytics include not only content within the platform, but also web site links, articles posted on the net, eBooks, etc.  – Another could be Tier 6 too, but there are enough vendors who are not LXPs, adding it, so Tier 5.  If you are an LXP, this is a must.
  • Built-in business intelligence component or connection to a 3rd party business intelligence tool (included at no additional charge to the client)  – Very doable with a connection.  The trend though as a whole for a vendor to have it built-in is to charge extra for it.  There are exceptions.
  • Type of access – identifies if mobile or desktop and browser type – I like this, especially if I am pushing a lot of video or other data hogs of content out there.  Mobile access will impact what you can do or not do.  Especially if you have a mobile app and want to know its usage of it.
  • The learner can view a report or set of reports (defined by administrator) – They – the learner – sees this on their learner view, not the admin side
  • The learner can view a set or series of metrics (defined by administrator) – Ditto to above

Other Features

  • Includes templates (can be edited) for Terms of Use/Privacy terms/Etc. – that can be added to the system, when a user logins the first time  – This is one, that I find a lot of vendors do not know the difference between a “Template” that comes with the system and one where the client creates their own or uploads a document.   I’m referring to the system having this capability, and not the client.  You find these all over the internet, on some law firm sites or others that have been vetted by attorneys. Yes, always check with your legal, but terms of service – which most people never look at – protect you.
  • Comes with digital assets (stock photos, clip art, video clips, themes, etc.) that the administrator can use in the system.   The vendor has collected these assets and provided them to the client, free of charge. Back in the day, it was cheezy clip art.  And I mean lame.

Skills Validation – I noted that skills as a whole is Tier 5 mixed with Tier 6, a lot more towards Tier 6, which is why it is limited here, but one area that is definitely Tier 5 is skills validation.

  • Learner can self-validate themselves on a skill or skills  (often referred to as self-assessment)
  • Manager can provide a skill-rating validation of an employee (who has completed their own skill validation rating)
  • System includes skill ratings (1 to 5 scale)  -There are vendors who will be offering a 1-8 and 1-10 scale (Tier 6).
  • Administrator can edit/delete what each skill rating represents
  • System provides proficiency details for each skill rating identified 1-5, thus someone who is 1 means they are proficient at only this and so forth.  I always recommend vendors have some default text in here OR work with each client as part of their setup to fill in these areas.  It can be edited by the client at any time.   – I will stress this – YOU WANT THIS FEATURE, along with the scale of course.

Here is the Grid for 2020

The Leader List in 2020 (they were in the Leader’s Grid for 2020) (yes, this is by ranking per se, by points)

  • EdCast XP (now called TXP)
  • Cornerstone Learning Suite
  • SAP Litmos
  • Docebo
  • Degreed

On The Risers List for 2020

  • Learn Amp
  • D2L
  • Absorb LMS
  • Tovuti
  • THRIVE
  • Thought Industries

The Steady list included Fuse, SumTotal, IMC Learning Suite, Agylia

2021 – 2021 Alert – Here they are.

The Top 10 for 2021 

  1. EdCast TXP (This includes their add-on career mapping or whatever they call it)
  2. Fuse
  3. Cornerstone LMS (Does not include xPlor)
  4. Learn Amp
  5. Degreed 
  6. Absorb LMS (Included Infuse, Engage and Analyze) – They are all add-ons and you want them. 
  7. Docebo (Includes Learn, Discover/Coach and Share,Learning Analytics, Learning Impacts) – Learn is the LMS, so you want that, Discover/Coach and Share is an add-on for Learn, and you want that, Learning Impacts is far better than what comes with Learn, so you want that, Flow is a nice but not needed, Learning Analytics is like a BI sort of, a nice plus, Connect is hard to explain, it is an-add on, but basically allows you to create some APIs tied to the data push and pull, it goes with Learn.  For my analysis I based it on the following – Learn, Discover/Coach and Share, Learning Impacts and Analytics).  All are add-ons to Learn, although you can purchase Learning Impacts and Analytics as standalones (i.e. without having to buy Learn). 
  8. Schoox 
  9. D2L (You will want their Video Skills Validation/DC add-on – they have a name for it, but you want it)
  10.  Thought Industries (You will want the Video Skills Validation with Digital Coaching add-on)

These two, just missed the cut into the Top 10. 

  • SAP Litmos
  • IMC Learning Suite 

Bottom Line 

There you go, the Top 10, with two that just barely missed the cut, NexGen Learning Systems for 2021. Three of the “On the Rise” cracked the top 10, which just shows how a vendor can be HERE one moment, and be THERE for the next moment. 

Cornerstone is a vendor that gets tagged the most as being traditional. Yet once again, Tier 5 and Tier 4 functionality wise, they are NexGen. Does the UI need an improvement? Yes.  But I could argue that these vendors need a UI/UX refresh too –  SAP Litmos, IMC, D2L, Schoox – big time, PeopleFluent,  SuccessFactors, Area9, CrossKnowledge and the list goes on. 

One vendor that didn’t crack the top 10, but nevertheless, is the first vendor to pre-map all their courses/content to specific skill, skills and job roles is Biz Skills, which officially rolls out in early 2022, they started with a soft launch now.  No one has done this before. So, when you buy the system, bam, you are ready to go.  This I believe is HUGE, and I expect other vendors to follow suit. 

But is it NexGen, and to me, that is something to recognize.  Just as I want to recognize the list of the first group of learning systems to become Certified in Customer Support, based on a rigiourus certification progam.  You can find them here.  If you do not see your vendor’s name on the list, then they are not certified in customer support. 

I wish you good tidings, and for all of you who list your favorite holidays movie classic, I say shame on you for thinking Home Alone, Love Actually and Elf should be at the top of the list. 

No, it can only be one

A Christmas Carol, the 1938 version. 

Although Mr. Magoo’s Christmas is right up there too.

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What Was the Best Day of Your Year?

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What Was the Best Day of Your Year?

What were your personal, social or academic highlights this year? When did you feel your best? What did you achieve? What about the smaller moments — perhaps a video call with a friend, a meal you prepared for a parent or a long walk alone? Are those smaller moments the ones you remember as the best days of the year?

In “You Can Make Any Day the Best Day of the Year,” Lindsay Crouse writes about appreciating the ordinary and embracing the smaller “best days”:

On New Year’s Eves when I was in my late 20s, I would ask my friends to reflect on our best days of the year, the times when we had the most fun, felt the most grateful or were happiest.

Sometimes they were the days we expected. Parties, vacations, weddings. But more often, the real best days in hindsight weren’t the obvious ones. They were marked by the ordinary: a long conversation with a friend when I realized I wasn’t the only one who felt the way I did. That time we were going to miss the train so we sprinted to the point of near collapse — and made it. Staggering home with a Christmas tree so big, it barely fit through the door.

The planned punctuations to life — holidays, job promotions, family milestones — often disappoint. New Year’s Eve is useless; Thanksgiving ends up being memorable not for the meal but for the next-day deliberations over how many ways you can eat a leftover turkey. The polished moments that ended up on Instagram weren’t what I remembered at the end of the year, either. I rarely had any photos at all of the best days. I was too busy living them.

The problem with these best days was they went by without me realizing how special they were. Unmarked by ceremony and undocumented for posterity, they streamed together in my mind as a blur.

I wondered, could I find a way to know when the best days were coming and really feel them as they happened? So I tried declaring a best day in advance. Even if it felt ridiculous, this effort to make the ordinary feel extraordinary usually worked. Mundane experiences felt special when I marked them as such. Staying up talking in a living room until too late at night or going for a weekend run through a park in the sunshine felt as wonderful as I had hoped it would.

Designating a regular night as a best night helped me claim that moment. I no longer had to battle my nostalgia for ownership of my experiences. Now that I was looking for them, I caught them before they became memories.

Students, read the entire article, then:

  • Reflect on 2021 and make a list of your favorite days from this past year. You can include big moments like graduations or birthdays, but also try to include several smaller moments. As you make your list, include one word or phrase that describes what made each day special.

  • Describe in detail one of your best days. What was different about it? How did you feel? Who were you with? What did you do? Include sensory descriptions of the smells, tastes and sounds that accompanied this day or moment.

  • Ms. Crouse writes: “I rarely had any photos at all of the best days. I was too busy living them.” Can you relate to this? Do you find it harder to remember the ordinary days that became special? If so, why?

  • The author writes: “Looking back at 2021, I realized recently that I had stopped seeing the best days. I was too busy following the news and wishing my life would go back to normal. But this is normal now. Our lives are not on hold. This is it.” Do you feel similarly? How has the pandemic affected your ability to notice or appreciate good days? Do you find yourself experiencing nostalgia for good days in the past?

  • Ms. Crouse used to declare a “best day” in advance, and she writes that she plans to restart that habit immediately. Do you think that strategy might work for you, too? Why or why not?

Want more writing prompts? You can find all of our questions in our Student Opinion column. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate them into your classroom.

Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.

Lesson of the Day: ‘The Year in Pictures 2021’

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Lesson of the Day: ‘The Year in Pictures 2021’

Featured Article: “The Year in Pictures 2021”

Each year, photo editors at The New York Times sift through thousands of images to find the perfect photographs to represent the year’s news. The 176 images collected here present the story of 2021 “through the eloquent universal language of photography,” Meaghan Looram, The Times’s director of photography, writes in the introduction to the collection. They chronicle conflicts, triumphs and poignant scenes of everyday life from the past 365 days.

The collection also showcases the bravery of the people who took the images. Ms. Looram writes:

This period has underscored the special communicative power of the image, as well as the risks taken and hardship endured by photographers so they can show us the world. As some people retreated to working from home, or keeping their distance, these committed journalists did not have that option. Our writers describe and sometimes interpret the world for our readers, but our photographers literally show our readers the world.

In this lesson, you will explore the visual story of 2021 and reflect on the power of photojournalism. In Going Further activities, we invite you to analyze and interpret a meaningful photograph from the Times collection and to curate a “Year in Pictures” for your own life.

Note to teachers: Some of the images in the featured article depict scenes of conflict, trauma and death. Please preview the collection to make sure it is appropriate for your students.

What is the story of 2021?

Before looking at the collection of photographs from the past year, brainstorm a list of images, sounds, words and artifacts that come to mind when you think about the events of the past year.

Then, reflect on your list: What do you notice? What big themes and ideas emerge?

Next, sketch an image that best captures the past year. Your drawing can be realistic or abstract, detailed or just a few stick figures. Add a caption that explains your creation.

Finally, share the drawing with your classmates. What is similar and different in your depictions of 2021?

Look at the photos in the collection and the accompanying text, then answer the following questions.

(Note: There are many ways to explore the collection. You might scroll through quickly and then return to look more closely at the images that stood out. Or you might work with a group to examine a single month and share highlights with the class.)

1. Reflect on the photo collection as a whole: What emotions and feelings did the images evoke for you? Taken as a whole, what story do these images tell about 2021? How is this story similar to or different from the drawing you created in the warm-up activity?

2. Respond to the power of individual images: Which images from the collection stand out to you most and why? Which ones do you think best capture the year’s noteworthy moments? Are there any events that you think are missing? If so, which ones and why?

3. Discuss a caption or quotation: The Times photographer Michelle V. Agins describes herself as “a moment thief.” Todd Heisler tells of developing “a kinship” with the New York service workers he photographed during the pandemic. Which caption or story behind a picture do you find most illuminating?

4. Ms. Looram notes in the introduction to the collection that while much of photojournalism, like news reporting in general, focuses on tumult, conflict and tragedy, The Times asks its photographers to document “the joy, the optimism, the curious and buoyant moments that remind us of the gobsmacking beauty of the world and all that connects us to one another.” Select one picture that captures the beauties and joys of 2021 and explain why you chose it and how it relates to your own life.

5. What are some of the challenges Times photojournalists faced in documenting the world in 2021, according to the article?

6. Ms. Looram’s introduction concludes:

Photographers are often invisible and unacknowledged. This collection puts their voices at the center of the conversation. As much as it is a representation of the year’s events, it is also a tribute to them.

Does you think the work of photojournalists needs greater attention and appreciation? Why is photojournalism — and a collection like “The year in Pictures” — important? What can photojournalists capture about the news and events of the world that words and text alone cannot? Would you want to be a photojournalist? Why or why not?

Option 1: Curate a “Year In Pictures” collection.

Create a new “Year In Pictures” slide show using five to 10 images from the Times collection. What story would you want to tell? Which images would you choose and why? Annotate your slide show with a written explanation of why you selected each photograph.

Option 2: Analyze and interpret a photograph.

Choose one photograph in the collection that you found particularly informative, surprising or affecting. As you look closely, respond to questions adapted from our What’s Going On in This Picture? feature:

Then dig a little deeper:

  • What do you notice about the composition, colors, objects and people in the photo?

  • Why did this photo stand out to you? What do you find intriguing or moving about it?

  • How does the photograph make you feel? How does it resonate with your own life and experiences?

  • What challenges do you think the photographer faced in capturing the picture?

  • What do you think the photographer wanted to communicate with this image? What questions would you ask the photographer or the subjects of the photo?

Option 3: Make a “Year in Pictures” for your own life.

If you were to make a “Year in Pictures” of your own year, which photos would you choose? How do these images illustrate the most significant moments of your 2021?

Want more Lessons of the Day? You can find them all here.

Word of the Day: bane

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Word of the Day: bane

: something causing misery or death

_________

The word bane has appeared in 19 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on Oct. 15 in “The Fight for Sneakers” by Daisuke Wakabayashi:

When Bodega, a streetwear shop in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, released a hyped, limited-edition New Balance 997S sneaker in 2019, the entire stock sold out online in under 10 minutes.

There was one problem, though: About 60 percent of Bodega’s sales went to shoppers gaming the system with bots, timesaving automation software used to speed through checkout. The bots had claimed hundreds of pairs of New Balances for a single customer; many other shoppers failed to secure just one.

… To most customers, bots are the bane of online shopping. But for sneaker brands and retailers, the relationship is more complicated.

Can you correctly use the word bane in a sentence?

Based on the definition and example provided, write a sentence using today’s Word of the Day and share it as a comment on this article. It is most important that your sentence makes sense and demonstrates that you understand the word’s definition, but we also encourage you to be creative and have fun.

Then, read some of the other sentences students have submitted and use the “Recommend” button to vote for two original sentences that stand out to you.

If you want a better idea of how bane can be used in a sentence, read these usage examples on Vocabulary.com.

If you enjoy this daily challenge, try one of our monthly vocabulary challenges.

Students ages 13 and older in the United States and the United Kingdom, and 16 and older elsewhere, can comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff.

Festive Wear

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Festive Wear

Do you have a special holiday outfit, whether for Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, New Year’s Eve or any other occasion celebrated this month? If so, what’s it like, and how does it make you feel?

How do you feel about the Christmas sweater, a tradition that Britons — including this dinosaur in the Natural History Museum in London — have embraced? Would you ever wear one?

Tell us in the comments, then read the related article to learn more.

Want more Picture Prompts? Find them all in this column.

Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.

On the Court

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On the Court

Use your imagination to write the opening of a short story or poem inspired by this illustration — or, tell us about a memory from your own life that this image makes you think of.

Post it in the comments, then read the related article to learn more.

Want more Picture Prompts? Find them all in this column.

Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.

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