She grew up in a small seaside town in Thailand’s Chonburi Province, where she said her only exposure to animation as a career came in the form of the local artists who hand-painted posters to announce new movie releases in the town square.
At home, she and her younger siblings would watch the 1941 Disney animated film “Dumbo” on repeat. The movie’s fantastical nature and its message of persevering against the odds resonated with her as a young girl.
Also, she said wryly, “Maybe that was the only VHS we had.”
Daily Word Challenge
Can you correctly use the word wryly 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.
If you want a better idea of how wryly can be used in a sentence, read these usage examples on Vocabulary.com. You can also visit this guide to learn how to use IPA symbols to show how different words are pronounced.
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.
Your hard work counts. If you have at least 30 credit hours from an accredited institution, you can complete your bachelor’s degree with the University of North Texas (UNT).
UNT’s 100% online Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences (B.A.A.S.) program is designed to streamline your path to a fully accredited bachelor’s degree by making it easy to transfer course work you’ve previously completed for technical, applied, or U.S. military credit. On average, UNT students only need 45 additional credits to complete their degree. You may even be able to have your prior learning on Coursera recognized for credit!
Seamlessly transfer up to 84 credit hours —including prior learning on Coursera— to complete your degree faster
The B.A.A.S. program at UNT accepts traditional common core credits earned from community colleges (American history, political science, English, etc.) or other universities. But what makes the B.A.A.S program so valuable is the opportunity to also transfer vocational, occupational, technical or workforce credits from courses at community colleges or technical institutions and apply them to complete your bachelor’s degree.
If you’ve completed one or more of the following programs on Coursera, you may also be eligible to have your prior learning recognized for credit for lower-level courses toward this degree. Recognition of prior learning can help you lower the cost and complete your degree faster based on the number of credits approved upon enrollment.¹
Worried about finding time for your degree? The UNT B.A.A.S program is offered online with 8-week asynchronous courses that are designed to adapt to your schedule and commitments. Students also have access to premium student support services including 1:1 academic advising, mentoring, career counseling, and more.
A UNT advisor can help you find the fastest path to completing your degree—and how your military experience and Coursera learning can be recognized for credit. Learn more by requesting information below or explore what students are saying about their experience.
About UNT
UNT is one of the nation’s largest public research universities and is recognized as a Tier One research university by the Carnegie Classification. Named one of America’s Best College Buys® for 24 consecutive years, UNT is a flexible, affordable way to finish your degree. UNT is also recognized as a Best for Vets College and ranks 17th nationally as a Best College by Military Times.
¹Each university determines the number of prior learning credits that may count towards the degree requirements according to institutional policies. Tuition Cost: $330-$750 per credit hour based on location.
At Coursera, we are working with our world-class university partners to reimagine the traditional degree. Working adults in an increasingly digital world need a degree model that is flexible, affordable, and job-relevant. To that end, I’m delighted to share that Annabel (Annie) Cellini has joined Coursera as our new General Manager of Degrees to lead the growth and impact of our degree offerings for both our learners and partners.
Annie brings over 20 years of experience in high-growth education institutions, including driving online degrees at scale at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU), UMass Global, and EdAssist. She also held a variety of leadership roles at Pearson, where she managed marketing channels and informed strategic business priorities for the North American market. Most recently, Annie worked with the American Council on Education (ACE) to increase acceptance of credit for prior learning. She is a graduate of the University of Cambridge.
Since the launch of our first degree from the University of Illinois in 2016, Coursera has grown its portfolio to more than 50 degrees from leading universities – including 10 introduced this year alone from top institutions including Dartmouth, UC Berkeley, and IIT Guwahati.
Annie’s extensive domain expertise, strategic outlook, and ability to inspire and mobilize teams will help us further accelerate our degree segment and better serve the career aspirations of our learners.
Please join me in extending a warm welcome to Annie.
When it comes to Christmas, your birthday or any other holiday that involves gifts, do you share ideas with family and friends about what you would like to receive? Or do you prefer surprises?
When you’re the one giving a gift, do you appreciate having as much direction as possible, or do you prefer to give something the person isn’t expecting?
Every year, Michelle Miller-McNair asks her three children to make lists of what they want for Christmas. “They usually write it down on a piece of paper or send me a link to a website,” she said.
But this holiday season, Ms. Miller-McNair, a comedian in Mooresville, N.C., received something else: an 18-slide PowerPoint presentation with photos, links and QR codes. It was made by one of her daughters, McKinley.
“I worked on it some during school and also when I was at my friend’s house,” McKinley, 13, said. “It took me about two hours total.”
The slide show included Panda Dunks (black-and-white Nike sneakers), makeup and a necklace from Kendra Scott. She marked high priority items with stars. Before delivering her wish list to her parents one weeknight after dinner, she practiced going through her deck.
“I thought through what I was going to say for each slide,” McKinley said.
Her mother was impressed.
“She gave me reasons why she doesn’t just want these items, but she actually needs them,” Ms. Miller-McNair, 40, said. “She had these Uggs that are slide-on-slippers, and she said she needs to put them on when she gets out of basketball practice, so she doesn’t ruin her basketball shoes.”
Let’s hope Santa is tech-savvy. Kids have long been using Microsoft PowerPoint or Google Slides for gift requests and school projects, but this year’s lists seem more elaborate than ever, with links, photos, decorative themes and QR codes. A number of recent TikTok videos show teenagers taking their parents through their gift requests in meetings that resemble corporate sales pitches.
Students, read the entire article and then tell us:
Does anything in the article remind you of yourself or someone you know, in regard to gift-giving? Did anything seem unfamiliar?
What role does PowerPoint play in your life at school and elsewhere? Are you adept at conveying information in that medium? What about the public speaking aspect of presenting your decks? Does it seem natural to you that teens are using these skills to communicate with their family members about what they want for Christmas?
Would you ever make a video, deck or wish list with links to things you would like to receive as gifts? How do you think your loved ones would react? Or, if you’ve already made such a presentation, what response did it get?
Do you think people tend to appreciate directions and specifics about gift giving? Or do they prefer to choose what they would like to give to people?
Do you think the trend of making and sharing wish lists on TikTok or via PowerPoint decks will catch on more, eventually becoming a holiday standard?
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 and may appear in print.
As the new year approaches and the retrospectives for 2023 roll out, we’re asking you for your own lists.
What were the top five to 10 most memorable moments from the past year?
You can put anything you like on your lists — movies, music, television shows or books that you loved or loathed; moments from the news, social media or sports that you thought were great or terrible; notable aspects of your personal, family or academic life; or a mix of all these things.
To help you look back on the year, check out a few of the “Best of 2023” lists that Times critics have written. Then create your own.
Adolescence is complicated enough. Throw in celebrity, social-media scrutiny, headline touring and musical productivity, and it’s remarkable that Olivia Rodrigo, now 20, has kept not only a clear head but a sense of humor. The songs on her second album, “Guts,” combine pop’s concision and melody with rock’s potential to erupt. The production riffles through decades of crafty allusions as she deals with self-confidence and insecurity, misjudgments and comeuppances, and the relentless, contradictory expectations placed on a teenage female star.
“Beef” was a good story about people getting mad: Amy Lau (Ali Wong) and Danny Cho (Steven Yeun), whose road-rage encounter descends into a quagmire of terrible choices. But it was a great story about why people get mad. It peeled the blazing onion of their conflict to expose class differences, family resentments and inter- and intragroup tensions among its Asian American characters, in an unsparing but empathetic telling. A big enough collection of last straws, “Beef” said, can build a highly flammable house.
And in “Best Video Games of 2023,” Zachary Small writes about “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom”:
A direct sequel to Breath of the Wild, one of the most celebrated games of the past decade, created high expectations for Nintendo. The resulting adventure saw the industrial revolution come to Hyrule, where players learned to combine relics scattered across the ruined kingdom into motorcycles and airplanes. Tears of the Kingdom slightly disappointed those craving more narrative depth from the series, but the Japanese team’s inventive approach to environmental puzzles remains unparalleled. Trusting players to conquer open-ended challenges with a seemingly infinite number of solutions (and roads to failure) has kept The Legend of Zelda one of the industry’s biggest franchises.
Times TV critic, James Poniewozik, writes about why the Peanuts special speaks so deeply to him, despite his own Jewish heritage: “For all of the Snoopy high jinks and slapstick, ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ is as close to poetry as TV gets.”
What’s your favorite holiday movie or television show? Do your family traditions involve watching holiday films?
Tell us in the comments, then read the related article to learn more.
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 and may appear in print.
While the eruption could be big, it is a highly localized event, officials say. Last Saturday, officials evacuated the more than 3,000 residents of Grindavik, a small fishing town about 30 miles south of Reykjavik. Since then, residents have slowly been allowed back to gather some of their personal possessions with help from emergency workers accompanying them.
“It’s a precarious area to be in,” Mr. Viglundsson said.
Daily Word Challenge
Can you correctly use the word precarious 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.
If you want a better idea of how precarious can be used in a sentence, read these usage examples on Vocabulary.com. You can also visit this guide to learn how to use IPA symbols to show how different words are pronounced.
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.
Planning to learn to code in 2023? We know it can feel overwhelming — especially if you’ve never coded before. But you’ve got this! And we’ve put together a list of five tips and resources to help you stay accountable to your coding goals this year.
Set bite-sized, achievable goals
Setting a big, lofty goal can be exciting in the moment, but can sometimes feel so overwhelming that it’s easy to just give up. That’s why we recommend starting small. If you’re not a runner, resolving to start running one morning a week for 20 minutes may feel less overwhelming than resolving to run a marathon. The same goes for learning to code.
Set bite-sized, achievable goals for yourself in 2023. This’ll ensure that you don’t get overwhelmed. Give yourself the opportunity to get your feet wet, make learning to code a part of your regular routine, and let the smaller goals be the catalyst for something even bigger.
Learn something new for free
Last year, Codecademy community member Scott discovered that he really enjoys the data visualization aspect of data science, and so he created a heat map visualizing positive Covid-19 cases in Colorado. That’s one of the great parts about learning to code — it can help you better understand your world and the moment of time you’re in.
Let the world know what you plan to do — and how you’re progressing towards your goals. When you tell others what you plan to accomplish it makes it harder to give up. Tell your friends, tell your family, or even share your goals on social media, like Adam, who has been using Codecademy to supplement his college courses and is well on his way to 100 days of code.
You may also decide to record your progress along the way in a blog. This can be a fun way to look back on your journey later to see how far you’ve come — plus, logging your own experiences may be useful to other people who are on learning journeys of their own!
Set weekly targets
You’ll find weekly targets when you log into your Codecademy account and click on “My Home.” Your progress will appear in the top right corner of the screen and you can click to update your weekly target. Decide how many days you want to learn each week and then track your progress.
We’ll keep track of how many days you’ve logged into Codecademy to learn in the current week. Plus, we’ll show you how many weeks in a row you’ve met your target.
Take the #100DaysofCode challenge
If you’re up for a bit of a bigger goal, start a #100DaysofCode challenge! Dedicating at least an hour to code daily for 100 days can help you turn learning to code into a habit that’ll continue even after the 100 days are over. Then, you can share your accomplishments (and read through others’) on Twitter, like the learners below.
Day12: #100DaysOfCode@Codecademy challenge projects helps me practice figure out how to draw tables to see the relationship between inputs and outputs.
Day 16 of #100DaysOfCode and decided it was time to get to know Git. Started working through a quick intro course to learn the basics. Thanks for the assist @Codecademy!!
Or, you can share your accomplishments on our forum, where you’ll also find other learners sharing their experiences with the challenge. (Looking for some immediate inspo? Take Tom Raley, who explained how the #100DaysofCode challenge helped him launch a new career in 2018.)
Speaking of the Codecademy community, being a part of a community is a great way to stay accountable to your goals. Share your progress, ask questions when you’re stuck, get inspired by the stories of other learners, and make new friends that share your motivations and interests.
Looking for a community? Here are a few places to get started:
Codecademy Forums: Join the conversation right here in the Codecademy Forums. Chat with other learners, share projects and get feedback, get help, get inspired by success stories, and more!
Codecademy Chapters: Codecademy Chapters are community-led local groups designed to help you stay motivated, get support on your learning journey, and connect with other learners near you, in-person or virtually. Join a chapter in your local area — or start your own!
Twitter: Join the conversation and meet other people that are learning to code on Twitter with hashtags like #100DaysOfCode and #CodeNewbie. (You can find us on Twitter at @Codecademy.)
Looking for more advice for sticking with your coding goals? We’ve compiled a list of 7 tips for staying motivated from our community members. Here’s to accomplishing all of your goals and more in 2023!
It’s that time of year again — the time for making New Year’s resolutions! It can be tempting to set big, life-changing goals. But the loftiest resolutions are usually the first to be abandoned. This year, let’s resolve to make resolutions we can keep.
Every major accomplishment requires a smaller first step. You can’t run a marathon before you can run the first mile, and the same goes for learning how to code. Before you can code a website, you need to learn to write your first “Hello, World!” Before you can become a Data Scientist, you need to learn how to acquire data. Resolving to take the first step is the easiest way to ensure you get started down the road to success this year.
Learn something new for free
Starting small: Inspiration for your 2024 resolutions
To help you start 2024 on an inspired and motivated note, Codecademy Curriculum Developers shared some ideas for bite-sized goals you can set for yourself this year. We’ve broken them out into a few categories — goals for getting started, building your portfolio, becoming an active community member, tracking your progress, and more.
Resolve to get started with coding
Brand new to coding? The best way to get started is to just dive in. So make a resolution to take the first step in the beginning of 2024. Here are a few ideas for resolutions you can choose to get started with coding this year:
I’m going to write my first program that prints “Hello, World!” This is one of the first things you’ll learn in our Code Foundations Path.
I’m going to learn how to install a language on my computer.
I’m going to start collecting a data set about myself. This can be a fun one if you’re interested in data science. It could be anything from how many steps you take each day to what time you wake up.
Resolve to tie your learning to something you enjoy
When you’re just getting started, you’ll be spending time learning the fundamentals and building simple projects. Learning new things is always rewarding, but when you find that first project that really inspires you, you’ll really start having fun! Here are a few resolutions to get you working on something you enjoy:
I’m going to work on a project that inspires me. Visit our project library for ideas.
I’m going to build a small applet that’s useful for myself, my friends, or my family.
Being a part of a community is a great way to keep yourself accountable to your goals and to make your learning journey more enjoyable. You’ll be able to find help when you need it, share your experiences, learn from the experiences of others, and make new friends. Here are a few ideas for becoming a more active community member in 2024:
I’m going to attend a local hackathon and try to help out on a project. Looking for local hackathons? Check out Major League Hacking or Eventbrite.
I’m going to participate in a local coding club in my school or town.Codecademy Chapters are a great place to start.
I’m going to attend a programming-related meetup or conference.
I’m going to follow 10 developers on X.
I’m going to submit my first post on Stack Overflow.
Resolve to make progress on your portfolio
If your end goal is a career in web development or data science then you’ll ultimately need to build a portfolio. Resolve to make progress on your portfolio in 2024 with one of the following ideas:
I’m going to build a simple portfolio website and host it.
I’m going to make a website version of my resume.
I’m going to build one project for my portfolio. Our Career Paths include portfolio-ready projects that you can use when you begin your job search.
If you need help building a portfolio, watch the video below for a step-by-step breakdown.
Whether you’ve been toying with the idea of changing careers, are already in the process, or are interested in learning technical skills to advance in your current job, the New Year is a good time to set some goals to help you make progress. Check out the following goals for inspiration:
I’m going to search for jobs and look over their requirements. Give our job-readiness checker a spin when you find a position you’re interested in.
I’m going to complete the first module of a Career Path. We currently offer Career Paths in Data Science, Front-End, Back-End, and Full-Stack Web Development. Consider joining our Full-Stack Chapter to connect with other people on the same journey as you.
I’m going to speak with someone that works in a field I’m interested in.
I’m going to contribute to my first open-sourced project on GitHub.
I’m going to learn to use AI tools like GitHub Copilot to streamline my workflow. We offer a beginner-friendly Intro to GitHub Copilot course that teaches you how to use the AI coding assistant.
Resolve to track your progress
This last batch of ideas is all about tracking your progress. Sometimes tracking and sharing your progress is just the boost you need to keep on going — plus you can look back and see how far you’ve come!
I’m going to create my own coding journey notebook.
I’m going to write a blog post about something I’ve learned. Read this story about a learner who started a coding blog that got the attention of an engineering hiring manager and helped her land a job.
I’m going to set a weekly target and stick to it. Check out our article on tips for staying accountable to your goals to learn more about weekly targets, streaks, and more.
We hope this list has helped you come up with a few bite-sized goals to start the year out on the right foot. To help you get started, we’re currently offering a 50% discount for Codecademy Pro! Sign up now to get access to our Skill Paths, Career Paths, Code Challenges, and everything else you’ll need to achieve your 2024 goals. Then, share your resolutions with us on social media!
I just had a realization – it’s been ages since I shared a printable poster! And what better time to do so than during the festive season, right? So, I have a little something that may bring a smile to your face and help you spruce up your office at the last minute. It’s a sweet and simple Christmas quote poster that has a timeless charm and will fit in perfectly anywhere.
Christmas Quote Printable Poster
I spent some time looking at different styles and colors for my new poster, but in the end, I decided to go with the classic combo of green and red (also featured in this month’s color palette!), along with a simple quote. It’s such a versatile design that you could totally use it to decorate your space during December, regardless of whether you celebrate Christmas or not. The best part? It’s available in two different sizes, so you can even use the square one for your social media – how cool is that?
The zip file contains both an 8,5×11 and 12×12 printable (you may need to trim them slightly to fit your frame).
For Personal Use Only.
Do you like printable posters? If you do, I’d love to know if you prefer them with quotes or without any text. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!
If you are looking for more Printable Freebies, make sure to check our free printables library
Looking for something specific?
If you have an idea for a printable, let us know in the comments! We are always looking for inspiration. If you decide to print today’s Christmas Quote Printable Poster, share some photos! We are always looking for them on Instagram or Twitter.
