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How 5 Codecademy Learners Make Time to Learn to Code
Scheduling can be a headache, whether you’re trying to find time for a team meeting or finally booking that dentist appointment. Making time to learn to code might feel like just another commitment you have to deal with — but luckily, there are lots of different ways to make it work.
The cool thing about Codecademy courses and paths is that they’re designed for self-guided learning — meaning you get to decide the pace and frequency that makes the most sense for you and your life. You can stop to take a break at any time. Whether it takes you three months or three years to find a rhythm, we get it: There’s no one-size-fits-all learning schedule, because we all have different priorities and responsibilities in our lives.
Codecademy learners in our community have come up with some creative ways to carve out time in their schedules to learn to code, often balancing full-time jobs and childcare duties to boot. Read on for the top time-saving tricks that helped Codecademy learners fly through courses, discover their passions, and even launch new careers.
Got your own go-to trick for making time to learn with Codecademy? We want to hear about it! You can share your story with us here.
Block out time on your calendar
When React and Native Developer Doug Henderson got serious about learning to code, he would look at his Google calendar every morning and mark any free time that he could devote to coding. “I knew during my lunch breaks I could do 20 or 30 minutes; and sometimes I could learn before I left for work, if I had time,” he says. Scheduling these chunks of time allowed Doug to spend a cumulative total of 2 to 4 hours a day working through Codecademy courses and watching supplemental videos on YouTube.
Aim for bite-sized chunks
Between working at a pub and homeschooling her young son, Gwen Bradbury was already spread thin when she started to learn PHP and React. “Looking back, I have no idea how I did it, to be honest,” she says.
Codecademy’s courses are all self-paced, so Gwen could split up courses and lessons into as many fragments as she needed to get it done. “Between homeschooling and working at the pub, I’d sneak an hour here and a half hour there,” she says. “Since it’s all in bite-size chunks, it was manageable to just do a section at a time.” At this pace, Gwen landed a job as a Junior Full-Stack Developer a year after she started learning.
Take advantage of free WiFi
Anyone with a commute can relate to the way Bobby Hutter felt at the end of his 20- to 40-minute drive home: “I had zero motivation to work on coding,” he says. “I mentally associated home with comfort and rest.”
Conveniently, Bobby discovered that a Panera Bread that he passed on the drive home had a membership option that enabled him to get free beverages and use their WiFi for $10 a month. It was easier to stay motivated while working out of the restaurant, so it became his “drop-in office space,” he says.
“Monday through Friday, I’d stop at that Panera on the way home, and I’d dedicate two hours to learning to code,” he recalls. “During the pandemic, they closed at 8 p.m., so I also had that external motivator of knowing I have to get this module completed or I have to get this portion of this course done.” Obviously, you don’t specifically need a local Panera to make this strategy work for you — maybe there’s a library or park with WiFi that could provide a similar change of scenery?
Multitask (if you can)
Learning to code while you’re “on the clock” at your place of work is probably not the best move — unless, of course, your team leader is A-OK with you doing so. As a security guard, Casper Tollefsen had predictable pockets of downtime during quiet shifts that he used to catch up reading books about game design and programming. “I made sure that while I was working my shifts, I listened to audiobooks on an earbud,” he says.
Don’t have the flexibility to learn at your job? You can try listening to podcasts about coding on your commute or while you’re out running errands. Or you can always consider asking your employer to give you time during the workday for professional development. (You might be surprised by their willingness to help you out!)
Give yourself permission to have off days
Even the most disciplined developers have off days. Petko Georgiev remembers being “super motivated” when he started learning HTML/CSS and JavaScript. “I’d learn in the mornings, in the afternoons, while my kid was asleep, and on weekends,” he says. “After about two weeks, I relaxed. And then it was hard to get back into the habit.” Over time, Petko realized that his ideal cadence was waking up at 5 a.m. to code before work or during his lunch hour.
If you’re having trouble finding time or motivation to stick to your learning plan, it could be a matter of lowering your weekly learning target to something that’s more sustainable, or connecting with a programmer pal who can keep you accountable. You know yourself best, and there are lots of ways to adjust your goals and customize your schedule so it truly works for you.
How did you set aside time to learn how to code? Share your story here — it could be exactly what someone needs to hear to keep going. If you’re looking for coding motivation, read more success stories from Codecademy learners like you or check out our blog for additional learning tips and handy resources.
Catalog Home | Codecademy
If you’re not sure where to begin or what to learn next, this is a great place to start. Check out our top coding courses, Skill Paths, and Career Paths.
What To Include on a Data Analyst Resume
Data Analysts are a hot commodity, ranking highly in the World Economic Forum’s list of the most in-demand jobs. And as organizations continue to find new ways to utilize data and offer Data Analysts competitive salaries, it’s no wonder people are flocking to the field.
If you want to land a Data Analyst job, you’ll need a strong resume to set yourself apart from the competition and stand out as the perfect candidate. Ahead, we’ll give you a breakdown of what to include in your Data Analyst resume and how to prepare for your upcoming interviews.
Why do you need a Data Analyst resume?
Your resume provides a snapshot of your skills and experience, and it shows recruiters and hiring managers that you have all the required tools to do the job. A good resume will include both your technical skills and the soft skills you’ll need to collaborate effectively and work as part of a team (more on that later).
The breakdown below is a great starting point for your Data Analyst resume, but you might want to consider customizing your resume for each job you apply for. Companies often use software that scans your resume for keywords before sending it to a hiring manager, so if you want to maximize your chances of landing an interview, you’ll want to ensure it’s aligned with the job description.
What to include on a Data Analyst resume
Here are a few key sections to include on your resume.
Contact information
Your contact information should be at the top of your resume. Along with your name and email address (make sure it’s a professional one), you may want to include links to your LinkedIn profile, GitHub, and portfolio.
Summary
Summaries are optional, but if you choose to include one, write a brief outline of your experience and what you’re looking for in your new role.
For example, if you’re seeking your first Data Analyst position, your summary might say, “Motivated, responsible Data Analyst experienced in the retail sector seeking Junior Data Analyst position at Big Box Store Corporation.”
If you’re more experienced, you could include specific achievements. For example, “Meticulous Data Analyst with four years of experience seeking Data Analyst position with Acme Corporation. Experienced in analyzing data to improve processes and reduce operating costs by 10%.”
Data analytics skills
After your summary, add a section that summarizes your technical skills. Some skills to highlight include:
- Statistics and probability
- Relational databases
- Pattern and trend identification
- Data mining
- Database design and management
- SharePoint
- Advanced Excel functions
- Programming languages (SQL, C++, Java, etc.)
- Predictive modeling techniques, including decision trees and generalized linear models (GLM)
- Big data analytics
Job experience
After your skills section, add your relevant work experience. Most people start with their most recent position and work backward.
Beneath your title and the companies you worked for, list your responsibilities and highlight what you’ve accomplished. Bonus points if you include any metrics. Did you grow sales at your previous company? Did you improve processes? Not only will these achievements help illustrate your impact, they’ll also give you material to discuss during your interview.
To that end, quantifying your accomplishments with specific figures is another great way to stand out. Saying you grew sales by 10% will make more of an impact than just saying you increased sales.
Your experience section is also a great opportunity to showcase your soft skills. Instead of listing them in the skills section, consider weaving them into your responsibilities. How have you demonstrated leadership? How have communication and collaboration played a role in your day-to-day?
This is especially important if you’re applying for your first job as a Data Analyst. Highlighting your transferable skills helps illustrate how your past experiences have prepared you for the role. Every company wants dedicated team members who show initiative, have excellent communication skills, work well with others, and pay attention to detail.
Courses and education
In this section, you’ll want to highlight your education. List any degrees you have, even if they’re not directly related to data analysis, along with any certifications you have and online courses you’ve completed.
And don’t be intimidated if you lack a traditional degree. More and more companies are dropping degree requirements to widen their talent pools. As long as you have the skills to do the job, you can be a strong candidate. And of course, you should list any online courses and/or certifications you’ve gotten. If you get a certification from Codecademy, you can even post it directly to your LinkedIn account.
What if this is your first Data Analyst job?
If this is your first Data Analyst position, you may not have years of technical experience, and that’s okay. You can bolster your resume by highlighting projects you’ve completed, whether you made them independently or as part of a course. If you need help finding potential inclusions, check out our data visualization projects.
How to get ready for your Data Analyst interview
Once you get your resume polished and start submitting, the next step will be your interviews, which may consist of technical and behavioral interviews. In a behavioral interview, you’ll likely be asked general data questions, visualization, communication, and experimental design questions. And in a technical interview, you may be given coding challenges and asked to demonstrate your skill with data analytics.
To get ready for your interview, your first step is to brush up on your skills. For example, you might take a SQL course to refresh your knowledge. We also offer a Data Analyst Interview Preparation Skill Path that’ll help you prepare with common interview questions, develop a portfolio project, and learn how to navigate job postings. For more helpful resources, check out our Interview Prep page.
Getting started in data analytics
Data Analysts play a critical role in helping organizations make informed decisions. If you need help breaking into the field, you can start by learning programming languages like Python or SQL. And if you already have some programming skills, you can start learning how to apply them to data analytics with Skill Paths like Analyze data with SQL and Analyze financial data with Python.
We also offer a Data Scientist: Analytics Specialist Career Path that teaches you all the skills you need to analyze data. You’ll learn how to organize data, dig into that data to find insights, and communicate your findings. You’ll also build projects you can use to build a portfolio.Ready to get started? Sign up now!
Data Analytics Courses & Tutorials | Codecademy
Data analytics is the process of taking raw data and turning it into something meaningful we can understand. By finding trends and patterns, you can make predictions and uncover new information that helps inform decisions. There’s a great demand for Data Analysts in healthcare, marketing, retail, i…
How To Become a PHP Developer
Whether you’re new to coding or looking for a new addition to your tech stack, PHP is a great choice. Not only is it one of the most popular programming languages among developers — ranking 10th in Stack Overflow’s 2022 Developer Survey — but it’s also in high demand in the industry. Reports show that 77.5% of websites use PHP in their server-side code.
Plus, learning PHP can lead to lucrative opportunities. On average, PHP Developers earn between $94,241 and $109,253, according to Indeed and Glassdoor.
Need more convincing? Ahead, we’ll take a closer look at PHP and what it’s used for. Then, we’ll show you how to build your skills and launch your career as a PHP Developer.
What is PHP?
PHP is a general-purpose programming language that was designed mainly for web development. When it was released in 1994, its name stood for “Personal Home Page,” but it now stands for “PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor.”
PHP code is usually processed on a web server like Apache using a PHP interpreter that has been implemented as a Common Gateway Interface (CGI) executable, a daemon, or module. The most common implementation is a module in Apache or Nginx web server.
PHP began as a set of CGI scripts written in C that made it easier to handle web forms and communicate with databases. In 1994, web development was just beginning, and there wasn’t much that was “easy” about it. PHP was one of the first languages created specifically to simplify web development.
By 1998, version 3 of PHP was released to the public, and the most recent release was version 8.1 in 2021. Today, PHP has everything you would expect in a modern programming language, including object-oriented features, a vast selection of third-party libraries, and cross-platform support.
What is PHP used for?
Before you decide on whether you should learn PHP, it helps to know what it’s used for. Here are a few of the types of applications where PHP is used:
Custom website development
Many Web Developers who use other programming languages started with PHP because it’s available on just about any web hosting provider with no extra configuration, even on shared hosting. This means you can start coding a PHP website right away.
And you don’t even need to use a framework — especially if you’re creating a lightweight site and don’t need any of the features that a framework can add. To build a website with PHP, all you need is PHP.
Website development with PHP frameworks
Still, PHP frameworks are useful when you do want those additional features. A PHP web development framework provides libraries for commonly used functionality, like routing, authentication, and authorization.
Frameworks cut down on the amount of code it takes to build a website from scratch and can speed up and standardize the development process. Some popular PHP web development frameworks include Laravel, Symfony, Zend, Slim, and Phalcon.
Website development with a PHP-based platform
Many companies use a pre-built platform like WordPress or Magento for their website, and guess what? These two platforms and many others are written in PHP. Developers on these platforms customize them by building plugins and themes that interact with their APIs.
Getting a PHP Developer job
As you can see, PHP Developers can take their career in many directions because PHP has been used for just about every type of web development project you can think of. Now that you understand the language’s background and utility, here’s a breakdown of the path toward becoming a PHP Developer.
Build your PHP skills
The first step toward becoming a PHP Developer is building the skills you’ll need for the job — and we’ll show you how in our Learn PHP course, which covers the fundamentals of programming and the language’s syntax.
After you’ve gotten a handle on the basics, you can put your skills to the test by building projects. Projects allow you to utilize the knowledge you gained from your courses, honing your problem-solving ability and teaching you how to think like a programmer. Here’s a list of 10 PHP coding challenges to help you get started.
You may also want to consider learning the other programming languages used for web development, including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. This will put you well on the path toward full-stack development and allow you to work with various CMS and eCommerce platforms. Check out the courses below to get started with these languages:
Create a resume
Once your skills are up to par, the next step is to showcase them in a resume. Your resume will serve as your first impression to recruiters and hiring managers when you’re applying to jobs, so you’ll want to ensure it illustrates why you’re the best person for the role.
We’ve put together a guide on how to create a technical resume, but in short, you’ll want to include:
- Your contact details
- Your work experience
- Your technical skills
- Projects you’ve worked on
- Any other details related to the job you want
When you’re applying to jobs, consider tailoring your resume for every position you apply for. Many companies rely on software that looks for relevant keywords to rank potential candidates, so you’ll want to ensure your resume aligns with the job posting as much as possible. Read our article on how to read a tech job description to learn more.
Create a portfolio
Along with your resume, you’ll also need a web developer portfolio. Keywords can only go so far, and while your resume contains details about your skills and experience, your portfolio will allow recruiters to see your skills in action.
They can also share it with the other people involved in the hiring process, like the development team who might want to test and review the source code of your projects. A picture is worth a thousand words, and a strong portfolio is one of the best ways to show the full extent of what you can do.
Create a personal brand
Networking can open the door to many opportunities, and creating a personal brand can help you connect with other PHP Developers and professionals in the industry. It’ll also help illustrate your passion and enthusiasm for your work, which goes a long way with potential employers. And it doesn’t have to require much effort. Building a personal brand can be easier than you’d expect.
Consider creating profiles on all of your favorite social platforms, like Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram. Dedicate them entirely to your coding journey — share tips and insights, your PHP repos and projects, and helpful blog posts.
You’ll also want to create a LinkedIn profile, because recruiters often turn to the platform to find candidates for programming jobs. Including terms like “PHP Developer” and links to your PHP projects will help ensure you show up in their search. Plus, you can ask your peers and other developers you worked with to endorse your skills on LinkedIn.
Lastly, you’ll also want to have a GitHub account and include links to it on your other profiles. Using GitHub shows recruiters that you know how to read and write code, collaborate with others, and use Git — a version control system used by developers around the world.
Apply for a PHP job
If you have a strong LinkedIn profile and you already have professional experience, you may not even have to look for a job. Recruiters could find you and contact you before you even start searching. If not, there are always openings for PHP development jobs. You just have to find them.
The first place you can start your search is on LinkedIn. Connect with recruiters who handle PHP development jobs and search for job listings. You can also try searching for “PHP Developer” on sites like Indeed and Glassdoor.
Ace the interview
The next step toward your first job as a PHP Developer is the interview process. A PHP Developer interview might include multiple phases that test different areas of your skill set and expertise, and you’ll want to be prepared if you want to stand out from other candidates.
You may face questions that test your technical knowledge, whether about the web development process or the language itself. Here are a couple of links that will help you prepare:
You may also face a technical interview, in which you’ll be asked to solve a coding problem to showcase your programming and problem-solving skills.
Many developers find technical interviews to be the most challenging part of the interview process, but it helps to know that you don’t always have to have the right answer. Your interviewer is more interested in the thought-process behind your solution, which is why explaining your approach during technical interviews is essential. Check out our breakdown of the tech industry interview process to learn more.
Learn more about PHP
PHP is one of the most widely used programming languages in web development. As a PHP Developer, you could build custom websites from scratch, use a framework like Laravel to build large web apps, or create plugins and themes for one of the many CMS and eCommerce platforms that use PHP. There’s no shortage of work for PHP Developers, and your skills will always be in demand.
To get started today, try our Learn PHP course. Then, continue building your skills with PHP projects and use them to build a portfolio. If you need help with your interviews, you can find helpful tips and resources on our Interview Prep page. And for more information on how to land a job in tech, check out our Career Center.
PHP Courses & Tutorials | Codecademy
PHP is a general-purpose scripting language widely used as a server-side language for creating dynamic web pages. Though its reputation is mixed, PHP is still extremely popular and is used in over 75% of all websites where the server-side programming language is known.
How to Change Your Blogger Title and Tagline
The blog name is one of the most important elements of your site. You want it to be easy to remember and match your content. Sometimes your first choice may not be perfect, and you do not need to be stuck with it. In this post, I will show you how to change your Blogger title and tagline in less than a minute!
How to find a perfect name
Coming up with your blog title can be tough. You are shaping your site’s identity, and the decision should not be made lightly. Here are a few ideas if you are stumped on where to begin or if you have been thinking about changing your blog title:
- Assemble a list of buzzwords from your industry or niche. If you have a photography site, some of your buzzwords might be “camera,” “click,” “photo,” or “pose.” A hodgepodge of relevant words may help trigger a relevant blog title.
- Make it short and easy to remember. A brief blog title boosts memorability and catchiness. A good rule of thumb to follow is: Keep it Simple, Short, and Memorable.
- A blog title should be unique. As long as it’s not too wildly off-the-wall, a unique blog name will stick in people’s minds.
- To come up with the perfect blog title name, you should first consider who it is you’re trying to reach. What is their language? Their style? Their age? Their income? Their education? Their level of sophistication? Their interests? A blog title should be appealing in particular to your target audience and not merely appealing overall.
- If you’re still stumped, seek inspiration from a map, consider using an acronym, explore the use of foreign words, use your own name or nickname, get inspiration from mythology or your favorite book, or thumb through a dictionary.
When you’ve come up with your title and tagline, you’ll need to add it to your blog.
RELATED: 6 Tips for Writing Attention Grabbing Post Titles
Change blogger title and tagline
When you have your blog name ready, it is time to add it to your Blogger blog.
Step 1
Login to your account and go to the Settings tab on the left. It will show all the blog settings on the right. The blog title and tagline (also called Description) will be located at the very top in the basic section of the settings.
Click on the Title or Description to edit it.
Step 2
Type in your desired title and description (aka tagline). Some Bloggers leave the description blank and let the title be the show’s star. Once you click “Save” your new title and description will automatically appear on your blog.
If you decide to feature a tagline (or description), here are a few tips to remember:
- A good tagline captures the essence of what your brand is about.
- A good tagline helps people quickly understand why they want to connect with you or what benefit you offer them.
- A good tagline is succinct. Under 5 words is a good rule of thumb.
- A good tagline aids in cementing your brand into readers’ minds so that they remember you.
Your title and tagline are the first things your readers will see when they enter your site. Spend some time brainstorming and narrowing down options to find the perfect fit for what you want to convey.
145 Picture Prompts to Inspire Student Writing
A school year’s worth of short, accessible image-driven posts that invite a variety of kinds of writing.
How I Went From Stay-at-Home Mom to Self-Taught Data Scientist in 2 Years
Learning to code so that you can land a job in tech can feel daunting. That’s why we’re sharing inspiring stories from Codecademy’s community — to show how people like you (yes, you!) can embark on a learning journey and end up with a totally new career. We hope these stories serve as a reminder that there’s no single path to a more fulfilling work life.
Today’s story is from Mary White, a Development Coordinator at the Baltimore Museum of Industry living in Baltimore, Maryland. Read more stories from Codecademy learners here — and be sure to share your story here.
Why I chose to learn to code
“My wife started working remotely due to Covid, so I had a little more free time than I was used to, and I wanted to start something new. I picked Codecademy and started out with JavaScript.
I told a friend of mine, who is a data scientist: ‘I love how it’s got numbers but also language.’ I’m a linguist; I speak mostly English and Spanish, but also several other languages. My friend said, ‘You know, if you like numbers and languages, you should try data science.’ So I started the Data Science Foundations skill path and fell in love.
I really loved all the immersive projects from Codecademy. I would sit down and take a week — or a month even — and make them my own. It was so much fun! Once I finished my data science courses, I tried C++, I finished up JavaScript, and I did the Analyze Financial Data with Python skill path. I tried out everything, and it was a blast.
Then we decided we wanted to buy a house, and I thought, Well, if we’re gonna do that, I’m going to need to get a job. So I put all of this on my portfolio and on my resume and started applying.”
How I made time to learn
“I set it up as if it were a part-time job. My wife’s job is fairly flexible: When Covid started, she was home and could watch our kid, so I could dedicate about 4 to 6 hours a day to learning on Codecademy.”
How I saved up enough money to take the leap
“I was a stay-at-home mom, and my wife was working from home due to the pandemic, so nothing really changed financially.”
How I got in the door
“I found the job listing on LinkedIn and did the auto-apply thing. I had done the same with about 20 other jobs that day. And then the assistant director called! I read everything I could about the organization to prepare.
I got an interview, and as soon as I got off the elevator, one of the other data people ran out holding a 20-page printout of my OkCupid portfolio project*, waving it around saying, ‘I’m so excited to meet you! I want to talk about this!’ It was amazing. We talked about my project, and I got the job a couple weeks later.”
*This is a portfolio project that Mary completed in the Data Scientist path. Check out how other Codecademy learners completed the same project in our forum here.
How I nailed the interview
“I didn’t have to do any technical interviews, because the position wasn’t so much about software development. I think I was a little bit overqualified, but I was ready. All my other skills — I have an extensive copy-editing and writing background — are great for grant-writing and working with donors and institutions. The data definitely helps. I now manage the database on behalf of my administration.”
How I evaluated the offer
“I had been a stay-at-home mom for 3.5 years at that point, and getting jobs was really hard with that gap in my resume. As soon as I got something — especially after I had looked up this organization, visited the museum, and seen how enthusiastic they were about me — I took it right away. I was just so excited to get something.”
How day one & beyond went
“Day one was fine — mostly just meeting people and watching the onboarding videos. After about 1 to 2 weeks, I was just sort of thrown into the fire. I came in and everything was in a set of Excel spreadsheets in Google Drive. Since then, I put about 90% of these spreadsheets into the relational database. It was a lot of learning on the job. Taking my knowledge from Codecademy, plus being organized and comfortable with technology, has been immensely helpful.
What I wish I knew before I started learning
“I wish I knew how easy it was to learn to code. I feel like it was just like going back to school and doing Intro to Algebra again. If I’d known it was that easy, I probably would have approached it much sooner. I always thought it was this complex thing, and that you had to know everything to code — and you really don’t. It’s very accessible. The online community for coding is incredibly rich and amazing.”
Learn like Mary.
See the courses and languages that helped her most.
Not sure where to start? Check out our personality quiz! We’ll help you find the best programming language to learn based on your strengths and interests.
Want to share your Codecademy learner story? Drop us a line here. And don’t forget to join the discussions in our community.
Data Science Courses & Tutorials | Codecademy
Data Scientists try to make sense of the data that’s all around us. Learning Data Science can help you make informed decisions, create beautiful visualizations, and even try to predict future events through Machine Learning. If you’re curious about what you can learn about the world using the data p…
MEDIA LITERACY
We live in the social media era. Social media has evolved over the years and shows no signs of slowing down; this is our new reality. Every aspect of human life, including family, education, and employment, can be found on the internet. Google has an answer to almost every question you might have. Yes! Online, you can find good, bad, and ugly information; you can learn some very important lessons as well as scams and fake news; it’s all mixed up in the virtual space.
I remember telling one of my daughters not to believe everything she sees on Facebook; she now tells me about how pictures are edited to highlight the beauty, how a man can be transformed into a woman by using several apps, and how there is a lot of negative information on the internet. There is also a lot of very important and vital information, but the ability to distinguish the good from the bad and the truth from lies requires some level of training and education, which is part of what media literacy is all about.
WHAT EXACTLY IS MEDIA LITERACY?
“Media literacy is an expanded conceptualization of literacy that includes the ability to access and analyze media messages as well as create, reflect and take action, using the power of information and communication to make a difference in the world. Media literacy is not restricted to one medium and is understood as a set of competencies that are essential for work, life, and citizenship. Media literacy education is the process used to advance media literacy competencies, and it is intended to promote awareness of media influence and create an active stance towards both consuming and creating media.” — Wikipedia
The Evolution of Media Education dates back to the late 1920s and early 1930s when the British Film Institutes attempted to teach media users analytical skills. The Wisconsin Association of Better Broadcasters also helped by teaching media consumers how to be more critical. All of these early efforts are aimed at discouraging students from engaging in media consumption; however, this attempt has only pushed them further into the act. Television was the dominant media platform at the time.
Fast forward to the internet era, where media can now be consumed at any time and from any location. The goal has since shifted from deterrence to providing information on how to use and interpret media content correctly.
Media literacy is now taught in some schools in some countries around the world, while other countries and schools have yet to accept the course to be studied.
Media Literacy Education, while not as widely accepted as it should be, has a significant impact on both children and adults. Children who are taught about this cause from a young age can learn to think critically, determine the credibility of the media contents they consume, see the different points of view and goals of the content creator, and identify the roles that media plays in relation to culture.
Adults benefit from media literacy education in terms of sensitivity and appreciation for different points of view, as well as distinguishing between genuine and fake information.
W. James Potter, a media scholar, observed that all media messages can be classified into four dimensions.
– Cognitive Dimension – This area critically accesses information by asking What the media content is all about, how likely the content is to achieve its purpose, and Who is the content made for.
– Emotional Dimension – What does the content creator want the consumers to think about the content, and will the content have a positive or negative impact? Will the content provide immediate or delayed satisfaction?
– Aesthetic Dimension – Is there a way to find out how the content affected previous users and what their experiences were, good or bad?
– Moral Dimension – Is the message of the content creator true or false, what parts of the content are real and feasible, and what parts are not, and is it overrated?
“All of this information – about the network’s materiality, what it’s made of, and how it works – should be part of basic media literacy, because we rely on this technology for more and more aspects of our daily lives.” — Astra Taylor
Sources
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/articles/what-is-media-literacy-and-why-is-it-important
ARE WE BECOMING DIGITAL SLAVES?
Are you a relic of the Stone Age? Do you live somewhere under a rock? When you say you don’t have a phone or a computer, or that you don’t have a WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, or another account, you will most likely be asked these questions.
“I’m not sure what that means, but you can look it up on Google,” I recall using those lines for my children when they asked questions to which I did not have answers or when I was too busy to answer them.
Is it possible to live in this day and age without the internet? Is this to say that everyone is now addicted to the internet, or that we have all become Digital Slaves?
The year 2007 will be remembered as a watershed moment in the evolution of various digital mediums, such as the globalization of Facebook and Twitter, as well as the introduction of Cloud and other communication mediums.
The Pandemic era has also brought with it more advancements in digital networking and the introduction of new communication networks, making the world smaller than ever before. You don’t even need to go to classes to learn, you don’t need to go to work, you don’t even need to travel long distances to see your loved ones, and you can buy whatever you need online without having to go to the market, all thanks to digital technology! What a wonderful Freedom!!
Responsibility comes with freedom, and great freedom comes with great responsibility. After all, nothing is free.
If the digital era is dubbed the “Freedom Era,” what exactly is freedom when the price to pay affects almost every aspect of human life, effectively turning humans into digital slaves? Both the young and old can stay glued to a screen for hours on end; this has resulted in an increase in mental illness and a breakdown of social life; it has affected the home front in unimaginable ways; parents no longer have time to parent their children; children have chosen the kind of lifestyle they prefer from the internet, and the list goes on. There is always something new to see and read on Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, Twitter, and YouTube, among other platforms. You have Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Chrome, and so on.
According to Sherry Turkle, a sociologist and psychologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the parent-child relationship has been impacted by the devices we carry with us everywhere we go. The parents are using an iPhone, while the children are using an iPad. When a toddler is crying, the parent does not need to investigate the cause; simply give the toddler an IPad with a baby song playing and the cry will be over. Children are exposed to technology at an early age. Crimes have also gone digital. There is undoubtedly a high price to be paid. The result is as bad as being addicted to drugs! The more digital devices you have, the more you desire, and the inventors are not slacking in any way; newer versions of phones are being introduced on a daily basis, newer technological gadgets are being rolled out, and newer social media platforms are being introduced. It’s a fierce battle for the dissatisfied human mind!
Is it possible that all of these negative effects make technology a bad thing? Should we free ourselves from digital enslavement? No, this is akin to tossing the baby out with the bathwater.
Can you imagine today’s world without technology?
There is a need for balance, for social media detox from time to time in order to maintain a healthy life both socially and otherwise; balance is essential. There is a need to establish rules for social media usage, particularly at home, and the willpower to follow such rules must be developed over time.
Whatever you allow to control you eventually becomes your master. In this case, you have the option of not becoming a digital slave.
In our daily use of technology, we must always keep the following saying in mind:
“If future generations are to remember us more with gratitude than sorrow, we must achieve more than just the miracles of technology. We must also leave them a glimpse of the world as it was created, not just as it looked when we got through with it”- Lyndon B. Johnson, Former President of the United States of America
Sources
https://medium.com/the-mission/why-the-brain-cant-resist-facebook-digital-slavery-and-how-to-handle-freedom-726b2c4cef23
https://christianstandard.com/2022/07/the-slavery-of-the-digital-world/
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Author : Amiakhor Beatrice Ejaeta |
MANAGING UNDERPERFORMING TEAM
“Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown”. This Shakespearean proverb applies perfectly to a team leader whose team is underperforming. An underperforming team is always a pain for the team leader; managing such a team and getting them to perform is no easy task, especially when dealing with adults who have their own minds. They may produce negative results if pushed too hard, and they may produce negative results if pampered. The remuneration of team leaders is usually linked to the performance of the team. How does a team leader manage a team that is underperforming and get them to the point where they can perform better?
On most occasions, not all members of the underperforming team are actually performing poorly; a few may be performing well while the rest are not, affecting the team’s performance and putting additional pressure on both the team’s leader and the performing team members. If this situation is not properly managed, the members of the performing team may become discouraged.
The team leader must now identify the reasons for some team members’ underperformance in order to help them get back on track.
A lack of proper communication between team members, team leaders, and team members, individual mistakes, work-related stress, personal issues, toxic work environment, incentive-related issue, ignorance, unclear expectation, confusion, and so on are some of the causes of underperformance.
Whatever the reason, the team leader is charged with turning the team’s performance around and assisting them in meeting the required target. However, the team leader must be able to detect poor performance before it becomes a major threat to the team and the organization. Some signs that someone in a team is not playing their roles effectively include loss of interest in work, disinterest in the organization’s goals, bad behavior, lack of team spirit, and so on.
Some of the steps the team leader had to take to ensure that all team members were on board are as follows:
- Recognize that your situation is not unique to you; there are many other team leaders who are facing or have faced similar challenges. This realization allows you to seek assistance from other team leaders and learn what actions they took when they were in a similar situation.
- Look for assistance outside of the organization, perhaps from mentors and team leaders you admire.
- Try to avoid negative thinking as much as possible. It is very easy to begin thinking you may have been caused, or to begin self-blaming; however, this situation only leads to frustration; instead, consider what part of the situation you can easily handle and begin from there.
- You may want to seek advice from your manager or supervisor, knowing that your manager was once a team leader and may have dealt with similar situations in the past. Discuss your efforts to resolve the situation and inquire about any suggestions they may have for you.
- Avoid being defensive in response to your manager’s reviews or feedback from your teams. It is very easy to become defensive and angry about reviews and feedback, especially when they are negative and you believe you have done everything possible; however, such an attitude only demonstrates your frustration and inability to handle challenges.
- Take a step back and conduct a self-evaluation to determine how effective or ineffective your leadership style is, your relationship with individual team members, and whether the situation necessitates a different type of leadership style.
- Conduct a team assessment, hold a discussion with the team members who are succeeding, and ask them to share their success strategy with the group. Have a one-on-one conversation with the underperforming team members to learn about their strengths and weaknesses, as well as how you can help them in areas of weakness.
- Establish separate goals for the team, assign targets to individual team members, and compensate/applaud minor contributions made by team members.
- Maintain regular communication with the team; communication is critical at this point because you never know what information will be useful.
10. Hold regular meetings to check in on progress, answer questions, and gather feedback from your team.
If, after all of these efforts, you still discover a team member who is struggling to improve their performance, that team member may simply be a square peg in a round hole. You might want to suggest another job function for such a member based on his or her area of strength that you discovered during your work with him or her.
Sources
https://hbr.org/2022/08/what-to-do-if-your-team-is-underperforming/
