I’ve been dating around for a while now, and I’ve found some good partners and some bad partners. But what’s important to me? Well, I’m interested in know the what, how, and why questions. What are you and what is your function in this world? Why are you important? How do you accomplish all the wonderful things you do? If I can answer these three questions, we’re closer to becoming soulmates. But have I found that special one?

LET’S PLAY THE DATING GAME

Freecodecamp

I love their mission and how they’re working with nonprofits. Initially, I really liked how confidently I was moving through the activities. But once I hit JavaScript, we started to grow apart. I couldn’t understand some of the how questions. I was able to make it through most of their projects, but some of that was my growing ability to look at other people’s code and copy it into my projects.

UDACITY

This was one of those relationships where you really want to go out to a fancy dinner, and you know they’ll pay. I was lucky enough to receive the Grow with Google scholarship for Udacity, and was initially really excited. I quickly became frustrated with Udacity wanting to do all the talking, and then quizzing me on whether or not I was paying attention. I don’t want fancy videos, silent videos, or meaningless quizzes. I finished, but that’s because I can’t stand to leave in the middle of a date.

Flatiron School

So much love here. From the moment I stepped into their IDE, I knew there was something special. We could hold a conversation. I learned from them. Their community was amazingly supportive and interested in doing great and meaningful work. They spoke my language. They made skills transferable to the real world. When my bootcamp ended with them, I was heartbroken. Although I had an opportunity to work things out and keep going, I didn’t know if I was worthy of a full commitment. I often think back to our wonderful times together, and wonder if I’ll ever be ready for them. It’s the one I walked away from, but still think of everyday.

Edx

I took an Intro to HTML and JS course just to brush back up on what I’d already learned, and it was a good way to remember some things, but there were major holes in the course and it was obvious that it hadn’t been updated in a while. I didn’t pay for a certification–that’s not something I’m even able to do at this point–and I’m glad I didn’t. I might consider taking another course from them though, as there layout was clean and easy to follow.

I’ve done a little more dating, but these are the major players. With my background in education, I have clear ideas about what education should look like in order to be most effective. Look out for those posts on what makes a program “the one.”