Catching on Coding

Posted September 17, 2014 by L. Kelly Fitzpatrick

We at Simmons have been known to run the spectrum of professions and interests within the information sciences. Whether stemming from personal passion or outside necessity, developing your own sense technological literacy and pushing it to the limits is a huge part of your academic career and an even bigger part of your larger ambitions as an information professional. As we set our sights on post-graduation opportunity, we should start thinking about how we can become not only tech users, but tech creators.

Growing up, coding was synonymous to me with being the forum regular with the coolest post signature – boasting countless animated sparkle fonts, flaming clip art, and the lime green courier font of 1337 h4x0rs of yore. Today, coding means something much bigger – and learning to code became the tether between the tech I use on a daily basis, and me understanding the tech I use on daily basis.

Let’s be real for a second – looking at a code document for the first time can look like an insurmountable wall of numerical hell. “what is any of this” “what is anything” “what is life” you may ask yourself, gazing into a void of incoherent acronyms, formulas, and formatting decisions. But don’t worry – it won’t be that way for long with the following inventory of mighty useful tools to help send you on your coding journey:

1. Class. You’ve heard it – but seriously; take as many tech-infused classes as you can during your time in SLIS. Your classmates and helpful professors will have your back as you wade through the terrifying reeds of encoding, content standards, and metadata. Once the semester is over, you will emerge valiant and thank yourself for those sleepless nights.

2. CodeAcademy. A game-ified learning resource full of [and not to mention free] lessons that will take you all the way from HTML/CSS and Javascript to languages like PHP, Ruby, and Python.

3. w3schools has long been a fairly authoritative reference source for all things computer-language-related. Need to know the CSS color code for that specific shade of mint green you love? Can’t remember exactly how you should structure that if/then statement? w3schools has your back.

4. Skillcrush Blog. Aspiring designer or developer? Established techie looking to better establish yourself in the field? Primarily geared toward women who code, this blog has the potential to take just about anyone’s professional endeavor game up a level.

Learning how to code won’t just make your resumé a beacon of awesome for potential employers. You’ll become more technologically self sufficient and gain the ability to confidently go forth, taking a more active role in the creation and use of new technologies that you see a need for. After stepping into the world of coding, don’t freak out – just move forward and the skills will come.