If someone had told me just 2 months ago that I would be learning Ruby code, HTML, CSS or Ruby on Rails, I would have laughed.  I’m a single mother of 2 teen girls that graduated from college before the internet even existed.   So, how is it that I’m writing a blog (my first one) for Tech Talent  South?  The only answer that I have – Kismet.

I have a varied career background that includes teacher, retail, and buying of both fabric and educational materials.  Several years ago, I wound up buying tech products as a category in my job.  I basically wound up with the category because I was the only one that wasn’t terrified of it.  That additional category led to my current position as an Educational Technology Consultant.

I basically stumbled upon TTS on Twitter.  The tease about what their part time class had to offer sounded really fun and kind of foreign all at the same time.  I’ve always been the type of person to try new things, so I followed the link… and here I am….

We are a bit more than half way through the class and I have learned so much.  I wanted to give a direct comparison of the class experience to some other relatable process… I couldn’t think of one that would do it justice.  That first day of class filled my brain and notebook (I’m old school) with more terms and basics than I could have imagined… and pretty much every class since then has done the same.  My learning process does feel kind of like a roller coaster.

I finish a class with excitement about completing each assignment – and feeling pretty confident.  Then… the tricky thing … the assignments make you think… and search… and just when you are sure there is no way you’ll complete it … ding…  it happens… and that’s the best feeling in the world.  Of course, there are often little bits you are still unsure about, but the Winston Salem instructor is wonderful about getting you up to speed before class starts – and building your confidence.

Then,  I start the next class with confidence and about an hour in… more information… and notes – head feels like it will explode – and by the end of class I’m back up at the start of my last paragraph again (kind of like a loop).

So, where is this going to lead for me?  Right now, to complete an assignment using Ruby on Rails and to add some HTML to what we did in class last night.  I plan to use content from a project that my daughter is doing to kill two birds with one stone by making my site around her topic.  After that?  There is no telling – I plan to take the skills I’ve learned to continue to develop tools to bring technology to young children.  My tool box to pull from is more full, thanks to TTS and this invaluable experience.