Journey to the Center of the Cloud: Part 3Editor’s note: For more information, read the first two posts in this series: “2 Reasons to Learn to Code in the Cloud” and “Learning to Code Java and Experiencing the Power of the Cloud”

With the back-to-school in the news, I have had feelings of teacher appreciation as we take this journey to the center of the cloud. I wonder where Mrs. Galiette is, and hope she is doing well.  She was my Computer Science teacher from St. Pius X High School. She challenged my problem solving skills, gave me free reign in creativity, and taught me the proper use of the term “behooves.”

She took us to first place at the Texas Computer Education Association programming competition. (Thanks, Dad, for digging this out of my old closet and texting a picture of it to me.)

Beginner’s cloud – 3 steps for moving forward

I boiled down Mrs. Galiette’s teaching success to a 3-pronged approach that we can use to better understand and navigate cloud:

1. Learn the concept

With some help from Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Java Programming, I have learned some basic concepts of Java, including variables, loops, and if-else statements.  This led to creating my first object and then a method to initialize it.

2. Apply the concept

Head First Java is helping me take these concepts, and in an entertaining format, apply them in a tangible fashion.

3. Filter the overwhelming amounts of information

I did not take the computer science path as I continued my formal education.  To compensate, I have tried to absorb every piece of information I come across.  I am finding at times I am spinning my wheels and making little progress — too much information can increase confusion. Taking a measured approach can make learning easier.

Starting simple with cloud

I floundered a bit when I began learning about the concept of cloud.  I tried taking in every piece of information I could find.  I recently had the opportunity to speak with people at vmWorld who felt overwhelmed with information.  The attendees’ proficiency levels ranged from overcoming the fear of cloud all the way to learning how to integrate a private cloud with a public cloud. They came to learn and several commented to me that they were dizzy from the plethora of information available at the event.  Recent blogs and videos  I have seen share this sentiment.

My recommendation is to start with an overview of cloud.  Then continue with narrowed research on how this fits into your world.  Taking my own advice, while I am on the journey getting lost in if-else loops, my next steps will be to find out more about what the cloud can do for application development.

Have you hosted an app in the cloud?  Where do you go to learn more about cloud?  What are your favorite resources?