This is CS50!!
LOL, no this isn't. This is just me making a case for CS50, why I think it's the most useful course to self-improve as a newbie developer. But before I make my case what even is CS50?
What is CS50?
CS50 is Harvard's introduction to the intellectual enterprises of Computer Science and the art of programming. For majors and non-majors alike, with or without prior programming experience. CS50 has become more than just an introductory CS course at Harvard, it's gone beyond Harvard since it came on EDX in 2012 and it's now "a cultural touchstone, a lifestyle, a spectacle", says The Harvard Crimson. It has also amassed a large global community online.
CS50 has evolved and keeps evolving since coming online and now has various variants of its original offering CS50x.
CS50x focuses on a broad and robust understanding of computer science and programming. It teaches students how to think algorithmically and solve problems efficiently. Topics include abstraction, algorithms, data structures, encapsulation, resource management, security, software engineering, and web development. Languages include C, Python, SQL, and JavaScript plus CSS and HTML. Problem sets are inspired by real-world domains of biology, cryptography, finance, forensics, and gaming.
CS50T, This is CS50's introduction to technology for students who don’t (yet) consider themselves computer persons. Designed for those who work with technology every day but don’t necessarily understand how it all works underneath the hood or how to solve problems when something goes wrong, this course fills in the gaps, empowering you to use and troubleshoot technology more effectively. Through lectures on hardware, the Internet, multimedia, security, programming, and web development, this course equips you with today’s technology and prepares you for tomorrow’s as well. Recommended to be taken before the original course if you don't consider yourself a computer person and my bet is many newbies fall under this category.
Other variants include: CS50W, CS50's Web Programming with Python and JavaScript CS50P, CS50's Introduction to Programming with Python CS50AI, CS50's Introduction to Artificial Intelligence with Python CS50 Law, CS50 Business, CS50 Mobile, CS50 Game, CS50 Beyond.
I think I have done justice in presenting what CS50 is, I shall now present my case.
Case 1: The Presentation
Harvard's CS50 is nothing like a typical lecture where you have a lecturer, a blackboard, and occasionally a projector. Every lecture at Harvard CS50 feels like an orchestra performance, a big musical concert by your favorite artist, or a big tech event that is intended to make learning fun, and memorable and make even non-cs majors like me passionate about CS.
CS50 is presented in such a way that is engaging and important even for students of the humanities. Concepts are explained with rich resources, great visualization, illustrations, and no prior knowledge assumed. Making it one of the best beginner-friendly courses. Concepts like the merge sort algorithm which is usually hard to grasp are easily picked up by even a non-cs major and live forever rent-free in our brains because of the beautiful visualization employed. It's because of this great teaching methodology that I recommend CS50.
Case 2: Innovation
Taking CS50 never ends for me even after taking my first one. Each semester CS50 is presented in a new light, with the newest inventions like a 3D printer on display, the latest technologies demonstrated and applied in problem-solving, and the hottest topics in the tech space discussed like cybersecurity or the Cloud.
Even after seemingly perfecting the model for the course, CS50 always keeps evolving, bringing new innovative teaching methods, tools, and inventions to the course each year.
Case 3: Challenging & Fun
CS50 is fun and employs a real-world problem-solving first approach. Every concept is always studied with a real-world case study. This stimulates a greater appreciation of the concept learned.
At the end of each lecture, we are usually required to complete the real-world project we worked on while learning the concept and are always encouraged to explore our creative abilities in creating a solution for the project. This is always fun for me because I not only learn a new concept but also gain experience in creative problem-solving. Often requiring me to apply creative methods beyond my domain like story-telling using Scratch programming language.
Last case: Learning community & culture
CS50 has a huge learning community on Facebook, Youtube, Twitch, and Twitter. You feel like you are part of a global community while taking the course and with every program held. Unlike other courses, you never get stuck because you always have thousand of other students ready to help.
I feel I could go on and on but I hope this here inspires your self-improvement as a newbie developer.
Thanks for reading.