Best Online Educational Resources

Education is changing. Quickly, drastically and for the better. It is changing at all levels too. Preschool children know how to use their parents tablet computers. Primary and secondary school students now have an inexhaustible catalogue of information at their fingertips should their curiosity be triggered thanks to the internet. Anyone can now learn anything. In the last 2 years there have been a number of startups that are successfully disrupting education. These guys are providing the best content and offering a very personalised experience, which is gaining a lot of traction, especially in higher education as often these courses are cheap and most of the time free. The following sites are the best sites I have come across. Happy learning.

YouTube

It would be rude to leave out youtube as a lot of the other sites listed below have their own channels.

Udacity

A superb site. I did the How to Build a Startup course by Steve Blank and found it to be amazing. Short videos are used to break up the teachings. Very clean visuals and use of sketches. A wonderful site and amazing course.

Coursera

Coursera offers programmes from some of the worlds most prestigious universities. It also has a great collection and you can even gain a certificate from some of the tracks.

Khan Academy

Another great site similar to Coursera. Offers a variety of courses from sciences to languages.

Code Academy

If you wanted to get started with coding this is the place to start. I did the PHP course and found it very intuitive. All the resources you need to code are on the one page for each lesson. It breaks each part down really well too.

General Assembly 

This is one of the best sites around. Although you have to pay for some of the classes, they post a number of them on their youtube page for free. It is really focussed towards startups and have some industry experts providing the teachings.

Skillshare

Skillshare is a paid website with a twist. It enables anyone, who is an expert in their field, give lessons online and offline. Very similar to General Assembly in the fact that their lessons are focussed towards startups.

Sales: Realise the Problem and Solve It

I have never studied sales. I don’t have a Business or marketing degree. I have however worked various diverse jobs. In college I was delivery man, shop assistant, waiter, bartender, maths tutor, volunteer and a construction worker. When I graduated I became a Civil Engineer.

Why is this relevant you ask. There is one common thing involved in all of these jobs. They all deal with people. And people have problems.

Someone is hungry, they go to a restaurant, where their problem is solved by a waiter. Someone is thirsty, they go to a bar and their thirst problem is solved by the bartender. People go, do and engage with other people (businesses) to fulfil a need or solve a problem.

I know I mentioned it in a previous post but the emphasis should always be on fully understanding the problem. The best sales people I have seen are the people who help the customer realise that they have a problem or some unfulfilled need. These people probe, find out as much information as possible and let the customer tell them what they want. They then offer something that will solve this freshly realised problem. This method of helping the customer realise the problem is particularly prominent in the tech industry, especially B2B. Companies like Salesforce, Box and Intercom all have superb technology but I am guessing their biggest issue is helping potential customers realise the problem that their respective solution solves.

This may be a simplistic view on things but it has worked in bars, restaurants, shops and civil engineering.

 

Best Popular Science Books

I have always found that the stories behind the greatest scientific discoveries are often more intriguing than the actual discoveries. Below is a list of the best popular science books I have read.

1. A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson

Perhaps my favourite book of all time. It delves into the age of the earth, atoms and evolution whilst at the same time providing stories about the personalities involved in these discoveries. The book explains complicated scientific theories by providing wonderful analogies. A must read for anyone slightly interested in either science or history.

2. E=mc2, David Bodanis

A great biography about how the terms “E”, “m” and “c” came to be. Bodanis highlights the achievements that enabled Einstein to create his most famous equation. Like Brysons book, the most intriguing parts of this book are the human stories behind the discoveries such as the race between Heisenberg and Oppenheimer to develop the nuclear bomb.

3. Fermats Last Theorem, Simon Singh

More mathematics than science, Singh’s book provides a superb account of the history of mathematics. The reader is take on an amazing journey from ancient Greece where we encounter Pythagoras uncovering the theorem that bears his name to 17th century France where Pierre de Fermat posed the riddle that would be unproven for 350 years.

4. The Code Book, Simon Singh

Singh once again provides simple explanations that unravels the complex world of ciphers, codes and riddles. Once again we are taken on a wonderful journey from ancient Egypt to Bletchley Park and arrive at how modern day computer cryptography works. Similar to Fermats Last Theorem, Singh tells the tale in a manner very much a kin to a Jeffrey Archer novel, full with twists and turns, even more amazing when you realise that the story is actually true.

These books are great for anyone remotely interested in science as they provide a wonderful starting point for any novice. The authors simplify the most complicated of topics  via simple analogies and interesting stories to simultaneously inform and delight the reader.

Tips for New Graduates

First of all this post is not meant to be “preachy”. I would agree with the Sunscreen songs view of advice as “a form of nostalgia”. This post is merely to share some tips I have learned from people much smarter than me during time spent in a graduate programme over 4 years ago. It is a great time for anyone when the land that most sought after job. You can finally start earning money. A wish list has probably been made since the first year of college. iPads, Cars, and a bit of throwing around money. You might have to go out and buy a few suits, shirts and always a new pair of shoes. I have learned these from a number of people.

1. Observe & Listen

When starting a job always, always observe and listen. You may be bursting with great ideas, which is great however at the beginning it is so important to gauge what the workplace dynamics are. Find out who is the best to talk to about a topic, who is approachable, who you have most in common with. Basically find out every possible thing you can about the place you will be working for the foreseeable future. This does not mean be mute, if someone asks you a question, think and answer. The sooner you understand how things work, the quicker you will learn, the quicker you will excel at your job.

2. Ask Questions

Never be afraid of answering questions. Your colleagues understand that you are new and most people love answering questions. Ask in a way that appeals to their ego, for example “Hey Dave, I am having a problem with X. What would you do?”. By asking in this manner you are complimenting them by asking for their expertise.

3. Understand the Problem

Einstein once said “If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask, for once I know the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes.” When dealing with a problem it is imperative that you fully understand the question asked, determining the different aspects of the problem. Then and only then can you come up with a best solution. This is specifically important for new graduates. Spend time on the problem as a hasty solution will often come back and bite you. Before you know it, you are spending twice the amount of time re-visiting the problem which does not make a good first impression.

4. Problem Solving

When tackling a problem. I have always liked to try and tease it out myself first and think of 3 possible solutions. Always 3, no matter how stupid or realistic one of them is, it shows that you have tried to understand the problem fully and have looked at it from all aspects. Then if you are still stuck or need to confirm it with someone they can tell you why some solution may work and why some won’t. This is a great way to learn.

5. 80/20 Rule

One of the first productivity hacks I was ever taught was while working on a project in Dublin Airport. I was told that 80% of the work can be done in 20% of the time. This little nugget has stuck with me ever since. Whenever tasked with an exercise such as financial reports on excel just get stuff down. Before you know it you will have the majority of the work done with the remainder left for formatting etc.

These are the most useful tips I have received and still try and use today. I suppose they could be used by professionals in general, however I know that if I came across these tips when first starting work, it would have made my life a whole lot easier at the beginning.

Good luck on your career, and don’t waste your first months salary on gadgets and beer. Bring your family out for dinner. These are the people who have sacrificed and experienced college with you.

Best Startup Articles

I’m a big fan of startups. Every morning without fail the first apps opened are Twitter, Fast Company, Business Insider, TechCrunch and more recently Quora to find out what is happening in the startup world. I have been doing this religiously for the past 3 years and have amassed quite a list of web clippings thanks to the wonderful Pocket App. Everything from advice, trends, learning code, success and failures mentioned is covered, this is just a little list of articles I just keep on coming back to.

1. Vinicius Vacanti’s blog is a great read. I especially like this his article on how to find a technical co-founder.

http://viniciusvacanti.com/2010/09/07/guide-to-finding-a-technical-co-founder/

2. Dan Martell has some cracking insights about startups, life hacks and sales.

http://www.danmartell.com/

3. Jason Goldberg, CEO of Fab.com, wrote this blog post which could easily be the basis for a bestselling book. An amazing, thorough list of startup values.

http://betashop.com/post/32913573235/90-things-ive-learned-from-founding-4-technology?06b24be0

4. I found this video on VentureBeat. A host of Startup all stars talking about the highs and lows of entrepreneurs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=zq4_Uf1jQE8

5. Any of Tim Ferriss’ lectures are extremely interesting. In this video he talks about how to build a prototype.

http://www.fastcompany.com/3001710/tim-ferrisss-tips-manufacturing-prototype

6. Steve Blank’s VentureBeat article on open source entrepreneurship is a list of a bunch of free tools for every aspect of a startup.

http://venturebeat.com/2012/11/27/free-resources-for-startups/

7. This is a great post on Quora about what Stanford students did with just $5 seed capital.

http://www.quora.com/Investing/I-have-5-What-is-the-best-way-to-invest-and-grow-my-money

8. Frontlines Ventures produced an all encompassing view of the Irish tech scene.

http://www.slideshare.net/FrontlineVC/the-irish-tech-startup-guide

9. Paul Graham talks about how to get ideas.

http://paulgraham.com/startupideas.html

10. 12 Rules for Building your first profitable startup.

http://www.layeredthoughts.com/startups/12-rules-for-building-your-first-profitable-startup

I’m sure there is loads of stuff I missed. These are just a few that I found interesting. Feel free to add more. Happy reading.

Ikea Hack: Laptop Stand

Having just finished a 2500 word report and leaning back I realised that I had a serious pain in my neck from crouching over the laptop for what must have been 4 hours. I decided I needed a laptop stand couldn’t afford the petrol to get to Harvey Normans never mind the stuff inside.

So the quest for a laptop stand began.

Initial results varied. Slick aluminium ones were nice but way to expensive and although some of the home made solutions were fit for purpose they looked terrible. A first world dilemma if I have ever heard one.

So in times of crisis, there is only one place to turn. Ikea. If you’re hungry, get the meatballs. If you’re tired, take a nap. If you’re up for a bit of fun, hide in the wardrobes and scare people.

Ikea Laptop Stand

Ikea Laptop Stand 2

I eventually found all the bits for my new stand.

2 Shelve Brackets http://www.ikea.com/ie/en/catalog/products/50217530/#/80142067

1 Shelf http://www.ikea.com/ie/en/catalog/products/50178703/

2 Pieces of rubber found in the shed

6 screws

Total Cost = €3.10

All you have to do is

1. Cut the shelf to the length of your laptop.

2. Screw in brackets. Make sure the depth of the screw is not too long.

3. Screw in rubber stoppers.

Job done. Happy hacking.