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What is your best method or place to learn electronics?

This poll is to know how Element14 community members gained most of their knowledge in electronics. I personally prefer practical learning which is now getting implemented as STEM learning over theoretical learning. Cast your votes if you have your opinion listed, else please leave a comment.

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  • Hi, personally, I am much more of a hands-on person. Mainly because I come from the software engineering background. So, I believe in the best practice of not trying to figure out all the details before you start something. Usually, the case is that by the time you have figured out all the details, the relevance of your idea to the real world might have shifted or changed. (Agile-UX Mindset)

     

    Practical Hands-on

    ==========================================

     

    1. Investing in Evaluation Boards and Development Kits. I love lab exercises, so I would look for evaluation boards and kits that have some sort of a guide that I can follow along. To help ensure better productivity in learning, I like to invest in kits that have some form of a printed guide because I don't need to depend on having the internet in order to learn.
    2. Exploding LEDs, short-circuits, burning out fuses...you get the idea. I think that truly learning in electronics comes from pushing the limits of what is possible but do so with some level of understanding and wisdom first. You do need to know a bit of theory as well. But for someone whose hands-on and practical like me, I normally detest theoretical concepts, so it is usually quite tough to force myself to sit down and go through an entire chapter or two. But nothing ever beats the learning experience you get when you brick your first microcontroller or fry your first circuit board. I think when we make mistakes, that is when we truly learn.
    3. Practice...Practice...Practice. It might sound weird, but I enjoy investing in various starter kits because, in every different lab exercises, you can always learn something new. Sure, the first few "hello world" blinky LED examples are always the same, but I am usually much more interested in the last few lab exercises. It is always worth the investment. Plus you get more electronics parts and leftovers for your next great idea.

     

    Watching Videos...Listening to the Experts

    ==========================================

     

    I come from a background where I've learned things the hard way, took the long road to get to where I want to be. And it is after that I really appreciated being able to learn from the experiences of other experts. I've watched more than 500 hours of youtube videos over the last 6 weeks alone. I would sometimes work and watch and listen to youtube videos at the same time. It's challenging, but I realised that I've learned so much more in those 6 weeks than I ever would if I had paid for a degree course (no offense to those that actually got a degree)

     

    Don't make the same mistake trying to first make the same mistakes that others before you have already made. There is a reason why they are sharing their advice online, it so that they can help others advance and progress forward faster and better. It is the very same reason why I am an ambassador (officially or unofficially) for some tools and platforms.

     

    Finally, Theory and Concepts

    ==========================================

     

    For those who do not know me (I think most in this community probably don't), I studied in a local Polytechnic in Singapore. Nanyang Poly to be precise. In my experience, both in school and later in my years of career is that doing the lab exercises first and then later reading the textbook really helped to make more sense. If all you have in theoretical concepts and theories, you'll find that more often than not, you probably won't use even 10% of those theories in the real world. As one of the industry leaders in the Asia Pacific region, I travel often and I meet different people. More often than not, I do find myself in a position of influence where I get to advice those with more degrees and Ph.D.s than I can count. But honestly, it is truly a humbling experience for me, still, it reaffirms my beliefs that having practice knowledge is much more useful than just head knowledge.

     

    I am not saying that theory is not helpful. I think having those theoretical understand does solidify what we have already experienced on the breadboard beforehand. It reinforces the learning and helps you to remember better. But beyond that, it helps with REAL WORLD CRITICAL THINKING and PROBLEM SOLVING TECHNIQUES. I've learned that my practical knowledge actually made me more valuable than my Diploma from years before.

     

    Conclusion

    ==========================================

    I hope that what I have said in this post will really help others to benefit in their own journey into Embedded Systems Design & Development as well as Electronics and Makerspace.

Comment

  • Hi, personally, I am much more of a hands-on person. Mainly because I come from the software engineering background. So, I believe in the best practice of not trying to figure out all the details before you start something. Usually, the case is that by the time you have figured out all the details, the relevance of your idea to the real world might have shifted or changed. (Agile-UX Mindset)

     

    Practical Hands-on

    ==========================================

     

    1. Investing in Evaluation Boards and Development Kits. I love lab exercises, so I would look for evaluation boards and kits that have some sort of a guide that I can follow along. To help ensure better productivity in learning, I like to invest in kits that have some form of a printed guide because I don't need to depend on having the internet in order to learn.
    2. Exploding LEDs, short-circuits, burning out fuses...you get the idea. I think that truly learning in electronics comes from pushing the limits of what is possible but do so with some level of understanding and wisdom first. You do need to know a bit of theory as well. But for someone whose hands-on and practical like me, I normally detest theoretical concepts, so it is usually quite tough to force myself to sit down and go through an entire chapter or two. But nothing ever beats the learning experience you get when you brick your first microcontroller or fry your first circuit board. I think when we make mistakes, that is when we truly learn.
    3. Practice...Practice...Practice. It might sound weird, but I enjoy investing in various starter kits because, in every different lab exercises, you can always learn something new. Sure, the first few "hello world" blinky LED examples are always the same, but I am usually much more interested in the last few lab exercises. It is always worth the investment. Plus you get more electronics parts and leftovers for your next great idea.

     

    Watching Videos...Listening to the Experts

    ==========================================

     

    I come from a background where I've learned things the hard way, took the long road to get to where I want to be. And it is after that I really appreciated being able to learn from the experiences of other experts. I've watched more than 500 hours of youtube videos over the last 6 weeks alone. I would sometimes work and watch and listen to youtube videos at the same time. It's challenging, but I realised that I've learned so much more in those 6 weeks than I ever would if I had paid for a degree course (no offense to those that actually got a degree)

     

    Don't make the same mistake trying to first make the same mistakes that others before you have already made. There is a reason why they are sharing their advice online, it so that they can help others advance and progress forward faster and better. It is the very same reason why I am an ambassador (officially or unofficially) for some tools and platforms.

     

    Finally, Theory and Concepts

    ==========================================

     

    For those who do not know me (I think most in this community probably don't), I studied in a local Polytechnic in Singapore. Nanyang Poly to be precise. In my experience, both in school and later in my years of career is that doing the lab exercises first and then later reading the textbook really helped to make more sense. If all you have in theoretical concepts and theories, you'll find that more often than not, you probably won't use even 10% of those theories in the real world. As one of the industry leaders in the Asia Pacific region, I travel often and I meet different people. More often than not, I do find myself in a position of influence where I get to advice those with more degrees and Ph.D.s than I can count. But honestly, it is truly a humbling experience for me, still, it reaffirms my beliefs that having practice knowledge is much more useful than just head knowledge.

     

    I am not saying that theory is not helpful. I think having those theoretical understand does solidify what we have already experienced on the breadboard beforehand. It reinforces the learning and helps you to remember better. But beyond that, it helps with REAL WORLD CRITICAL THINKING and PROBLEM SOLVING TECHNIQUES. I've learned that my practical knowledge actually made me more valuable than my Diploma from years before.

     

    Conclusion

    ==========================================

    I hope that what I have said in this post will really help others to benefit in their own journey into Embedded Systems Design & Development as well as Electronics and Makerspace.

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