New web development students focus on their skills as they transition into their new industry, but there is more to the industry than just the skills. Learn more about the topics that help build exceptional additions to the industry with special guest Kim Crayton. This 2-part conversation will help listeners understand why Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) matters to career changers, why it's a far bigger issue than just doing the right thing, and how to identify and avoid toxic environments.

New web development students focus on their skills as they transition into their new industry, but there is more to the industry than just the skills. Learn more about the topics that help build exceptional additions to the industry with special guest Kim Crayton. This 2-part conversation will help listeners understand why Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) matters to career changers, why it's a far bigger issue than just doing the right thing, and how to identify and avoid toxic environments.

What do you do when you just can’t bring yourself to start or finish a course or project? Learning web development is a heavily cognitive endeavor, and motivation issues are largely standard. Learn how Nicole has identified and works to overcome her motivation issues, and pick up some tools of your own in the process. For show notes, transcript and key moments, visit the LVEC Podcast website: http://www.lavieencode.net/podcast/022-choosing-motivation-while-learning-to-code

Hackathons can be a scary prospect for new web developers—but they don’t have to be. Nicole tells the story of her first hackathon (which her team won!), and debunks a lot of the myths surrounding hackathons. She highlights women’s hackathons, and why they’re so important to helping women gain confidence in their skills. Finally, she sends listeners off with actionable advice to bring to their first or hackathon. EPISODE BONUS: Download your free checklist “Your Trusty Hackathon Checklist” on...

What is deliberate practice, and how does it differ from “regular” practice? Nicole answers these questions and more, and discusses how you can become a better web developer by integrating deliberate practice into your learning routine. You’ll finish the episode with a new perspective on what it really means to practice something for improvement, versus just going through motions aimlessly. For show notes, transcript and key moments, visit the LVEC Podcast website:...

Have you ever thought of what your career could be like without the constraints of others affecting your output? To have total control over your income potential? In this episode, Nicole talks about why she finally decided that she’d had enough of the company job/freelancing rat race, and instead sought out the entrepreneurship rat race. She takes a humorous, refreshingly honest approach to the challenges of trying to find your place in the web development/tech world, and offers some...

For the fourth and final episode of EdTech September, Nicole shares her tips for getting the most out of your e-Learning platform of choice. She goes more in-depth for each, explaining how they specifically relate to new web development students. You’ll come away from this episode with a better understanding of how your e-Learning platform and other EdTech resources can be best used to jump-start your learning—and keep you ahead of the game! EdTech September brings together for LVEC listeners...

For the third episode of EdTech September, Nicole talks gaming and gamification, highlighting the vital role it can play in increasing learning engagement, and improving outcomes. She shares her experience with educational gaming as a kid, and how it shaped her future learning path. You’ll learn the difference between Game-Based and Gamified learning, how gamification works to make learning with non-game platforms more fun, and how YOU can maximize learning with gamification and games in your...

For the second episode of EdTech September, Nicole introduces listeners to 3 of the fundamental theories of learning that fuel Educational Technology (EdTech): Behaviorism, Constructivism, and Constructionism. Understanding the theories of Behaviorism, Constructivism, and Constructionism helps us craft educational software that learners actually LEARN with. But perhaps more importantly, it can help you better understand TODAY how to better direct your learning, by being aware of the manner by...

Nicole talks about why she focused on an entrepreneurial career in Educational Technology, or EdTech, in 2017. But what IS EdTech? If you've learned to code using online services, tutorials, or courses—you've used EdTech to further your education. Educational Technology, in short, is the convergence of educators and technologists to promote education using the technology we're learning to build. Learn more about what it is, what it looks like, and why it matters. For show notes, transcript...

WordPress is a great addition to your front- and back- web development education - especially if you're open to learning PHP, which already powers 80% of the web, and isn't going anywhere anytime soon. In this episode, Nicole provides some insight as to why new front-end web developers may want to consider growing their career skills with WordPress as a backbone. With a dip of the toes into advanced WordPress development topics like plugin development and Content Management System decoupling,...

Mental illness is a key part of Nicole’s story as a self-taught web developer, and it thoroughly complicated the experience of teaching herself to code. Hear her personal story of struggling against anxiety, depression, and mood disorders while making the career transition from customer service to web development, and some valuable advice for pushing through the hard parts to keep your motivation going. For show notes, transcript and key moments, visit the LVEC Podcast website:...

Writing about your experience learning to code can be a valuable, though challenging, endeavor. In this information-packed hour-long episode, Nicole talks about why it's a worthwhile exercise, and some critical things you'll want to consider before starting your own coding blog. For show notes, transcript and links, visit the episode page at

What happens when you teach people how to learn, then teach them how to code, while putting THEIR needs at the center of your entire platform? Treehouse CEO Ryan Carson joins me on the show for an enlightening discussion around the intersection of technology and education, and how they tackle the enormous challenge of teaching students the skills they need to fill the millions of open software engineering jobs available today. For show notes, transcript and key moments, visit the LVEC Podcast...

Do you like tools? Who doesn't! This week, I share my top 10 web development tools—for my education, and for my freelancing. Pick up a new tool, and let me know what you think! For full show notes and transcript, visit the La Vie en Code podcast episode page at http://www.lavieencode.net/podcast/010-top-ten-web-dev-tools.

In this episode, we're going to take a deep dive into the DOM. Nicole explains what the Document Object Model is, what it looks like, and what we can do with it. And because we can't touch on everything, at the end of the episode, I'll provide some more resources for you to go forth and dominate the DOM. Show notes, key moments, and links are available on the La Vie en Code website: http://www.lavieencode.net/podcast/009-intro-to-js-dom

In this episode, I detail 10 things I've identified that new coders absolutely need to know before they begin teaching themselves the technical stuff. Why is this important? Every day, students start learning to code without any type of plan or goal. The end result is generally frustration, and eventual drop-off. Furthermore, many of these students are career changers, unhappy with their existing jobs, and unable to afford a loss. Everyone can learn to code, but it's not going to be easy, and...

In this episode, I talk to my first in-person coding instructor and good mentor friend, George Mandis of Snaptortoise Development. George is a Portland, Oregon-based freelance web developer, who taught the first classroom-based web development bootcamp I attended when first learning to code, Code Academy at Mount Hood Community College. It turned out, I was already pretty advanced for the class, and he ended up being a great mentor to me! For show notes and episode details, visit the LVEC...

In part 2/2 of our interview, Barb and I talk about the value and power of career changers and self-taught coders, the concept of “second skilling”, why it’s important for anybody to learn programming principles, and we even get into some spicy discourse about the need to shake traditional academia free of well-meaning—but ultimately ineffective—teaching methods. For show notes, key moments, and episode details, visit the episode page:...

In this two-part discussion, we welcome special guest Dr. Barbara Oakley, Professor of Engineering at Oakland University, to adapt some key topics from her record-setting Learning How to Learn and Mindshift Coursera courses and her new book (Mindshift: Break Through Obstacles to Learning and Discover Your Hidden Potential) to self-taught web development students.

Nicole opens up about her first web development position, in a story about why expectation (vs. reality) matters, and how our newbie coder experiences can affect our future career choices.

Self-Taught Student Talks is a sub-series of the LVEC podcast, highlighting self-taught students' accomplishments. This week, we meet Casey Bartholomew, a self-taught front-end web development student juggling full-time work while learning to code.

In episode 2, Nicole discusses the different ways that self-taught web development students learn, and provides some tips for how to get the most out of your education by leveraging those styles in your respective learning environment.

For the inaugural episode of the La Vie en Code podcast, Nicole talks about her own journey in self-taught web development, and how her life lined up perfectly to take the career change plunge.