How do you learn a new skill/framework/technology?

Question

I need to be able to contribute to a relatively large Adobe AIR project and I'm starting from scratch with this technology. What's the best way to go about it?

I usually get a good book/tutorial and work my way through it but this time it seems there's just too much to learn for this to be feasible within a reasonable time frame. I would need books on Actionscript, FLEX, etc...

Do you know of any good resources that might be useful for this particular case?

How would you go about it if you were in my shoes?

Answer 1

I usually find online tutorials are the best way to go. They are more to the point than books, so it's usually quicker to get up to speed. And don't limit yourself to a single resource. I've never had problems finding enough tutorials through our friend google.

I have no knowledge about Adobe AIR though. I assume your customer knows you're a noob too? ;D

Answer 2

I just had to do something similar. If you can afford it (or, get your company to pay for it), try doing a training class. I did one by Figleaf software a couple months ago and it really helped.

As for books, I hear the Essential Actionscript 3 book is good (I have the one for AS2 and it's quite good). Flex is really just the SDK. You'll be doing most of your work in AS3 and MXML.

Another really good thing to do is download the SDK and start playing with it. Think of a couple small apps to do, then write them in Flex. I did this at work (wrote a couple util Apps in Flex to learn it). I find the best way to learn is to do it, and the SDK is free so there shouldn't be anything stopping you.

Answer 3

I'm a big advocate of active learning, which is described in detail, here. Essentially, when you are trying to learn a new technology: read about it, discuss it with your peers, teach it to people who are even newer to the technology, and most importantly, get your hands dirty.

A perfect example of how you can learn new things is by getting involved with a community such as stackoverflow, or a discussion forum based around what you would like to learn (http://www.adobe.com/devnet/air/), or even by contributing to an open-source project.

Of course, none of the above is as effective as trying new things out. In order to learn new technologies (in my honest opinon), it is best to dive in "head-first" and try things out.

Answer 4

Hello World for AIR, then progressively add detail. Aggressively use any communities out there. Blog about your experience. One day you will help someone else.

Today you are learning, tomorrow you are teaching.

Answer 5

1. I download samples from the Internet, and run them, mess with them, try to change them and understand how they work.
2. I subscribe to blogs on the topic and do samples, try to understan the stuff people write about.
3. And I do samples :) So I basically learn from the top - down. First I get the general sense of the technology, and then I drill down with the samples to the parts that I find interesting. Works pretty well. :)