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Decentraland (second) art week 2021

The Decentraland Art Week 2021 is in total a magnificent event, that gives the opportunity to talented artists, technologists, and NFT enthusiasts to gather all together and share their common passion, NFTs.

Featured image courtesy of Decetraland

Today is the 8th day of the Decentraland art week 2021 and the beginning of the second week that starts with the AvantGarde launch party. According to Decentraland: “AvantGarde is an upcoming generative art platform where you can mint unique NFTs based on your Ethereum address generated by deep-learning algorithms.”

Decentraland art week 2021 8th day AvantGarde. Courtesy of Decentraland

There is still time to register at AvantGarde, mint your NFTs and become part of the AvantGardist community. Registering gives users access to the lounge area that is restricted to minters, so users can meet and chat with other AvantGardists, find relevant collabs, bid at NFT auctions and receive an airdrop of DCL wearables.

Day 9

A series of upcoming Decentraland events are programmed to take place during the following days. So for day 9, the “art duo Hackatao features at M○C△ ’s intriguing Sculpture Garden.”

Decentraland art week 2021 9th day moca. Courtesy of Decentraland

According to Decentraland “M○C△’s Sculpture Garden in Decentraland features a unique collection of 3D objects in a surrealist context. The exhibit highlights Hackatao’s Leonardo Da Vinci-inspired sculpture, employing the same stylistic goals of this work: modernizing genius from the Italian Renaissance in a digital context.”

Day 10

The 10th day includes a presentation of a large-scale metaverse activation by NFTS.wtf (in collaboration with the 100x community).

Decentraland art week 2021 10th day 100xARt. Courtesy of Decentraland

According to Decentraland, apart from the presentation of numerous “cutting-edge artists, there will be a panel discussion exploring the future of spaces in the metaverse, wearable virtual fashion, music and NFTs, plus a round table film industry crypto discussion.”

Final day: After Party by Graffiti Kings

According to Decentraland, the “self-described bunch of deluded professional misfits the Graffiti Kings are a legendary collective of London street artists.” They will fill the virtual walls of the party with “colorful urban artworks.”

Decentraland art week 2021 after party. Courtesy of Decentraland.

Graffiti Kings will soundtrack the whole event where “house master” will be “DJ James Parkes” accompanied by the “former frontman for The Shamen, Ebeneezer Goode himself, Mr C.”

A small glimpse at the previous days


A series of events took place during the previous days: Day 1: a block party in Vegas City Arts Village, Day 2: Day 2 the Grand opening of Portion Museum in Voltaire District, Day 3: Playboy returns to Decentraland, Day 4: Music & Art Festival by Art District powerhouse KnownOrigin, Day 5: Proper Recognition exhibition by Ben Eine, Day 6: MakersPlace’s selection of artists and Day 7: Boxhead a creation of Spanish artist Begoña Toledo.

All things considered, the Decentraland Art Week 2021 is in total a magnificent event, that gives the opportunity to talented artists, technologists, and NFT enthusiasts to gather all together and share their common passion, NFTs.


This article does not have any basis on paid advertisement, affiliation, or sponsorship by any of the organizations or people mentioned below. This article expresses my opinion based on my personal experience and views.

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NFT artists: LadLan

LadLan, a young, passionate, genuine NFTartist.

This article does not have any basis on paid advertisement, affiliation, or sponsorship by any of the organizations or people mentioned below. This article expresses my opinion based on my personal experience and views.


NFTs and digital art are almost synonymous nowadays. I was always wondering about the artists behind NFTart. Who are these people, what do they look like, what are they thinking, how do they perceive the world? Luckily, I had the rare opportunity to meet and interview LadLan, a young, passionate NFTartist.

The LadLan philosophy

LadLan: Courtesy of Ladlan

LadLan is a Persian artist who wants to “express words and feelings by drawing and making art” because as she says “we humans trust our eyes more than our ears.” LadLan wants to transform the world, she wants to “turn ugly and bad things and pains into beautiful things” through her art. She intends to attract the viewers’ attention and make them think more about those topics. LadLan‘s art is telling “the story of pain and numbness.”

How did LadLan become an artist?

LadLan: Courtesy of Ladlan

I was curious about how LadLan decided to become an artist. LadLan explained that she was a very energetic and curious child with artistic inclinations. After exploring different disciplines such as music, photography, and fashion design, LadLan concluded: “in the end, what satisfied my soul was the production of paintings and art.”

About LadLan’s NFTart

LadLan believes that her NFTs reflects the spirit of her paintings. She remains genuine and never changed her artistic approach because of the market. LadLan intends to show the “words behind her work” to as many people as possible within the international community.

The End of Rape: Courtesy of LadLan

Being a techie most of my life I understand that artists are not attracted to technical subjects as blockchain, crypto and NFTs. This is why I was wondering if an artist could easily go online and use new technology such as NFTs. LadLan resolved my questions with her answer: “honestly, all of us humans are afraid of the unknown and we get confused quickly, but NFTs, like everything else, need study and awareness. With enough awareness, any subject becomes an easily understood subject.”

Civil War: Courtesy of LadLan

LadLan‘s NFTart is honest and bold, reveals her talent and transmits her messages. You can find LadLan‘s NFTs online at the Foundation app. Her NFTs are impossible to ignore or forget as they have an impact on the viewer. LadLan is an artist that will be recognised and discussed in the future as her beautiful and sensitive soul is reflected in her artwork.

You can find LadLan on Twitter, YouTube and Instagram and of course at the Foundation app.

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Become an AvantGarde NFTartist with the power of AI

Anyone can become an NFTartist with the help of AI, powered by AvantGarde NFTs.

This article does not have any basis on paid advertisement, affiliation, or sponsorship by any of the organizations or people mentioned below. This article expresses my opinion based on my personal experience and views.

The NFTart ecosystem is growing day by day. To this end, we have seen several different types of NFTart, some of which were created by famous artists. This has pictured the NFTart landscape as inaccessible to mere mortal non-artists. However, AvantGarde has a unique idea, that is to give the possibility to everyone to become an NFT artist with the help of AI.

AvantGarde uses deep learning

Courtesy of AvantGarde

A deep learning algorithm that takes as input the user’s wallet address generates unique abstract images automatically. As AvantGarde states, “no two images are similar” and this happens because each image is created based on the user’s unique Ethereum address.

After the image is generated by the AvantGarde algorithm, it needs to be minted on the (Ethereum) blockchain to establish ownership. Since the user is the owner of the unique Ethereum address used in the process of image creation, only the owner of this address can mint the NFT on the blockchain. After minting, owners are free to use their NFTart as they wish, keep it, sell it, go back to AvantGarde and sell it there or even burn it.

The AvantGarde ecosystem

As we already mentioned, images created by AvantGarde’s AI need to be minted to become NFTs. The minting price is defined by a bonding curve (a mathematical function). The bonding curve takes into account the number of circulating tokens at a given moment. If the number of tokens (within the AvantGarde ecosystem) rises, the price rises, if tokens get burned the price drops.

Bonding curve - AvantGarde ecosystem
Courtesy of AvantGarde

The interesting part is that there is an opportunity for users to return back to AvantGarde anytime and sell their tokens. As AvantGarde claims, there are always funds available to buy back those NFTs. According to AvantGarde, NFT owners can make a profit if the bonding curve indicates the price has risen.

About AvantGarde

Courtesy of AvantGarde

AvantGarde started as a machine learning experiment in 2017 from an idea that flourished and resulted in the creation of a company. The multidisciplinary team consists of artists, painters, 2D/3D designers, music producers, blockchain developers and front-end developers. To read more about AvantGarde and potentially (why not) become an NFTartist you can visit their official website at https://beta.avant-garde.gallery/. The project is currently at beta stage, the official launching date is the 15th of July 2021.

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Bitcoin

What is Bitcoin?

Featured image: Darwin Laganzon from Pixabay

This article does not have any basis on paid advertisement, affiliation, or sponsorship by any of the organizations or people mentioned below. This article expresses my opinion based on my personal experience and views.

Bitcoin has always been at the forefront of cryptocurrencies. Since 2008, when it was first presented by — the until today unidentified — Satoshi Nakamoto (it is not clear yet whether Satoshi Nakamoto is one person or a group of people), noise always surrounded this famous digital asset. On the one hand, Bitcoin became very popular since it is a decentralized digital currency that can be sent from user to user (peer-to-peer) directly without intermediaries (financial institutions or administrators). On the other hand, the fact that Bitcoin’s ownership was anonymous (at least during the beginning) paved the way for its misuse on the dark web and its vilification. With this in mind, we will dive deeper into the core of Bitcoin and try to analyze the technical aspects of Bitcoin in an attempt to understand what it is.

Courtesy of VIN JD from Pixabay

What is Bitcoin ? (A very simple explanation)

Firstly, let us define what is Bitcoin in simple terms. For those users that have absolutely no idea about coding (computer programming) and the technicalities of digital products in general, this is the simplest way to define Bitcoin. (You can also view the video below as suggested by bitcoin.org to get a general idea about Bitcoin). Simply put, Bitcoin is a representation of a group of information (data). The data represented by Bitcoin are online financial transactions. These data are recorded in chronological order and categorised in small chunks called blocks that altogether form a sequence or else chain (the blockchain). Many blocks constitute larger groups represented by a digital coin that is called Bitcoin.

Courtesy of WeUseCoins

What is Bitcoin and why was it created? (according to Satoshi Nakamoto’s paper)

Satoshi Nakamoto created Bitcoin to solve the problem of double-spending in online transactions. In his original paper titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.” Nakamoto suggested electronic peer-to-peer cash to avoid double-spending by eliminating financial institutions as intermediaries. According to Satoshi Nakamoto, financial institutions are using the Trust-Based Model in online transactions. Nakamoto postulates that the Trust-based model the following flaws. 
Firstly, increased transaction fees due to the involvement of intermediary parties. 
Secondly, loss due to inability to address the problem of “non-reversible payments for non-reversible services”.
And finally, loss tolerance up to an amount due to inevitable fraud. 

Ulterior States was completely self-funded and produced as a final project for: London South Bank University [MA – Arts & Humanity – Digital Film]. A Film By Tomer Kantor – An IamSatoshi Production.

According to Satoshi Nakamoto, such flaws do not exist in transactions that use cash. Therefore, he outlines the need for an electronic payments ecosystem that would resemble the physical (cash) ecosystem. His proposal is a payment system based on cryptographic proof instead of trust that would allow any two parties to transact with each other, directly without the need of a third party. Moreover, sellers would be protected from fraud by transactions that would be computationally impractical to reverse, while buyers would be protected by “routine escrow mechanisms” that could be implemented accordingly. Furthermore, Nakamoto provides technical details with respect to the implementation of a peer-to-peer timestamp server that would generate computational proof of the chronological order of transactions and outlines that the system would be secure as long as “honest nodes” collectively own more CPU power than “attacker nodes.”

Courtesy of SQ1.tv

Some thoughts about Bitcoin

Bitcoin is a very well structured idea that could solve a problem. All of the crazy headlines that colour Bitcoin with dark shades or bright light have nothing to do with its true nature. Bitcoin’s representation as the coin of the villains is far from true as every transaction on the chain contains detailed information given during the transaction. Therefore, if a transaction takes place on a specific platform (i.e. an e-shop), will this platform provide information about the user? As an example, one of the darkest uses of Bitcoin happened on the Silk Road marketplace, a completely anonymous Darknet black market website for buying or selling illegal products or services.

Is Bitcoin the way forward, or a high-risk currency with little practical value? Courtesy of Journeyman Pictures

Concerning Bitcoin’s value, it is irrelevant to the original purpose of Bitcoin. There was always uncertainty concerning Bitcoin’s value. Several factors made this digital asset’s price volatile. Firstly, several cases of past Bitcoin’s misuse resulted in negative press announcements and led to a phobia of adoption in the early years. However, since the structure of Bitcoin ensures that every piece of past, present and future data was, is, and will always be available, this phobia is not present anymore. Secondly, financial markets transformed Bitcoin into a product for sale. As a result, a non-stop price rally led the price of Bitcoin to around 40,000.00 USD as of today.

Bitcoin: Beyond The Bubble – Full Documentary. Courtesy of 100thMonkeyChannel.

Moreover, this massive Bitcoin adoption led to the creation of numerous other cryptocurrencies and similar products. In other words, the genesis of Bitcoin resulted in the creation of a new economic ecosystem, a crypto ecosystem. After Bitcoin was created, several other cryptocurrencies emerged such as EthereumLitecoinTetherDogecoin, and others. Additionally, various relevant products entered the crypto ecosystem. Some of them are Stablecoins, Tokens, Social Money, Smart Contracts, Yield Aggregators, NFTs and collectibles, and plenty more. Not to mention the numerous cryptocurrency exchanges that entered the crypto space. According to Coinmarketcap, some of the top cryptocurrency exchanges ranked by volume are BinanceHuobi GlobalCoinbaseKrakenBitfinex, and others. Furthermore, the Blockchain which is practically a Nakamoto invention is considered a highly efficient way of storing information as all records are “linked together using cryptography”. This is why there are numerous applications of the blockchain apart from cryptocurrencies such as smart contracts, financial services, video games, energy trading, supply chain, anti-counterfeiting, healthcare, domain names, music distribution, the insurance industry, IoT and others. 

Conclusion

Bitcoin and the technology around it changed the past, shape the present and will affect the future of finance and technology. Will the effects of this technology be positive or negative? Is this technology good or bad? The answer to these questions is that the technology itself is neither good nor bad. Technology is merely a tool. The matter is who uses this technology and for which purpose.

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Why Real Python is the best resource for online Python training

Online Python Training & Expert Community: Tutorials, Video Courses, Books, Quizzes…and More! Join 3,000,000 Monthly Readers at realpython.com

Featured image: courtesy of Real Python

This article does not have any basis on paid advertisement, affiliation, or sponsorship by any of the organizations or people mentioned below. This article expresses my opinion based on my personal experience and views.

When i first heard of Python I didn’t know what to expect. There was this tendency to consider Python a very easy language to learn. As a student I undertook modules such as programming with Basic, Pascal, Visual Basic, C, C++ , and others. Later on as a web developer, I learned JavaScript, ES5, ES6, PHP, and some years later during my MBA studies for the sake of my thesis I used R to perform sentiment analysis on tweets. I was always fond of programming and I was lucky enough to be mostly surrounded by programmers and Computer Scientists. This brought me even to the point where I learned some Java. However, I never used Python. I never knew what to expect until one day, I was involved in a Python module. This is where I came across this magnificent language. Yes, it is considered quite easy by programming beginners probably due to its comprehensive standard library. However, if you take a deeper dive, you will notice that Python is a very strong language that “supports multiple programming paradigms, including structured (particularly, procedural), object-oriented, and functional programming. ” (Source: Wikipedia)

Courtesy of kropekk_pl from Pixabay

We all know the feeling of being stuck for hours at a certain point while writing our code where suddenly everything seems unknown and impossible to comprehend. This moment seems like an eternity. Nothing moves on, your mind gets stuck. You think that this is it! You are useless, you know nothing, the code is worthless, you need to rewrite everything from the beginning! Then the endless search begins. You go everywhere, you visit every possible resource online. Your first choice is stackoverflow. Yes, there is a solution there, but you don’t quite understand it. (No! I am not going to do something I don’t understand!) You search every possible link available. GitHub is full of other approaches but you want to write your own unique code. Everything is so blurry, there is no light at the end of the tunnel. You can’t even see a tunnel! Suddenly, you discover Real Python! You search at the website. There is an example! You are not alone, someone was there before you! There are more examples. There is also the theory that explains why this is happening. But what is Real Python? I have never seen something like this before! (I want to hug these guys!)

Courtesy of Pexels from Pixabay

This is how I felt when I discovered Real Python and there is more. There is absolutely nothing about Python that is not included at the Real Python website. For instance, did you know that there is an option to create an Instagram bot with Python and InstaPy? Yes, there is! And you can find so many more applications, examples, and lessons at Real Python. So what exactly can you use Real Python for?

Courtesy of Real Python

At Real Python you’ll learn all things Python from the ground up. Their tutorials, books, and video courses are created, curated, and vetted by a community of expert Pythonistas. With new content published weekly, custom Python learning paths, and interactive code challenges, you’ll always find something to boost your skills. Join 3,000,000+ monthly readers and take your Python skills to the next level at realpython.com. (Source: Real Python)

Do you have to pay?

Well, no, it is absolutely free but if you need a membership that includes everything, then yes, you need to pay a very small fee which is too small for what you receive in exchange. It is natural to pay something as in this way you support an amazing learning resource to continue growing. In a sense, it is like helping the rest of the world as well, as, the more the resource is growing, the more free content there will be available for those that can not afford to pay. In the following video Mr Dan Bader is speaking about about Real Python’s mission at the official Real Python YouTube channel.

Courtesy of Real Python

Products

(Source: Real Python)
Professional developers and organizations around the world level up their programming skills with Real Python‘s online Python training resources:

Real Python Membership

Members get unlimited access to Real Python‘s library of 1,600+ expert-made Python tutorials and video lessons. Weekly “Office Hours” virtual workshops and the Real Python Community Slack chat provide hands-on support.

Real Python for Teams

Membership access for groups of learners through a single billing account. Team license management and progress analytics helps new developers get up to speed with Python and keeps them up-to-date with the latest best practices.

Books

Courtesy of Real Python

All of Real Python‘s materials are created, curated, and vetted by a team of expert Pythonistas. At Real Python, developers get the trusted resources they need on their path to Python mastery. (Source: Real Python)

Courtesy of Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

I am thrilled about Real Python not only for the high quality and vast amount of content it offers, but also because Real Python is one of the most friendly connections on social media. Please feel free to connect them or get in touch. Here are all Real Python social media channels: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, for any other info their email is: info@realpython.com. The Real Python team will respond in the most friendly manner.

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The Lean Startup by Eric Ries

The Lean Startup by Eric Ries is an exceptional book that may help entrepreneurs and startup owners.

Featured image: courtesy of Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Rarely a book has such a great impact on business as The Lean Startup by Eric Ries. To understand the great insight it provides, one really has to read the book. Who should read it? Startup owners, startup wannabe owners, entrepreneurs and in general anyone interested in business.

Courtesy of Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

This book is a systematic, hands on approach about building a startup business. We all know that startup businesses are quite particular. They are businesses that tend to grow exponentially if they become successful. There are so many successful startups to look at. Some examples are: AirBnB, Instagram, Pinterest, Angry Birds, Linkedin, Uber, Snapchat, WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook and so many others. All of those businesses share the same characteristics. They offer a unique product that covers a gap, each in its own market, and they grow exponentially.

Courtesy of Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

However, things are not quite simple when it comes to creating a startup and making it successful. In fact, things are pretty complicated. This is because startups offer unique products that have never been offered before. Therefore, every effort to predict, measure and calculate the course of the business seems almost impossible. It would be possible if this had been done before but since it had not.. Well we have a problem. This is when The Lean Startup enters the stage, to shed light into the dark horizon and help startup owners understand what is going on. The lean method does not just provide insight, it provides the tools to create and measure the course of the business.

Courtesy of Tumisu from Pixabay

For me it has been a personal experience that made me appreciate this magnificent book. I was called to create a marketing plan for a company, the product of which was very interesting. Unfortunately, I can not give more information with respect to this but I can give you more details about the hardships I came across as the product had never been launched before. It was unique in a sense therefore, I did not have much information about the reaction of the market. You see, if a product or something similar had been distributed in the past, things would have been easier. You would have at least something to expect and base your claims on facts. However, if there is absolutely no information, you are lost. Fortunately, I discovered The Lean Startup!

Courtesy of Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Reading the book I discovered that the writer was not simply presenting ideas and making suggestions, instead he was speaking about his own experience. In The Lean Startup Eric Ries presents his own business case, his own personal experience. But it is not a mere presentation as alongside the experience comes a series of methodological approaches and calculations to measure and solve most of the problems that come up when you are completely lost and unaware of what to do! Yes, the book is so amazing! Maybe even more..

Courtesy of StartupStockPhotos from Pixabay

I would like to make it clear here that I am not sponsored by Mr Eric Ries or by any other company or organization to write this review. This is my opinion which is a result of my personal experience.

So what was the outcome of my marketing plan? Well, I think it is one of the most successful projects I have ever been involved with. Although this has happened some years ago, I still see online the results of my marketing plan and feel so grateful. I think writing this small article is the least I can do to give back something, which I feel is an indication of appreciation. Therefore, I advise anyone who is thinking about creating a startup to read this book carefully. I am confident The Lean Startup will become a business bible to them. During my MBA studies I came across so many scientific papers and books that described and analyzed complicated concepts in business and finance. This book is a true gem, one of the most (if not the most) useful tools for any entrepreneur.

Courtesy of Tumisu from Pixabay

Please click the following links to learn more about The Lean Startup book and The Lean Startup methodology. If you are familiar with The Lean Startup and you are interested in joining others with the similar interest, you can find some regional groups according to your area of residence here.

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What is Business Process Management (BPM)? via Salesforce

What is Business Process Management (BPM) via Salesforce

Click To Enlarge

What is Business Process Management (BPM)

Via Salesforce

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“Create a Gender-Balanced Workplace” by CMI CEO Ann Francke OBE

Ann will be a keynote speaker at the the CMI Annual Midlands Conference 2019, that will be held in Birmingham on Friday the 4th of October 2019 at the Birmingham International Conference Centre.

Featured image: courtesy of Ann Francke

I would like to dedicate this article to an outstanding lady that is shaping modern history for women managers all over the world. Ann Francke, one of the most inspirational leaders of our times and currently the Chief Executive Officer at the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).

Ann Francke, CEO of Chartered Management Institute (CMI), Winner of the Louis Armstrong Award for outstanding leadership of a UK professional body 2016 and Author of: Financial Times Guide to Management: How to Make a Difference and Get Results.

Source: CMI

CMI describes Ann Francke as “a transformational leader with vision, pace and proven ability to deliver profitable growth and build organisational capability.”

Anne Francke. Courtesy of AnnFrancke

Ann Francke is Strategic Advisor at Tongal and a Non-Exec at Grant Thornton International additionally she is a member of the CRUK Women of Influence Board, WACL, MGGB and an Advisory Board member of Lancaster Management, Nottingham Trent and the Open University Business Schools. 

At CMI, she uses her experience in leading organisations to promote best practices in management and leadership, and improve management standards across the UK and beyond. Ann has been named in the top 100 women to watch in the 2015 Female FTSE report from Cranfield and is an expert on current challenges facing women in the workplace.

Source: CMI
Ann Francke on Sky news – Men-only charity gala

Ann speaks constantly in the media and at conferences about management best practice, gender equality in the workplace. 

Ann Francke, CEO of the Chartered Management Institute, interview at UWE Bristol

Before CMI Ann Francke held roles such as ‘Global General Manager at the British Standards Institution’, member of the executive board at Boots and Yell and ‘European Vice President’ at Mars. Ann started her career at Procter & Gamble where Ann managed numerous international brands such as Pampers, Always and Olay.

Ann holds a BA with Distinction from Stanford, an MBA/MS from Columbia; Honorary Doctorates in Business Administration from UWE and Nottingham Trent Universities and a Doctor of the University from Oxford Brookes.

Source: CMI

Ann will be a keynote speaker at the the CMI Annual Midlands Conference 2019, that will be held in Birmingham on Friday the 4th of October 2019 at the Birmingham International Conference Centre. Her book Create a Gender-Balanced Workplace will be available on the 26th of September. To get a copy of the book please visit this link.

Courtesy of Penguin

In the Penguin Experts: Create a Gender-Balanced Workplace, Ann Francke, the CEO of the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), introduces her solution to combating the problems at the heart of the continued imbalance and offers clear, actionable strategies for making a positive change in your organisation.

Source: Penguin

If you are interested in scheduling an interview with Ann, please contact the press office.

Learning new skills online during the COVID-19 second lockdown

Convert the COVID-19 pandemic “lockdown” time to personal development time

Featured image: courtesy of Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

This article does not have any basis on paid advertisement, affiliation, or sponsorship by any of the organizations or people mentioned below. This article expresses my opinion based on my personal experience and views.

The second Coronavirus lockdown is happening! Despite the fact that COVID-19 remains a huge threat, we need to stay positive and active and treat this situation as an opportunity for personal development.

Courtesy of Queven from Pixabay

With this in mind, I did some online research and found some interesting resources that may help anyone convert the “lockdown” time to personal development time.

The edX® platform

Courtesy of edX®. EdXis a registered trademark of edX Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Founded by Harvard University and MIT in 2012, edX Inc. is a leading MOOC provider. The edX® platform is an online learning destination offering high-quality courses from the world’s best universities and institutions to learners everywhere. EdX is the only leading MOOC provider that is both nonprofit and open source.

Source: edX Inc. EdX is a registered trademark of edX Inc. All Rights Reserved

Courses are offered in a plethora of subjects such as Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, Economics & Finance, Math, Business & Management, Law, Medicine, Humanities, Language, and many more. edX® offerings are: the MicroBachelors® program, the MicroMasters® program, Professional Certificate programs, XSeries programs, the Global Freshman Academy, and online Master’s degrees. Students can attend courses for free or obtain certificates for a small fee. Tuition for attending Master’s degrees is quite affordable.
MicroBachelors is a registered trademark of edX Inc. All Rights Reserved.
MicroMasters is a registered trademark of edX Inc. All Rights Reserved.
EdX is a registered trademark of edX Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Courtesy of Udacity

For those interested in acquiring unique, cutting edge tech skills form technology experts, Udacity is the only online learning platform that offers nanodegrees such as: Artificial Intelligence, Deep Learning, Digital Marketing, Flying Car and Autonomous Flight Engineer, Intro to Self-Driving Cars, Machine Learning Engineer, and Robotics Software Engineer. Additionally, there are numerous other subjects available to study that lead to a nanodegree.

Courtesy of Udacity

Nanodegree courses are interactive, project based and paid (Udacity offers many free courses as well). Projects are real world projects, not toy examples. For instance, when I was attending the Digital Marketing program at Udacity, some modules included Facebook and Google advertising. From my experience working at the Digital Marketing department of an agency, the only difference between the projects at the agency and the projects at Udacity was the amount of money spent by each student on ads. Moreover, Udacity offers one to one mentor support, a personal career coach, and career services to every student. There are numerous examples of successful students that advanced or changed their career completely through Udacity.

Courtesy of Coursera

“Life-transforming learning experiences”

Moreover, Coursera which was founded back in 2012 by Stanford University‘s computer science professors Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller is also a leading online learning platform, offering numerous courses from top Universities such as Stanford, Penn and many others and organizations such as Google and IBM, and a plethora of others, both free and paid (at an affordable low price). There are several subjects to choose from such as: Computer Science, Data Science, Information Technology, Math and Logic, Business, Health, Arts & Humanities and many more. Potential students may also pursue (full paid) Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programs in fields such as Computer Science, Data Science and others. Of course there is the option to obtain a verified certificate for a relatively small fee. Since its beginning Coursera’s vision was to provide “life-transforming learning experiences to anyone, anywhere.”

Courtesy of Khan Academy

“You can learn anything”

Another amazing resource for free online learning is also Khan Academy. This resource has been quite popular to mathematics students since this is how it originally started back in 2008 by Sal Khan. Today it offers courses in math for school, high school, and college, science, arts & humanities, and reading & language arts. What is amazing about Khan Academy is that it is nonprofit and relies only on donations (I encourage anyone who finds it useful to donate and help this great organization continue existing and growing). Moreover, Khan Academy recently updated its website and now provides Distance learning resources for teachers, districts, and parents to keep everyone learning. I think during the COVID19 crisis this is a huge offering to the global community.

Courtesy of Real Python

If you are a Python lover like me, and you do not already know Real Python, you need to visit at least once this wonderful Pyhon resource. I am confident one visit is enough for you to make you stick with Real Python forever.

At Real Python you’ll learn all things Python from the ground up. Their tutorials, books, and video courses are created, curated, and vetted by a community of expert Pythonistas. With new content published weekly, custom Python learning paths, and interactive code challenges, you’ll always find something to boost your skills. Join 3,000,000+ monthly readers and take your Python skills to the next level at realpython.com. (Source: Real Python)

Please feel free to watch what Mr Dan Bader has to say at the official Real Python YouTube channel about Real Python’s mission in the video below.

Courtesy of Real Python

Products offered at Real Python

Professional developers and organizations around the world level up their programming skills with Real Python‘s online Python training resources: (Source: Real Python)

Real Python Membership

Members get unlimited access to Real Python‘s library of 1,600+ expert-made Python tutorials and video lessons. Weekly “Office Hours” virtual workshops and the Real Python Community Slack chat provide hands-on support. (Source: Real Python)

Real Python for Teams

Membership access for groups of learners through a single billing account. Team license management and progress analytics helps new developers get up to speed with Python and keeps them up-to-date with the latest best practices. (Source: Real Python)

Books

All of Real Python‘s materials are created, curated, and vetted by a team of expert Pythonistas. At Real Python, developers get the trusted resources they need on their path to Python mastery. (Source: Real Python)

I am thrilled about Real Python not only for the high quality and vast amount of content it offers, but also because Real Python is one of the most friendly connections on social media. Please feel free to connect them or get in touch. Here are all Real Python social media channels: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, for any other info their email is: info@realpython.com. The Real Python team will respond in the most friendly manner.

Courtesy of freeCodeCamp

“Learn to code at home, build projects, earn certifications”

Since I started mentioning programming I could not leave behind the freeCodeCamp. This is one of the greatest resources to learn programming. Available subjects are: Responsive Web Design, JavaScript, Algorithms and Data Structures, Front End Libraries, Data Visualization, APIs and Microservices, Quality Assurance, Scientific Computing with Python, Data Analysis with Python, Information Security, and Machine Learning with Python. What makes them unique is that freeCodeCamp offers verified certifications in the aforementioned subjects that the user earns merely by practicing (coding). There are no lectures, each section is presented in small blocks, step by step with examples and exercises. The student starts from a very simple small lesson with an example. To proceed to the next lesson, the student has to submit the answer of the corresponding exercise. What is even more interesting is that there are several freeCodeCamp successful students that advanced or changed their career and achieved their dreams.

Courtesy of Pixabay from Pexels

Those were some available online resources that offer free learning. However, this is not an exaustive list. There are numerous online platforms that offer training in almost any skill one can imagine. We are fortunate enough amid the COVID-19 lockdown to have some time at our disposal. The Coronavirus pandemic soon will be over and the world will return to normality. So, this might be the only opportunity to upgrade your skills or acquire an entirely new skill set or even change your career completely. Therefore, stay safe and happy learning!

Why a non executive director (NED) role is good for your career

According to OECD the percentage of female share of seats on boards of the largest publicly listed companies remains relatively low in many countries. In the UK, the percentage of female leaders raised from 13.3 in 2010 to 32.6 in 2019, whereas the global OECD average was 25.5 in 2019. This indicates that there is still a lot of ground to be gained and a lot of potential for female leaders in the boardroom.

Women, Business, Attractive, Dynamic, Young, Career
Courtesy of pixabay.com

A very interesting Women on Boards article titled: “The seven reasons why being a director is good for your career” by Claire Braund and Rowena Ironside outlines seven reasons why a directorship is good for an aspiring board member’s career. Differentiation, new skills, indication of management capability, career resilience, are some of the traits that can be added to your CV and act as differentiation points that can boost your career. Read the full article here.

Courtesy of Christina Morillo of Pexels

Women on BoardsClaire Braund and Rowena Ironside claim that:

Adding a board appointment or directorship to your CV is a sure way of drawing attention and validating your capabilities whilst catapulting your career up the ladder of success. 

Women on Boards
Becoming a non executive director (NED) might act as a huge stepstone to your career
Courtesy of Christina Morillo of Pexels

My most recent experience at the Chartered Management Institute’s West Midlands and North-West boards in the UK does not leave me any doubt that this is the case. From my personal experience I can say that being a board member teaches you so many new skills and gives you the opportunity to expand your business and personal network.

The Better Managers Manual by CMI

The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) has been fighting the COVID-19 crisis since its beginning by supporting managers and leaders. With this in mind CMI has “assembled a set of tried-and-tested tools and resources brought together through five key themes: flexible working; crisis management; mental health and wellbeing; the new employment landscape; and good governance.”

To download the #BetterManagers manual please click the following link or the image below.

To access more tools and resources by CMI please click the following link.

Get involved on social media by using the #BetterManagers hashtag.

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