The Art of Teaching Programming using Unity: An Interview with Harrison Ferrone

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Show Notes

"Like the whole point is to learn a system of thinking, like to learn how to analyze; how to, like, pick out what's happening and identify your problem, and then to implement a solution that fits your needs."— Harrison Ferrone

Welcome friends to The Modern .NET Show; the premier .NET podcast, focussing entirely on the knowledge, tools, and frameworks that all .NET developers should have in their toolbox. We are the go-to podcast for .NET developers worldwide, and I am your host: Jamie "GaProgMan" Taylor.

In this episode, Harrison Ferrone joined us to talk about his journey from being an English major to a self-taught programmer and instructional author focused on accessible tech education. Harrison also talks about his book, "Learning Design Patterns with Unity," which is designed as a practical guide for game development using well-known patterns while emphasizing the importance of quick wins in learning.

"Like we do so much work in the later parts of each chapter with like pattern variations and customisations, because I want readers and students and learners to like, look at it, look at the first, you know, 70% and be like, "oh, but what, oh, oh, we're going to talk about what ifs. Fantastic. Cause I have a lot of what ifs.""— Harrison Ferrone

Anyway, without further ado, let's sit back, open up a terminal, type in `dotnet new podcast` and we'll dive into the core of Modern .NET.

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Full Show Notes

The full show notes, including links to some of the things we discussed and a full transcription of this episode, can be found at: https://dotnetcore.show/season-7/the-art-of-teaching-programming-using-unity-an-interview-with-harrison-ferrone/

Useful Links

• Learning Design Patterns with Unity
• Design Patterns (AKA "The Gang of Four")
• Game Programming Patterns by Robert Nystrom
• KonMari method
• Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows
• Chaos Monkey
• Atomic Habits by James Clear
• Rosetta Stone
• Unity Learn
• Explore the Unity Editor - Unity Learn
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