Coding tutorial video pet peeves

calling tutorial videos to avoid these kinds of things
2025-03-22 12:04 // updated 2025-05-14 12:40

For those who try to learn software programming from tutorial videos on YouTube (and other websites, even paid "code academy" types of sites), we have all experienced these kinds of frustrations:

  • excessive display of the vlogger's face
    • it's okay to have their face in the beginning
    • by and large, the viewer just wants to see the code
    • they need to consider "screen real estate"
      • code is small and we need to see it as much as possible
  • music and/or noise in the background
    • it's okay to have them in the beginning of the video for "ambiance"
    • music should not happen when coding as it feels distracting to some
  • naming variables and things that are specific to the vlogger's use case
    • code should be as versatile, with timely variable names
      • e.g. not priceOfCoffee but priceOfProduct
    • the watcher will want to apply the code to as many different situations as possible
  • fumbling around with the specifics of styling
    • they should focus on order and flexibility, rather than pixel perfection
  • going too quickly for complex issues
    • they should not jump from one screen to another in a matter of seconds
    • they should not jump from one part of the code, to another, and another, in less than ten seconds
  • going too slowly for simple issues
    • they should not take minutes to explain "2 + 2"
  • using the word "here"
    • if they want people to "code along", they should not say the word "here" because learners are liking only listening and not watching while they "code along"

Sure, unlike a classroom, we can now also "rewind", "fast forward" and even "slow down" tutorial videos. However, a good tutorial video will try to explain a concept as though the teaching takes place in a real-time classroom.

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newer (in code) ➡️
Different lifestyles of web developers 😀
⬅️ older (posts)
🧑🏻‍💻 JavaScript "object arithmetic"