Episode 3 - Mark Shust on M.Academy, Laravel, jQuery POS, and AI

Takeways

• Mark Shust transitioned from Magento 1 to Laravel and eventually returned to Magento 2.
• He built M Academy to provide education and training for Magento developers.
• Mark follows a linear learning approach and simplifies complex topics for beginners.
• He organizes his curriculum based on student requests and prioritizes topics based on demand. AI can help in organizing and retrieving relevant information in software development.
• Understanding the tools and technologies being used is crucial in leveraging AI effectively.
• Developers need to adapt and stay on top of advancements in AI to enhance their skills and job prospects.
• Different versions of Magento, including open source and open core, have implications for developers.

Sound Bites

• "Every course you go through, you go in not knowing too much about the topic. I purposely do that because you only get that beginners sense of beginners once."
• "I thought [the admin grids course] was a big failure at first, which is too bad because I thought it was going to be my best course ever."
• "I definitely follow a linear learning fashion where you're just learning what you need to know when you need to know it."
• "What? Wow."
• "I'm getting involved in AI for, I think certain things like this would be great."
• "The AI experience is very much part of it."

Chapters

• 00:00 - Introduction and Background
• 08:55 - Starting M Academy and Course Development
• 20:41 - Juggling Multiple Roles and Prioritizing Topics
• 23:08 - The Challenges of Teaching Complex Topics
• 28:11 - Organizing Curriculum for Effective Learning
• 30:59 - The Importance of Simplicity in Teaching and Learning
• 33:26 - Introduction and Wow Moments
• 34:03 - AI in the Developer Experience
• 34:43 - The Role of AI in the Future of Work
• 36:09 - The Risks and Benefits of AI
• 36:46 - Mitigating the Threat of AI
• 38:19 - AI Tools Enhancing Work
• 39:06 - AI Tools Replacing Jobs
• 40:46 - AI Tools Making Work Better
• 44:32 - Stability of Magento 2 Code Base
• 47:50 - Different Realities in the Magento Ecosystem
• 52:21 - Open Source Doesn't Need to Be Free
• 57:01 - Communication Challenges in Open Source
• 01:05:54 - Building Cert Prep and Hoover Courses
• 01:06:35 - Exploring AI and Future Projects

Hosted by Ben Marks

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