Finding Things to Learn: Learning Paths

00:00 So, learning paths are kind of like playlists, where we show you how to approach a topic very methodically and step by step. You can find our learning paths either by searching for stuff and it will show up in the search results here, or you can click on the Learn Python button and then select Learning Paths.

00:20 So, let’s talk about learning paths for a second. A learning path is a complete study plan you can follow and it will walk you through the different tutorials and different video courses and different types of content that we have on Real Python on a particular subject. So, I was just looking at the OOP learning path.

00:38 So, why don’t we select that again? So once again, here, we show you the core skills that you’re going to learn with this learning path. And then the learning path itself is a progression throughout the different types of content that we have for you here.

00:52 So we’ll kick things off with an introduction to object-oriented programming—this is filed under the basics skill level here—and I can just click on that and then select that course and start watching that course directly from that learning path.

01:06 As you make your way through the learning path, you can see here that we’re showing you additional courses and tutorials that will help you to progress and dive more deeply into this topic.

01:17 Now, let’s go back to the learning paths overview.

01:21 We’re continuously adding new learning paths. And anytime we have quizzes for you and other challenges that are available, they’re also included in the learning path, as well.

01:34 So if you’re starting from scratch with Python, for example, you can use our Introduction to Python learning path, and here it is: a full introduction to Python 3, and interlinked, we have interactive quizzes for you and some other related materials that will help you on your journey to become an expert Python developer. So in summary, the learning paths are a really, really good way to find content that you might be interested in. They’re especially good if you’re trying to get a very, very holistic and step by step experience.

02:06 They’re basically a roadmap that takes you from starting with a topic into, you know, the deeper and more complex territory. Now, a whole learning path is quite extensive.

02:18 That’s really the goal here. So you’re not going to be able to finish it in a single day, in most cases. It’s more meant as a roadmap for you to work your way through the content over a couple of days, maybe sometimes weeks—and that is totally normal.

02:31 Don’t worry about, you know, having to ingest all of that content in a single sitting. Really, the search function is better if you’re looking for a particular question, for example, lambda functions. You know, “What are lambda functions? I just want to know how they work.” So I’m just finding the corresponding tutorial and I can finish that in a single sitting and get the answer that I want really quickly.

02:55 Whereas a learning path would really take you into much, much, much deeper and more complex territory and string together several of these tutorials.