Presenting The "Today I Learned" Tracker!
Tags: codenewbie, opensource, webdev, productivity
Published: 2020-12-30 15:17:02

As 2020 comes to a close, I decided to participate in Hashnode's #christmashackathon. I chose to create a  ["Today I Learned" Tracker](https://github.com/ana-vela/Today-I-Learned-Tracker)  on  [GitHub](https://github.com/), and I made this an open source project. This tracker is template of  [Markdown](https://guides.github.com/features/mastering-markdown/)  files where you can add what you are learning each day and keep track of any resources you are using.

### Some background information

This year I made the leap into working with open source projects by helping maintain  [a beginner project](https://github.com/Syknapse/Contribute-To-This-Project)  and participating in  [Hacktoberfest](https://hacktoberfest.digitalocean.com/). These activities have given me the experience to feel comfortable starting a project of my own. I created this GitHub repository as a simple, editable template that others can contribute to easily as well.

### Who is this tracker for?

This open source project is a starting point for anyone who wants to document their web development learning by logging their progress through a GitHub repo. This repo is meant to be copied and altered based on the needs of the user. The content is geared toward beginners who are learning web development, but it can easily be edited. This is also a good way to practice using [Markdown](https://guides.github.com/features/mastering-markdown/).  

This repo can be saved **privately** or **publicly**, but having it public allows for other developers and potential employers to see your progress. 

### How to start using this template

![download-til-tracker.png](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1609314688106/Wg9NoQ27i.png)

There are a few options:

1. Click the **Use this template** button to instantly create a copy of this repo to your GitHub account

2. Fork the project

3. Download the files using the **Code** button

Once you have your copy, use the markdown files in the LearningLogs folder to start documenting your learning. You can also create more folders or add new markdown files to organize your resources. This is also a great way to contribute to your GitHub account on a daily basis.

### How to contribute

I will be adding more issues for first-timers, so check the list of issues often. If you have some suggestions for what can be useful to this project, open up an issue on GitHub and add your suggestion there. I will review it and discuss the proposed changes with you.

If you are not familiar with how to contribute to open source projects, take a look at the  [steps outlined in detail through this guide](https://github.com/firstcontributions/first-contributions).


**The basic steps are:**

1. Fork the project
2.  Clone that forked project so you can access the files in your local dev environment on your computer or laptop
3.  Create a new branch and make the changes
4.  Commit and push those changes to your forked repo
5.  Since you added changes to a forked copy of the project, you'll be able to make a pull request for review to get the branch merged into the main project

### Questions or Suggestions?
Be sure to take a look at the [Today I Learned Tracker on GitHub](https://github.com/ana-vela/Today-I-Learned-Tracker) and give it a star. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let me know. Reach out to me on  [Twitter](https://twitter.com/anaveecodes),  [Instagram](https://instagram.com/anaveecodes), or leave a comment below.