What's the best way / place to learn about new programming technologies?

The best advice I ever had about programming and computer science in general was from one of my professors in my first year of college.

I was asking similar questions, why are we learning this technology and not the other one which is newer, why are we learning this programming language when it is outdated, etc.
The answer I got was: you can learn any new language or technology very quickly once you know the basics behind programming, the main data structures, the concepts of how to build and manage large projects, and how everything fits together.

Initially that didn't make much sense to me but as I learned more and more and as I started working I've found that advice to be spot on. When I started my college classes there was no such thing as iOS and Android. Smart phones weren't very widespread and were very limited in their applications. I learned how to program on a desktop and wrote programs for desktops. I have never had a formal class in mobile programming, but since the concepts are the same I learned how to program on a mobile platform by myself. I didn't need someone to teach me, I just needed a project I was interested in and the will to complete it, and THAT is probably my best advice for how to learn new technologies.

For me, the best ways to learn about new programming languages and methodologies is to build a network of people with similar interests. You can do this online by following technologists (via Twitter or a blog) that you find interesting. Even better, find ways to meet up with people that are also interested in programming. People love to share their ideas and discuss new technologies.

A good place to start online is with programmers that have released their own frameworks or are prominent bloggers. For example, if you love javascript, follow people like Jeremy Ashkenas or Steven Sanderson.

Here is the most important thing - and something I wish I had understood at a younger age - you don't have to know, or even be familiar with, every modern language and framework. It can be overwhelming to keep up and it's much better (in my opinion) to have an in-depth understanding of one or two languages or frameworks then to have a broad, surface-level understanding of all the hottest tech. As your depth of understanding grows, being able to quickly grasp and mentally categorize new technologies becomes much easier.

I can recommend SkillShare, Skillcrush, Codecademy and One Month Ruby. But I'm also looking for info about this.

For example, it's hard to know where to start when there are tons of different languages, and only some are relevant for what you want to build.

I hear a lot of people teach themselves to code just by googling. Stack Overflow and GitHub might also be worth poking around to get a feel for the developer community.

The most important thing to focus on is building a strong foundation of computer science fundamentals. What language you end up using is simply learning a different skillset. And once you've learned one, it's relatively easy to transfer between them. If you're serious about being a good software engineer, research great engineering programs at different colleges. Even if you're interested in getting in to video games, building those strong fundamentals will carry you throughout your entire technical career. For instance, at first glance you may wonder why on earth would I take a compilers class? I will likely never write a compiler. But learning how code is compiled helps you understand how to think in a more structured and efficient way. In my engineering career in video games I was drawing upon those lessons from school for many years after I graduated.

Hi Jordan,
The best way to learn is to first decide what you like the most. It is website development, iPhone apps, or something else? Then get a few books that teach you the basics. After you get started, make sure to have others use what you created. Then you can get feedback to help you improve. Volunteer to create a website for a local company or non-profit. Start an open source project on github. Anything that will get you working with other people, debugging, and improving.

Coding is one thing, but debugging code is also important. Codewars.com is good if you like to solve programming puzzles or just want to start with the basics.

Good Luck!