Language Learner Looks for Leads in Learning?

zanzibar asks: "I learned C in a college course, I learned C++ and Java from books, and I learned Rails from blogs. I'm not convinced one of these methods was more effective than the others. I want to know what other readers think about technical education. What do they want to learn and how do they want it delivered? What do they like about their options today (from college coursework to Wikiversity)? What's missing? What just doesn't work?"

its not that hard

[Nyall]

Once you learn one language (self taught or in school) you should be able to teach yourself any other. What I didn't like about college was being forced to attend class to pass. (where the silly professor taught from power point slides.) And I really hated in-class tests where I had to write code with pen on paper. Projects are the best way to learn.

Did you really learn from blogs or books, or was it the practical application on some project that taught you what you know?

Simply start writing

[KlausBreuer]

I personally learn languages by simply firing them up and fiddling about.
Of course, a book is a good idea to learn from, but you learn fastest by simply starting to code.

I wrote a Windoze-Version of the 1985 Mac game 'ChipWits' (see sig) in Delphi, and now plan to learn C# by simply rewriting that game. Immediate usage is probably by far the quickest way :)