The last few months I’ve started to attended various local JavaScript meetup groups: Dev Workshop Indy, Indy.js, Node.indy. I’ve really impressed with the groups. The speakers at the meetups have provided a lot good information. These groups have also provide nice environments to learn and follow along with the speaker. Another great perk of the meetups is they provide dinner.
I have noticed the groups are a way to keep me honest with my personal learning. I’m making a time commitment to attend the group and to also study up outside the group so I can know what is going on during the presentation.
Another potentially interesting perk is they are looking for speakers. I am considering possibly speaking about a topic. I would do it after I felt somewhat comfortable and had a good understanding of the MEAN stack.