at the learning stage, it is better to shoot slowly and selectively. i think autofocus and point and shoot digitals have vastly increased the speed of shooting in general. this in itself is not bad, and i am not trying to downgrade them in any manner. on seeing something that we think is photogenic, we need to decide how we should shoot it- up close with a wide angle, from far with a telephoto or any intermediate range. we should walk around to see how the same scene can be captured with different backgrounds and different lighting conditions. a good way is to always keep looking through the viewfinder at the composition. [on the other hand, learn some basic theories regarding effect of aperture and shutter on movement and depth of field.]
our eyes can selectively focus on objects but we cannot change the focal length and so we use our feet to magnify an object. with photography, you have 2 options- change the lens focal length, or change the object-camera distance. so when we see something that we wish to capture, we should think what exactly we would like to capture and act accordingly.
learn at a leisurely pace. go to one place and spend a few hours there and capture many shots using various focal lengths, camera settings, view angles, backgrounds etc. and come back and compare them on a computer. try to analyze why you prefer some over the other. now all this might sound tedious or boring, but it isnt. i am also not saying that you should not shoot impromptu or at fast speeds. indeed, some ocassions demand a fast response. but this is possible only after you have a decent grip over the camera functions and hence know the range where you cannot go wrong.
if you already have a camera, i think the best way to learn is to go out and shoot rather than reading more books. this is the advantage of digital- there is no developing cost! you can even start doing this with your prosumer digital camera. no need of DSLR. first, stop using the LCD panel. in fact i would advice you to swtich it off permanently. use only the viewfinder even though it gives only about 70% of the coverage. i personally feel that it is easier to compose through the viewfinder as you are only seeing the composition rather than the whole scene + your camera. use the aperture and shutter speed to get various types of shots. however, the only main difference would be the extensive depth of focus afforded by the prosumer. in fact that was one of the main reasons i went from prosumer digital to digital SLR. i missed the DOF capabilities of a SLR.
one final thing, learn NOT to shoot! yes, many a times i see something and i want to capture it. however, conditions are not right or i dont get the right composition. i have noticed that whenever i shoot inspite of this, my shots are not that great. i mean, technically they are right but nothing special. so it is with great discipline that i am trying to learn to shoot selectively.
i know there are a lot of exceptions to what i said. sometimes you need to shoot indiscriminately, or shoot a lot of events or people, or you want to shoot more to be on the safe side etc. but as a learning tool, i think shooting leisurely is the best way to learn.
i hope this helps
kashi