TOP 5 LEARN HOW TO CODE RESOURCES

 

“Don’t just download the latest app, help redesign it. Don’t just play on your phone, program it.” -Barack Obama

Even if you’re not the type who aspires to spend hours writing software programs, basic computer coding is an art worth learning. With an elementary knowledge of coding, you can automate all varieties of computer-based tasks, including programming of Excel spreadsheets and website data extraction. Recently, a worldwide movement has emerged that seeks to teach coding to young people as a new “foreign language”, bringing along with it scores of online learning assets and courses. So you can skip the commotion and get to the coding, we’ve explored the options and listed our top five resources below. Some of the related languages and skills include HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, Database coding, Git & GitHub, Node.js, React.js and D3.js.

  

CODEACADEMY

https://www.codecademy.com/

Codecademy present themselves as more than just another website seeking to impart coding skills; their mission statement lays out plans to recast the entire educational process, beginning with a foundational knowledge of coding. In their own words—

“Education is old. The current public school system in the US dates back to the 19th century and wasn't designed to scale the way it has...we are building the education the world needs, the first truly net native education. We take more cues from Facebook and Zynga in creating an engaging educational experience than we do from the classroom.” This approach brings a unique, fresh feel to the layout and organization of their coding activities.

FREECODECAMP

https://www.freecodecamp.com/

The open source coding community known as FreeCodeCamp does more than just provide learning assets—it’s exercises are used to provide free coding to nonprofit organizations. In fact, as of March 2017, FreeCodeCamp has donated more than a million dollars in free coding work. Also, the site is more than a self-contained entity—high school, college and adult educational programs also use the platform in their curriculums, which speaks volumes to the quality of its lessons. The site describes itself as a site for beginners to “work through self-paced coding challenges, build projects, earn certificates. and connect with people in your city so you can code together”, and just like 10,000 past members, “secure your first developer job”.

PLATZI

https://courses.platzi.com/

Platzi combines the features and assets of CodeAcademy and FreeCodeCamp, but also makes available courses in Marketing, Design, Business and Data Science (some of which are free). The company’s live classes, conducted by industry experts, are available for streaming across all modern digital devices. This live classroom experience is Platzi’s main selling point, though class videos are available to stream 24/7, allowing all to learn at their own pace. For curriculum support, discussion forums are made available, each of which contain pertinent posts from classmates and teachers. No content is available for download however, only streaming, which shouldn’t be a problem, unless are still somehow locked into a limited-data cellular plan.     

 

TREEHOUSE

https://teamtreehouse.com/

 Like CodeAcademy, Treehouse envisions itself as part of a restructuring of the entire educational process, but chooses to take a more niche based approach. The company positions itself as a leader in the “democratization of technical education,” who seeks to help people overcome the “economical and psychological barriers” that keep them from learning the art of coding. Treehouse’s mission statement promises that “students learn at their own pace and become job ready within months at a fraction of the cost.” One of the site’s unique features is their group learning subscription, which the site positions as a “robust learning tool to equip your team with top-rated technical training.” Free trial memberships are available for those who wish to test the waters.

 

CODE SCHOOL

https://www.codeschool.com/

Code School may offer the widest variety of courses, which in addition the languages listed at the top, include lessons in Ruby, PHP, Python, iOS and .Net, as well as a variety of “elective” courses. Like the above sites, it grades its students with a range of points, scores and badges, though Code School also offers a unique Report Card system, displaying an individual user’s strong points and specific skills. Team-based business lessons are also available, which the site posits as more than just a simple instructional asset, but a means to implement new technology in your job and increase overall worker efficiency. Team leaders are given a custom interface through which to monitor their group lessons, progress and reports. For all subscribers, both group and individual, screencast lessons, on-demand video and thorough peer forums are included.