I Don’t Know How To Code: Finding A Place To Learn
In my last post I talked about the challenge of finding good material for learning to code.
Quick recap:
- Books — Slower pace and easier to review, but can be quickly outdated and lots of the material is dry. Although I do have praise for Jon Ducketts “Learn HTML & CSS”. The format of the book is beautiful and Jon will have code and an example of the result side by side, making it easy to see the connection of your work.
- YouTube — Video’s are great for seeing examples and work in realtime. Yet the nature of YouTube is that it’s easy to jump around to video’s that are related but not in the best logical order to optimize learning. It’s a lot like jumping into the middle of a movie trilogy, you’re going to have a lot of questions.
So what options are we left with? You could try finding a local community of like minded learners. Unless you live in Silicon Valley, there may not be many of these. You could join the Homebrew Computer Club, if you could tolerate the bad hygiene.
Note: I regret to inform you the Homebrew Computer Club disbanded in 1986.
Online Learning Schools/Programs
If you’ve done a Google Search for “learn to code” you’ve likely found some online courses/programs for learning to code. (If you checked the local phone book for “learn to code”, perhaps that’s the sign to not proceed further)
Here are the results on the first page of Google:
As of this writing i’m currently enrolled in Treehouse. I haven’t tried Code School or Code Academy so for now I’ll be sharing my experience with Treehouse. Don’t think of this as a review, more like a review that will forever be in progress.
Treehouse — Learn By Doing
If you’re completely unfamiliar with Treehouse, it’s a website that helps you learn to code through video courses. It’s completely self-paced and you have 24/7 access.
Treehouse Plans and Pricing
I was drawn to Treehouse by the 14 day free trial. I figured I could check it out and see if it’s for me, worst case I just cancel. After 14 days there are 2 plans: Basic ($25/month) and Pro ($49/month). You can cancel at anytime (unlike Colombia House). This is super affordable when you consider the increasing cost of post secondary education. The trial worked it’s magic because I’m on a paid plan now.
Both plans give you access to their large library of 1000+ video’s covering everything from web design, app development, and building a business. You’re also able to practice what you’re learning through Code Challenges on the website. This is the coolest part of Treehouse and really drops the barrier to entry. There’s nothing for you to setup, you just start writing code right on their site.
What sets the Pro Plan apart from the basic plan are talks with industry leaders, exclusive bonus content, and the ability to download video’s for offline learning. I signed up for the Pro Plan so I can’t actually verify what you’re missing if you go with the basic plan. I’ve also never downloaded any video’s as I find it’s easier to follow the course. You can start on either plan and switch to the other one at anytime.
”I Want to Learn to Code But Don’t Know Where to Start…”
One of the most frustrating things about learning to code is really figuring where to start. “I want to learn to code” is a blanket statement and can send you in all kinds of directions online. Basically you spend more time trying to find resources for learning to code than actually coding. Luckily Treehouse can help you narrow down where to start through their “Tracks.”
Tracks are a collection of courses that focus on a specific path or goal. For example I’m currently going through the “Front End Web Development Track” which focuses on learning to code websites using HTML, CSS, and Javascript. There’s also things like “iOS Development with Objective-C” for learning how to make iOS/iPhone apps. This helps narrow the focus from “I want to learn to code” to “I want to learn how to make websites”.
Once you’re on a track you’ll go through courses designed to take you from start to finish in the best logical order. This is super helpful for beginners because it eliminates the question “What should I learn next?” and keeps you from getting stuck.
What sets Treehouse apart is the way courses are delivered and the focus on applying what you’re learning right away. The video’s are short and easy to digest. I’ve yet to watch a video that’s longer than 15 minutes, so even if you only have a short amount of time, you can still work through some video’s. There are short quizzes and coding challenges every 3–4 video’s where you’ll test your knowledge and apply what you just learned.
Great for Beginners
So far I’m really enjoying the experience with Treehouse. The production value of the video’s is top notch and the course structure is incredibly easy to follow. This is a huge relief for people that are use to jumping all over the internet trying to learn from free material.
Finally when Treehouse says that you can learn to code even if you have no experience they mean it. I’ve yet to watch a video where the material is over my head and they do a great job of breaking down material step by step.
So if you’re looking for a place to get started, I’d recommend signing up for a free 14 day trial and checking out the courses.
Next I’ll be discussing more detail on the “Front End Development Track”. If you’re interested in web development, stay tuned.
