Online learning for Beginner Coders
Coding was once a passion for some which is now a life for many. Gone are the days when learning to code was a privilege enjoyed just by people who had the mind to offer huge sums of money. From school lectures to special training classes, the learning platforms are leaping increasingly. The importance of online learning in the field of coding is remarkable for both beginners and veterans. Learning is a never ending process but we need a place to begin with. For beginner coders, online platforms are heaven for learning. Let us have a look at the best platforms for beginners. But before that, having a look at some frequently asked questions will give us further clarity.
Why coding?
Coding is the present day literacy in the digital world. In an era where everything we see around is one way or the other related to technology, the importance of programming is shooting up. Without coding, computers would literally do nothing. They would be completely useless. That’s because source code is the set of instructions that tells the computer what to do. Computers have no free will, after all, so without explicit instruction, they’re just sophisticated hunks of metal.
Programming and career
Not only IT jobs, but literally any job in the technological field requires at least the basic coding experience and knowledge. Eight of the top 25 jobs this year are tech positions, according to Glassdoor. Seven million job openings in 2015 were in occupations that required coding skills, and programming jobs overall are growing 12% faster than the market average. The skills in this field were defined as using a computer program to write instructions to a computer as opposed to using established applications. The programming languages looking forward include JavaScript and HTML for building websites, statistical programs R and SAS, AutoCAD programs for engineers, and other all purpose programming languages such as Java, Python, and C++. Learning these programs in depth and working on their improvisation can open one a wide range of opportunities.
Importance of online learning
There are many reasons why online learning gains importance in the present world. It begins from our convenience to the vast world ahead in the online community.
The benefits of online learning include:
- Flexibility
Students have the freedom to juggle their careers and studies because they aren’t tied down by a fixed schedule. In a traditional classroom setting, class meeting times are set, and the student has no power over this, forcing them to work their schedules around these dates. Most people who choose online learning tend to have other commitments, and prefer this mode of learning as it gives them power over how they will devote their time towards their different projects.
2. Reduced cost
Online education can cost less due to a variety of reasons. For example, there is no cost for commuting. Assorted costs that are related to transport, such as fuel, parking, car maintenance, and public transportation costs don’t affect online studies.
3. Networking Opportunities
Online education also provides students with the chance to network with peers from different states and countries across the world. This often leads to unique opportunities including collaboration with other individuals in the implementation of a project. At the same time, it makes them culturally sensitive and able to fit into other environments easily given their exposure to other cultures.
4. Documentation
All the information that one needs will be safely stored in an online database. This includes resources like live discussion documents, training materials and emails. This means that if there’s ever anything that needs to be clarified, the student will be able to access these documents fast, saving valuable time. This is especially useful for individuals who need to carry out research for a project and submit their findings to a panel.
5. Access to Expertise
An online college education might give students access to specialized degree courses that may not be available in an easily accessible or local institution of learning. Online classes allow the sharing of expertise that helps more people have access to education that is not readily available in certain geographic locations.
6. Learning with(via) vision
Visual images tend to stay in a person’s mind longer than what is just heard or read. When one says about learning with a vision in mind, it also includes that one should learn wholeheartedly. Video lectures and subsequent assessments paves way to a great structure of learning and gives a good start.
The path of learning
Effective learning includes a couple of steps to make it totally fruitful.
- Choose wisely
For a beginner, the world of coding is totally strange and unknown. The opportunities and pathways for learning never cease and you will see a wide range of courses and course structures in front of you. Never be a puzzled butterfly on seeing the wide range of courses and choose the wrong option. Always begin from scratch, and start with the course which gives a strong foundation for the future learning. Some basic courses which are very necessary for any further learning are discussed below:
- Introduction to programming
Questions will arise in every mind — from the decision to learn coding to the choice of course. That’s why an introduction is a good place to begin the journey — it shows one the basic concepts which one needs to know and give background knowledge so that one can tackle coding with all questions answered.
- Making mobile apps with no programming experience
When one has a great idea in mind about an innovation but has no experience in working it out, this is a best method to start off with. It gives one confidence and a general idea about what they are going to do.
- Mastering MS EXCEL VBA for beginners
Nothing is more encouraging than learning from a familiar platform. All of us know how to use MS EXCEL to an extent and learning programming through this platform will be a great and easy way of introduction.
- Master the Basics of HTML 5 & CSS 3: Beginner Web Development
Knowing how to build a website can make one’s life much easier if one ever wants to launch a side gig. This class will walk one through the process and HTML and CSS, step by step.
2. Which language should I learn?
The choice about the area of detailed study is to be made carefully. The first step — having a base and clear understanding of what one is going to learn will lead one to a conclusion about their field of interest. Languages like JavaScript, C, C++ have a wide range of applications in various fields. But as a beginner, Python is the best language to be learnt. It is mainly due to its simple and readable syntax when compared to other languages which are quite complex. Python is widely used, including by a number of big companies like Google, Pinterest, Instagram, Disney, Yahoo!, Nokia, IBM, and many others. Raspberry Pi — which is a mini computer and DIY lover’s dream — also relies on Python as it’s main programming language.
Other benefits include:
- Python can be used to develop prototypes, and quickly because it is so easy to work with and read.
- Most automation, data mining, and big data platforms rely on Python. This is because it is the ideal language to work with for general purpose tasks.
- Python is easy to read, even if one is not a skilled programmer. Anyone can begin working with the language, all it takes is a bit of patience and a lot of practice. Additionally, this makes it an ideal candidate for use among multi-programmer and large development teams.
There are other languages which help us with respective career options.
JavaScript
JavaScript often abbreviated as JS, is a programming language that conforms to the ECMAScript specification. JavaScript is high-level, often just-in-time compiled, and multi-paradigm. It has curly-bracket syntax, dynamic typing, prototype-based object-orientation, and first-class functions. JavaScript enables interactive web pages and is an essential part of web applications. The vast majority of websites use it for client-side page behavior, and all major web browsers have a dedicated JavaScript engine to execute it.
As a multi-paradigm language, JavaScript supports event-driven, functional, and imperative programming styles. It has application programming interfaces (APIs) for working with text, dates, regular expressions, standard data structures, and the Document Object Model (DOM). However, the language itself does not include any input/output (I/O), such as networking, storage, or graphics facilities, as the host environment (usually a web browser) provides those APIs.
Career opportunities include:
- Front End Web Developer who develop new software applications from the concept to finish, with regular tests and maintenance and build regular codes and libraries for the forthcoming usage.
- Web Application Developer who has the responsibility of planning and delivering software platforms used across different products and organizational units and should have overall functional knowledge and designing experience with Web Services.
- JavaScript Developer who is responsible for linking this developed element with the services that exist in the back end.
- UX Designer who deals with studying and researching how people use a site. Then ushering changes for the better through the system and testing the result.
C++
C++ is a general-purpose programming language created as an extension of the C programming language, or “C with Classes”. The language has expanded significantly over time, and modern C++ now has object-oriented, generic, and functional features in addition to facilities for low-level memory manipulation. It is almost always implemented as a compiled language, and many vendors provide C++ compilers, including the Free Software Foundation, LLVM, Microsoft, Intel, Oracle, and IBM, so it is available on many platforms.
Career opportunities:
- Software developer
- Quality analyst
- Game programmer
- C/C++ analyst
- Programming architect
- UNIX shell scripting
- Backend developer
- Embedded engineer
And many more…
There are many other languages and websites including HTML, R language, and much more. These are the major languages which offer more career options and it is better focus on these languages at the early stage.
3. Assessment tests and projects
How can project based learning be helpful?
A project is a unique venture involving uncertainties which are to be managed during execution. Project-based learning is capable of meeting the challenges of preparing students to solve the real world problems rather than essay and exam based traditional classroom learning. It also enables students to learn and adopt structures around projects rather than having lecture-based learning. Students learn to comprehend the entire scope of the project and put the execution into a structure.
Benefits of assessment tests
In almost every online course, comprehensive assessments are provided after every section of learning. By skipping those, one will not get any benefit from the course. The tests provides one with practical knowledge of what one has learned and is really important in terms of coding.
Major sites for online courses
There are a lot of sites and wide ranged courses for online learning. Here we discuss some major sites which could be beneficial for coders:
BitDegree
BitDegree which started from ICO in 2017, is an online educational platform that focuses on teaching digital skills. It includes a wide range of courses including data analysis and blockchain development. It starts courses from scratch and covers all the basics. But, students must be careful to choose basic courses first and then move to advanced ones.
Coursera
Coursera works with universities and other organizations to offer online courses, specializations, and degrees in a variety of subjects, such as engineering, data science, machine learning, mathematics, business, computer science, digital marketing, humanities, medicine, biology, social sciences, and others. It has both paid and free courses ,including various levels of learning for beginners and veterans.
Udemy
Udemy is an American online learning platform aimed at professional adults and students, developed in May 2010. As of Jan 2020, the platform has more than 50 million students and 57,000 instructors teaching courses in over 65 languages. There have been over 295 million course enrollments. Students and instructors come from 190+ countries. Some courses provide credits with technical certification.
Udacity
Udacity provides a lot of free courses and moves systematically in teaching. There are nano degree programs designed to teach programming skills needed to qualify for an entry-level IT position at AT&T.
Note: There are many other websites and courses available. It is up to the student to choose which websites and courses are suitable for them. Also students must stick to one learning pattern.
Online tutorials
There are tutorials which provide notes and learning materials other than video lectures. Some of them are:
W3Schools
W3Schools is an educational website for learning web technologies online. Content includes tutorials and references relating to HTML, CSS, JavaScript, JSON, PHP, Python, AngularJS, React.js, SQL, Bootstrap, Sass, Node.js, jQuery, XQuery, AJAX, XML, Raspberry Pi, C++, C# and Java. It is run by Refsnes Data in Norway. By using the TryIt editor, readers can edit examples and execute the code in a sandbox.
Tutorialspoint
It provides learning in Python, Java, C++ and many more with similar structure of presentation as a documentation. It also has a YouTube channel providing classes.
Tutorials Point (India) Ltd. — YouTube
Note: There are many other tutorials available online. It is up to the student to choose which tutorial is best suited to their style of learning. Also it is important that students stick to one learning pattern.
“Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence”
— Abigail Adams
We should give equal importance to choosing a way to learn and having the presence of mind to learn. So, choose the right way and train your mind to work hard to attain heights.
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