These 4 Free Online Sites Will Have Teens and Adults Coding In No Time
As the growth of jobs in the technology industry grows every day, learning to code becomes even more important. I've already written a few articles on programs that help children learn coding because the younger they begin, they easier it will be for them (like learning a foreign language).
However, if you already are a teenager or an adult, it isn't too late. And you don't have to spend money or go to school to learn coding either. There are many free online programs that can teach you everything you need to know about any and all programming languages. Below are four online courses for teens and adults.
CodeCombat is a game that will most likely appeal more to teens than to adults. However, adults that enjoy gaming might enjoy it also.
The developers of CodeCombat realized that some people fail to learn difficult skills through intensive learning when they should be learning through extensive practice. What is the difference:
They decided that the best way to teach programming was with a computer game. CodeCombat is a multiplayer online fantasy game that teaches players the basics of computer science. You won't learn to be an engineer, however you will learn the important foundational skills like syntax, logic, and variables.
Think of Code Combat as a great tool to begin with before you take other coding lessons on this list. And you will have fun in the process.More »
Code.org is a nonprofit whose vision is that every student in every school should have the opportunity to learn computer science. They would like to see it as part of every school's core curriculum.
Unfortunately that is still far from happening, despite the fact that most of the leadership and partners of Code.org are some of the biggest names in technology.
However, they have made great strides teaching code from the Code.org website. There are amazing tutorials for all ages and coding languages.
You can begin with the "Hour of Code" tutorials. If you haven't heard this term before, "The Hour of Code is a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify code and show that anybody can learn the basics". You can then move on to the longer tutorials.More »
Since Codecademy launched in 2011, it has been a leader in free online coding classes. Millions of individuals have learned extremely useful coding skills, not only from their courses, but from the huge network of students who interact and give feedback to each other.
Not only do you learn for free, but the founders of Code Academy truly feel that this is a better way to learn coding than the traditional school setting. You can download a Codecademy app for your iPhone or iPad for free. It doesn't have nearly the entire website, however it has many short projects you can work on while you are out. More »
Khan Academy is an educational website that offers free learning resources to people of all ages. The lessons run the gamut from typical school subjects to topics available from specialized institutions.
Khan Academy might not teach every coding language in its computer programming section, but it has wonderful lessons on a great teaching platform. You can learn:
There are also other great features:
However, if you already are a teenager or an adult, it isn't too late. And you don't have to spend money or go to school to learn coding either. There are many free online programs that can teach you everything you need to know about any and all programming languages. Below are four online courses for teens and adults.
1. CodeCombat
CodeCombat is a game that will most likely appeal more to teens than to adults. However, adults that enjoy gaming might enjoy it also.
The developers of CodeCombat realized that some people fail to learn difficult skills through intensive learning when they should be learning through extensive practice. What is the difference:
- Intensive Learning - Listening to lectures and studying
- Extensive Practice - Learning without specific intent, by doing something, such as hand-eye coordination while playing video games.
They decided that the best way to teach programming was with a computer game. CodeCombat is a multiplayer online fantasy game that teaches players the basics of computer science. You won't learn to be an engineer, however you will learn the important foundational skills like syntax, logic, and variables.
Think of Code Combat as a great tool to begin with before you take other coding lessons on this list. And you will have fun in the process.More »
2. Code.org
Code.org is a nonprofit whose vision is that every student in every school should have the opportunity to learn computer science. They would like to see it as part of every school's core curriculum.
Unfortunately that is still far from happening, despite the fact that most of the leadership and partners of Code.org are some of the biggest names in technology.
However, they have made great strides teaching code from the Code.org website. There are amazing tutorials for all ages and coding languages.
You can begin with the "Hour of Code" tutorials. If you haven't heard this term before, "The Hour of Code is a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify code and show that anybody can learn the basics". You can then move on to the longer tutorials.More »
3. Codecademy - Learn to Code Interactively for Free
Since Codecademy launched in 2011, it has been a leader in free online coding classes. Millions of individuals have learned extremely useful coding skills, not only from their courses, but from the huge network of students who interact and give feedback to each other.
Not only do you learn for free, but the founders of Code Academy truly feel that this is a better way to learn coding than the traditional school setting. You can download a Codecademy app for your iPhone or iPad for free. It doesn't have nearly the entire website, however it has many short projects you can work on while you are out. More »
4. Khan Academy - Computer Programming
Khan Academy is an educational website that offers free learning resources to people of all ages. The lessons run the gamut from typical school subjects to topics available from specialized institutions.
Khan Academy might not teach every coding language in its computer programming section, but it has wonderful lessons on a great teaching platform. You can learn:
- Intro to JS: Drawing and Animation
- Advanced JS: Games and Visualizations
- Advanced JS: Natural Simulations
- HTML/CCC: Making Webpages
- HTML/JS: Making Webpages Interactive
There are also other great features:
- There is a meet the professional section where you can learn what other computer programmers are doing and ask questions of them.
- You can request help from other students, project evaluations and ask the community questions. And you can also return the same to others.
Source...