More Coding Tutorials
Every now and then I review my recommendations for coding tutorials as the sites can change… a lot! Some of them add on complexity which I think makes it harder for the novice to navigate. And some of them just want money.
I posted earlier about my Top 4 Coding Courses – but here are a few more recs – most of these fell out of favor due to the reasons above. But, still – some good stuff in here!
CodeAvengers
CodeAvengers is what my kids started on to learn HTML and CSS. The courses are interactive. They seem to keep playing with their pricing but as of January 2018, they had a free trial then a $29 monthly fee. It has an easy to use interface for allowing students and parents to track their progress. The lessons are well done and suited for kids.
Right now they offer three main levels – one aimed at kids ages5-14, one aimed at beginners 15 and up and one aimed at teachers:
They have three areas in ages 5-14 – foundational, intermediate and advanced. For the older kids they have an assortment of skills depending on what you pick including:
- HTML/CSS
- JavaScript
- Web Dev – includes JavaScript Interactivity and JQuery
- Python
- Design – typography (fonts) and color theory
- Intro Coding – get a taste of HTML, CSS, JavaScript and Python
- Computer Science – fundamentals of programming and development
- Game Development – use JavaScript to create games
CodeAcademy
This used to be a great free one as well but they have gone the way of CodeAvengers with a mix of free and paid courses and adding different levels and paths. They cover the basics HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python plus throw in some paths like Front-End Engineer, Full Stack Engieneer, Stupd for the AP Computer Science Test A, Data Scientist and more.
Code.org
Code.org was started with a mission to bring code to everyone and has an impressive list of heavy hitters giving performances via video including, but certainly not limited to, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg. It uses a drag and drop language called Blockify which is similar to Scratch but has a little more complexity including functions and variables. They started with just three courses but rapidly add on.
This site is great for younger or beginning programmers. They also provide support to teachers. A little simplistic sometimes.
- Courses A & B is designed for early readers – ages 4+
- Grades 6-12 – three tutorials – App Lab, Game Lab and Web Lab which teach kids how to create web apps and pages. They also have links to outside courses.
- Beyond K-12 – have some courses for the older ones.
All courses come complete with teacher lessons as well as assignments for the students. It is extremely easy to organize classes and to track progress.
And More
Here are some other options – these are more advanced and you do have to pay. But there are some wonderful courses. Comment and let me know if you’d like me to write a post reviewing them! They are: