Learning programming one week at a time using Code Year

Is anyone using the Code Year Web site to learn programming? It looks like a great concept. You are sent a programming lesson every Monday and you have the week to work on it. You start with JavaScript, which is both easy and useful. And the site is free, but I'm sure there is an opportunity to buy something along the way.

Someone who has "Learn how to write software" as a New Year's resolution please give it a try for a few weeks and post back here.

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Comments

JDMurray

CodeBlox wrote: »

This is for anyone who is familiar with C... Do you think doing something like this is using the language in a wrong way? I mean, there are no methods in native C code. What do you think about what I've written below. Namely, the last argument to printf.

The add() function is a native C function. You are just referencing it using a pointer to a function as you said. It's perfectly legitimate C code, and it would be impossible to build OOP in C without doing so.

JDMurray

JockVSJock wrote: »

HOWEVER, I noticed that O'Reilly is disqualifying what they are doing.

If by disqualifying you mean, "Bad-mouthing a competitor's product in favor of their own", then yes, that what ORA is doing.

JockVSJock

So I've been working away on these lessons about 1 hour a day, when I have free time.

I'm still not sure what the end result will be for me, however I'm enjoying the examples so far and will continue forward. BTW, I was able to work thru the HTML exercises in about 1 hr. Would be interested in seeing some CSS exercises.

JockVSJock

Bl8ckr0uter wrote: »

How can you teach programming without teaching CS theory?

Honestly, some of the best programmers I've met and worked with have never taken any CS theory courses and/or programming classes. They have just learned on their own and experimented, along with finding projects at work that have allowed them to implement programming along with consulting gigs on the side.

Frankly, the college classes I've taken about programming were terrible. I was more confused and frustrated and I was in the majority of these types of students ever time.

Can colleges really teach a skill like this in 1 semester or 4 years?

Maybe if you have the background coming in. I've also found that a number of teachers shouldn't be teaching programming because they couldn't desk check code or they didn't know how to deviate from the canned Powerpoint that came with the teaching manual.

I found this article awhile back called Teach Yourself Programming in 10 years, a good read.

Teach Yourself Programming in Ten Years

eserfeliz

Thanks JD. I finished two weeks of lessons in less than 12 hours! Plus I had to make dinner, run after the toddler, watch Chopped All-Stars, The Client List and Game of Thrones.

Engaging course. I don't know if it'll make me a programmer, but I found it interesting nonetheless.

Slowhand

JDMurray wrote: »

If by disqualifying you mean, "Bad-mouthing a competitor's product in favor of their own", then yes, that what ORA is doing.

I noticed that the O'Reilly article seemed pretty harsh on ALL online learning, from CodeAcademy to the Khan Academy, claiming that it doesn't help you learn advanced topics but rather gives you busy work and rewards meaningless milestones. While it's true that fundamentals, like JavaScript foundations in this case, are easier to teach online, I'd say it's not impossible to offer more advanced topics down the road. Obviously, as anyone who's ever sat in a classroom or been on this forum knows, watching someone speak on video or in front of the lecture hall isn't enough to learn a semester's or certification's-worth of material, you need to practice on your own as well. Then again, here I thought the lecture/homework lesson-model was obvious.

Ah well, I guess it's easy to take pot-shots at something when you're selling a similar product for a service charge on your own site. Or, perhaps, Scott's feeling more than a little butt-hurt that others are "stealing" a familiar process that he's already partaken in - offering online learning - and giving it away for free, thereby garnering a lot of good PR and press coverage for themselves. Who knows, perhaps he's just a tech-hipster mad that his underground movement is going mainstream.

techdudehere

I was able to sign up for the same professor for most of my programming courses. I had dabbled with programming on my own, but the courses forced me to learn things that I otherwise would have ignored. It's possible to be a "C" student and not learn much, too. Unfortunately, there is little assurance that taking courses will result in a certain level of competency.

JDMurray

techdudehere wrote: »

Unfortunately, there is little assurance that taking courses will result in a certain level of competency.

As with anything worth learning, it's practice, practice, practice. Find a software project that interests you and keep hacking away at it. You don't even need to finish a project to learn something from it.

Psoasman

Just signed up for it. This should help with the Java / Programming classes at WGU.

RobertKaucher

JDMurray wrote: »

If by disqualifying you mean, "Bad-mouthing a competitor's product in favor of their own", then yes, that what ORA is doing.

Wow, what total BS in that article. But they did have one legit point: exaggerated claims. How many of these DIY type of course claim you'll gain a mastery or be fluent in French when there is just no way that the claim could be possible. I found the Code Year course was taking far too long and I needed to brush up on my JavaScript faster so I watched a few quick videos and started integrating it into my current role to use jQuery and the SharePoint Client Object Model and within a week I was doing some really cool stuff for my users in SharePoint.

But to be honest, everything I needed to know about programming I learned here: How does a programmer become a brogrammer? - Quora

hiddenknight821

Who's still doing the CodeAcademy? I stopped at Week 6 as I got bored with JavaScript which doesn't appeal my interest, and I was already doing Java programming for WGU at that time. It's week 30 now, and they are finally teaching Python! Now a good reason for me to catch up. I actually have a lot of time to kill now, so I'm going to start catching up. I hope Perl is next too.