Codecademy and the Future of (Not) Learning to Code • Hacker News Board

Re: Codecademy and the Future of (Not) Learning to Code

#31

Post by alinajaf » Sun, Oct 30, 2011, 11:44 AM UTC

Luyt wrote: post #30

alinajaf wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you ask most people what stopped them from reading their entire programming book (and we’ve talked to hundreds of people), it’s almost always that they aren’t motivated enough. In school, learning is motivated by report cards and teacher expectations. We hope we can build a motivational experience that pushes anyone to program - not just the stereotypical developer. Badges and achievements are awesome when done…

Sounds great, where can I find this app?

Still in development, but we'll be starting a closed beta around January. http://blog.japanalicious.com for updates.

Re: Codecademy and the Future of (Not) Learning to Code

#32

Post by [deleted] » Sun, Oct 30, 2011, 12:40 PM UTC

willpower101 wrote: post #16

ralphsaunders wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I taught myself to code (HTML, CSS, and a small amount of PHP — Wordpress) while I was doing a Graphic Design ND. I think the hardest part for me, like Audrey, was trying to understand what a lot of the terms mean and also the concepts behind them. I distinctly remember following a basic HTML & CSS tutorial and not being able to work out how to get the CSS to style the HTML. The example code worked fine, but the rela…

I find myself saying this a lot and I mean no offense but HTML and CSS aren't code. If you can't build a binary search and sort then it doesn't count ;)

[deleted]

Re: Codecademy and the Future of (Not) Learning to Code

#33

Post by losethos » Sun, Oct 30, 2011, 2:15 PM UTC

waynecolvin wrote: post #8

rguzman wrote: post #3

i mostly agree with this. the way you learn how to code is the same way you learn anything else: by doing it. that is, you want to know so bad that you try to do it or someone forces you to do it. that's 80% of the battle. mentorship, tools, and pedagogy (and badges!) probably make up the other 20% of the battle, though. codeacademy fits there. i don't know if what they have is effective or not, but surely they are s…

I first seriously(?) learned how to code by finding a used Pascal book and reading it thoroughly. That was some time after getting my first computer and not knowing where to find a compiler! (I'm not counting forgotten Logo from summer class long ago or using elaborate triggers in a MUD.) I had serious learning problems getting far past that unguided. Finally learning C from some lecture notes was a growth spurt thou…

I used to be an annoying customer. If I had an order of $2.56, I might hand them $3.06 cents, so they could give me two quarters. Eventually, it dawned on me that this is rude. Cashiers probably want to zone-out and think about other things. Just give them exact change or whole dollars, but not other amounts.

I'm still kinda an ass-hole. I pay in cash.

This is hard to remember -- whatever you do, don't change your mind in the middle of an order! That's the worst! ... as in, "Here's $10. No, wait, here's a $5." They will probably think you are trying to con them by confusing you and they might have already selected some bills.

God says... C:\TEXT\2CITIES2.TXT

ow. That perils had thickened about him fast, and might thicken faster and faster yet, he of course knew now. He could not but admit to himself that he might not have made this journey, if he could have foreseen the events of a few days. And yet his misgivings were not so dark as, imagined by the light of this later time, they would appear. Troubled as the future was, it was the unknown future, and in its obscurity there was ignorant hope. The horrible massacre, days and nights long, which, with

Re: Codecademy and the Future of (Not) Learning to Code

#34

Post by jeffreymcmanus » Sun, Oct 30, 2011, 4:19 PM UTC

DanBC wrote: post #23

jeffreymcmanus wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But learn-it-yourself is not the way you "learn anything else". There are almost no other professions where this is the case. Surgeons and lawyers aren't expected to learn on their own. The fact that software engineers are expected to do so seems crazy to me -- and potentially dangerous.

Surgeons are expected to learn by doing; they're just very heavily supervised when they start on live people and they spend time on grapefruit, dead pigs, and dead people first. Reading about a new technique is great. Applying that technique is how a surgeon would learn to do it.

Surgeons don't learn on their own, as many software engineers attempt to. That was my point.

Re: Codecademy and the Future of (Not) Learning to Code

#35

Post by [deleted] » Sun, Oct 30, 2011, 6:01 PM UTC

cantbecool wrote: post #26

bmahmood wrote: post #22

I'm teaching myself to code right now, and have tried 3 different introductory courses/guides, including CodeAcademy. The problem I've faced with each one is I'd learn the same thing (methods, arrays, variables, conditional statements, etc) but was never able to piece together the practical use. I'd get what if/then clauses mean, and what arrays do, but never could grasp their broader functionality or use case in an…

Here's the little secret: Find something you want to create, and build it. It's as simple as that, bmahmood. You have to have that inner fire to build something. If you're interested in web applications, check out http://ruby.railstutorial.org/ It's free and an excellent resource for a curious learner like yourself. At the end of it, you will have created a tangible web application that you could even show your frien…

[deleted]

Re: Codecademy and the Future of (Not) Learning to Code

#36

Post by [deleted] » Sun, Oct 30, 2011, 6:01 PM UTC

cantbecool wrote: post #26

bmahmood wrote: post #22

I'm teaching myself to code right now, and have tried 3 different introductory courses/guides, including CodeAcademy. The problem I've faced with each one is I'd learn the same thing (methods, arrays, variables, conditional statements, etc) but was never able to piece together the practical use. I'd get what if/then clauses mean, and what arrays do, but never could grasp their broader functionality or use case in an…

Here's the little secret: Find something you want to create, and build it. It's as simple as that, bmahmood. You have to have that inner fire to build something. If you're interested in web applications, check out http://ruby.railstutorial.org/ It's free and an excellent resource for a curious learner like yourself. At the end of it, you will have created a tangible web application that you could even show your frien…

[deleted]

Re: Codecademy and the Future of (Not) Learning to Code

#37

Post by bmahmood » Sun, Oct 30, 2011, 6:01 PM UTC

cantbecool wrote: post #26

bmahmood wrote: post #22

I'm teaching myself to code right now, and have tried 3 different introductory courses/guides, including CodeAcademy. The problem I've faced with each one is I'd learn the same thing (methods, arrays, variables, conditional statements, etc) but was never able to piece together the practical use. I'd get what if/then clauses mean, and what arrays do, but never could grasp their broader functionality or use case in an…

Here's the little secret: Find something you want to create, and build it. It's as simple as that, bmahmood. You have to have that inner fire to build something. If you're interested in web applications, check out http://ruby.railstutorial.org/ It's free and an excellent resource for a curious learner like yourself. At the end of it, you will have created a tangible web application that you could even show your frien…

Thanks for the support and referral! I'm interested in building a web app, so will be sure to try out the ruby site. Much appreciated!