31–40 of 85 posts
"You’re in a browser, so the delete button tells the browser to go back to the previous page you visited in that particular tab. " Nothing at all to do with CodeAcademy- but I really hate this behavior.
This online tutorial grossly overestimates how much the layperson understands about computer languages. For the complete beginner, far too much is left unexplained. No one actually codes using a REPL in a browser. Yet the site makes no attempt to explain why or how this REPL exists, or how it works. It doesn't explain why I can only type in certain places on the screen. It doesn't explain how to try again, or undo mi…
I did the same thing with my sister(who doesn't know any code) and the same issues came up with her as well. This is definitely a design issue. How to make the UI better? In the initial stages of learning of learning a concept, have a dialogue appear for each error saying something like: When you're coding in the real world no one is going to tell you this, but we've got your back! You forgot the quotes around your n…
I was a complete beginner at coding a few months ago. I really really wanted to learn, so I've tried going to local meetups designed to teach newbies to code and I've tried Codecademy. The problem I found was this tendency to start with the terminal as the teaching tool. The terminal is a black and intimidating hole to a beginner. Sure, I happily typed in 2+2 and got 4 as a result, and I understood how to store varia…
Is there a link to this Karel the Robot exercise or is it a hand out? We're in the amidst of creating something complimentary (different too) to Codecademy called http://CodePupil.com . We're eager to see different styles of teaching; especially examples where gaming is used! As noted in the OP's article creating a new experience and especially one that teaches all the Elizabeth's how to code is a big challenge. We'v…
tl;dr - I think I fixed this problem in my app (iheartpy.com) using AIML. Caution: Still a work in progress. The whoe thing - I am a self-taught programmer. And I had been an extensive user of codeacademy myself. I realized this rather serious design flaw early on and tried to do something about it. Initially, I tried to right my own engine based on JSON but midway I discovered AIML. It suited the task perfectly. So…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is there a link to this Karel the Robot exercise or is it a hand out? We're in the amidst of creating something complimentary (different too) to Codecademy called http://CodePupil.com . We're eager to see different styles of teaching; especially examples where gaming is used! As noted in the OP's article creating a new experience and especially one that teaches all the Elizabeth's how to code is a big challenge. We'v…
I too tried my hand at it in a side project: iheartpy.com See if there's anything you find useful in it. Although, I think this comment needs to be someplace else.
THough I wonder it asked me to sign in using my Google account. Is there an option to use the site further without signing in?
I love codecademy, but I always wondered if it would be better to ease a newbie into programming with a 'childrens' UI like Scratch or Alice. It wouldn't build up any coding muscle memory, but it might help them get use to the general look and feel of code before asking them to type it out themselves.
"You’re in a browser, so the delete button tells the browser to go back to the previous page you visited in that particular tab. " Nothing at all to do with CodeAcademy- but I really hate this behavior.
Agreed 110%. given that up and down arrows scroll up and down, having left/right arrow keys ties to history fwd/back would make a heck of a lot more sense.
Glad someone pointed this out. Several of us are doing this at the office and I've watched our design team struggle in similar ways. If you're not used to the the kind of errors you'll see in coding or javascript, it can be incredibly confusing. Luckily for me, a reference error can be meaningful but to someone who has no idea about scripting, it's utterly worthless (sure you could argue this person should go to goog…
A large part of learning to program is testing, then debugging. If 2+3 didn't work, my natural course of action would be to read the instructions again, and then try 2+2 . CodeAcademy is trying to teach people to code, and I think a big part of that, is learning to navigate small problems, debug, and follow instructions. If they just gave instructions that said "type the following", that would take away these problem…
"Oops, try again."
Code Academy could type your statement:
"A large part of learning to program is testing and debugging. Please see if you can figure out what went wrong and try again."
It's all about setting expectations.
