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How Codecademy (YC S11) Snagged 200,000 Users in Seven Days

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Re: How Codecademy (YC S11) Snagged 200,000 Users in Seven Days

#11

Post by dsawler »

zds wrote: post #8
dsawler wrote: post #7

I'm a web designer who really wants to learn JS to be able to fully implement my designs on the front end (I know HTML/CSS and can edit a jQuery script to fit my needs). I feel I am in their target market, or close to it, but they failed at keeping me a student. I stopped going to Codecademy because I could no longer understand the instructions, and because it was buggy. I often had to ask my boyfriend, who is an eng…

Thanks for the feedback. I'd love to chat with you in a bit more depth about your experience if you have a chance - can you email contact(at)codecademy(dot)com if you have a minute? We're doing everything we can to improve quality of content as well.

Absolutely.

Re: How Codecademy (YC S11) Snagged 200,000 Users in Seven Days

#12

Post by AznHisoka »

asdfdsa1234 wrote: post #9

I don't know why Codecademy gets any attention. After seeing a number of items about it, I attempted to use Codecademy to brush up on javascript. My conclusion: it's a fine idea poorly executed and basically useless as a learning tool. Pure hype. FWIW, I don't mean to be caustic. I honestly can't believe that anyone who writes posivitely about it has used it.

Same here. A lot of hype thanks to it being associated with YC and hackers.

Re: How Codecademy (YC S11) Snagged 200,000 Users in Seven Days

#13

Post by mkramlich »

My guess as to how they got users that fast? A lot of people wanting to learn programming to make higher pay, plus, a spike in folks wanting to start web startups but are not already a programmer (with a good percentage of those excited by Facebook's story). I've had to review resumes and interview folks for software jobs before, and a surprising percentage can't seem to program or not know what they're talking about. Lure of money is strong.

Re: How Codecademy (YC S11) Snagged 200,000 Users in Seven Days

#14

Post by zds »

asdfdsa1234 wrote: post #9

I don't know why Codecademy gets any attention. After seeing a number of items about it, I attempted to use Codecademy to brush up on javascript. My conclusion: it's a fine idea poorly executed and basically useless as a learning tool. Pure hype. FWIW, I don't mean to be caustic. I honestly can't believe that anyone who writes posivitely about it has used it.

I'd love to hear your comments as to what you'd improve. Feel free to email me - contact(at)codecademy(dot)com. As I've mentioned earlier in the thread, we're pushing improvements every day based on user feedback. We'd be happy to help fix your concerns too.

Re: How Codecademy (YC S11) Snagged 200,000 Users in Seven Days

#16

Post by apsurd »

possibly offtopic but as a non-beginner javascript developer I find some things taught to be not best practices. its possible that the user is being guided up to a place where he fully understands "this is why this method is better". an obious example is the use of global variables and functions whose main purpose is to act on global variables. while not technically wrong, it is definitely a no no in modern development.

From what I went through I would say its a good platform to learn syntax and keyword definitions e.g. "this is a function" but it doesnt address the application part. and no having a step by step project at the end of the lesson does not address the application part. application needs to teach how to think in programming, how to take problems conveyed in english and solve them with programing.

lastly, ive found technical errors in the way instructions are worded. what they are asking for in english is not exactly what they expect as the code solution. needless to say this frustrates beginners.

its very hard to teach.

Re: How Codecademy (YC S11) Snagged 200,000 Users in Seven Days

#17

Post by zds »

apsurd wrote: post #16

possibly offtopic but as a non-beginner javascript developer I find some things taught to be not best practices. its possible that the user is being guided up to a place where he fully understands "this is why this method is better". an obious example is the use of global variables and functions whose main purpose is to act on global variables. while not technically wrong, it is definitely a no no in modern developme…

thanks, apsurd. it definitely is hard to teach but we're dedicated to creating awesome learning material that's easy for everyone to use and learn with.

if you have more (or specific) comments, please shoot me an email - contact(at)codecademy(dot)com. thanks!

Re: How Codecademy (YC S11) Snagged 200,000 Users in Seven Days

#18

Post by joeag »

graeme wrote: post #3

I used Codecademy for the first seven weeks. I started learning to program in January 2012, so the timing was perfect - I was their target market. It was fun and interesting for a while. But the instructions began to get cumbersome. You had to read 3-4 paragraphs just to learn that they wanted you to write a simple, one line loop. I spent more time reading instructions than thinking about or writing code. I was using…

I did about 6 or 7 weeks of Codecademy and then stopped also. I found the same issues mentioned above, mostly just wrote "code" without really understanding what was supposed to be happening. I like Udacity a lot more and have been able to stick with that (so far). I think the lecture videos used on Udacity make a big difference. I guess it's also different in that it's "computer science" rather than learn to code in javascript - so the Udacity course is intentionally more focused on underlying concepts. I am afraid I am going to fall off the Udacity schedule though because it's very challenging/taxing. I just can't sit and work the lessons or homework in one sitting - my brain gets too tired!

Both courses/companies have been great for me though as a non-programmer. I think these companies and others like them have bright futures.

Re: How Codecademy (YC S11) Snagged 200,000 Users in Seven Days

#20

Post by bitsoda »

I'm just poking my head in here to sing Udacity's praises. Their CS-101 class is phenomenal; it is hands down the best intro to CS on the web. The fact that it's free is just icing on the cake. The 1 unit per week for 7 weeks pace is demanding -- and I think users would benefit from the doubling of the course length -- but the videos, professors, community, quiz frequency, and challenging homework make for one hell of a learning experience I've never seen before online.
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