Coding and development is increasing in popularity and believe it or not, many of the people learning how to do it are doing it at home. Here are 5 ways you can learn how to code without ever setting foot into a classroom.
MIT open courseware
MIT offers free courses available for everyone! It’s aimed for students with little to no programing experience. You can browse through the lessons at your leisure with absolutely no pressure. Some of the lessons include an Introduction to Programming in Java as well as a lesson on Practical Programming in C.
Codecademy
Codecademy was used by Tommy Nicholas, creator of a website called coffitivity. A website that was created to recreate the ambient sounds of a cafe to boost your creativity and help you work better. This website was named one of TIME’s top 50 sites of 2013. This just goes to show that these online academies really do work. This student went from beginner to having a top 50 website, all thanks to the help of Codecademy. These are some of the options available:
Udacity
You can pay for their guided courses, which include a personal coach to help you develop your skills and lead you in the right direction, or browse their courseware materials pro bono. Instead of giving you lectures to view, Udacity makes you work on hands-on projects. It applies knowledge from industry experts so you’ll leave with credentials that match industry demands. One student testimonial is of a woman who decided to change her career completely with the help of Udacity. She went from a job in research to being a developer.
Khan Academy
Kahn Academy is known for being one of the earliest online learning academies. It was started by Salman Khan who began by creating video tutorials for math lessons. It’s since branched out to other subjects including science, economics, and computer science. This academy provides a personalized learning experience for all ages. Khan Academy has partnered with institutions like NASA, The Museum of Modern Art, The California Academy of Sciences, and MIT to offer specialized content. Video lessons are translated into almost 40 different languages, so there are millions of students all over the world.
Treehouse
Treehouse is great for those of you who are just starting to step into the developing world. The teaching dynamic is very fun and interactive, they do things like give you points for viewing tutorials and answering quiz questions. There is plenty to keep you busy while having fun. They also teach you about freelancing and business strategies so you can apply the knowledge you gain on the site.
Technology has changed the way we do so many things, including the way we learn. Education has slowly changed because of the accessibility to new tech. It is even omitting the need for a classroom completely. There is no longer a need for you to leave your home and spend hours driving back and forth. There are many resources that allow you to learn about pretty much anything without even needing to enroll in a school.