I am not a big fan of them because there is so much work out there. You could be getting paid to code (and learn) rather that doing a hackathon.
In addition, the only way you get coding chops, is by building real apps for real clients. One thing a lot of developers miss, is that being able to manage a project has a lot to do with managing non-nerd clients … you only get that experience in the real world.
I used to see the same sort of thing in martial arts, where certain styles are really big into drills and exercises. The problem is, that they put much less (if any) time into actual fighting.
… Then they take a beating when they are unlucky enough to mix it up with someone who spent his time sparring, rather than running through drills.
That said, the more code you write the better, so codathons will improve your abilities no doubt … but nothing compares to the real thing. Pick your analogy! 🙂
I am happy to announce that we will be releasing a new course for schools: Powerful Python 3. Part of our collection of coding courses, designed specially for classroom learning.
Powerful Python 3 is designed for students (and teachers) who are totally new to code! The course is made up of easy to follow video lessons, followed by fun and effective quizzing and code challenges.
… Like all StudioWeb courses, we provide a complete curriculum that includes projects, a grading rubric and our powerful auto-grading system that provides accurate grades by course, chapter and lesson.
StudioWeb’s Python course will finally make learning and teaching Python, easy for the novice coder.
Please feel to contact us if you have any questions!
In 2010, I decided to build an app that would make teaching and learning code easy, for middle school students and up. The first version hit schools a year later – that’s when the app started to really take shape.
Since that time, StudioWeb has gone through many changes reflecting our experience, as more and more schools used StudioWeb in classrooms. This summarizes what we’ve learned:
Gamification of the learning process is important. StudioWeb was gamified from the start, but we expanded the features over time, making StudioWeb even more engaging.
You need to let teachers and students tell you what works, and what doesn’t work with your app and courses. Bugs were crushed, features added AND some removed.
Visit schools, talk to students and teachers. Refined accordingly.
Continually update incrementally to gauge each change properly.
Develop courses that integrate with your app based on years of input from users, and from raw data derived from people using your system.
Result:
StudioWeb is now a powerful turnkey system that makes teaching and learning code amazingly easy and fun. Students are super engaged, and teachers are relaxed as they facilitate StudioWeb based classrooms.
We’ve been refining StudioWeb over the last 6yrs, working with many schools and teachers. In fact, StudioWeb has been developed hand-in-hand with teachers, as tens of thousands of students have used it to learn to code.
… That’s a big reason why it is so effective.
You can teach the following popular coding languages with StudioWeb:
1. Fun engaging lessons for students.
2. Practically no PD required for teachers who’ve never coded before.
3. Practically no prep – you can get up and running with as little as 30 minutes.
4. Powerful auto generated grades by course, chapter and even down to the lesson.
5. Over 50 projects to assign students and classroom activities.
6. Personal support: if you have any questions, you will be able to speak to me personally throughout the year.
Teachers and students love StudioWeb and so we have a 100% renewal rate. If you want to teach code, it can’t get any easier.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me directly: stefan (at) Studioweb.com
I recently watched Google’s presentation of their Pixel phones. The thing is, it wasn’t really about the phone, it was much more about Google’s push into more advanced Ai through Google Assistant.
When it comes to teaching web design and development, the common hurdle we have seen, is that many middle school and high school teachers are beginners themselves. We have solved this problem with StudioWeb.
StudioWeb is loved by teachers and students, because it makes teaching and learning code amazingly easy. It comes with everything a teacher could want:
assignments and classrooms activities
auto grading by course, chapters and lessons.
video based interactive quizzing and code challenges
easy to use grading rubric for the projects
open ended lesson plans
video walk-throughs of the app
… And much more.
Final comments for teachers:
You could be up and running in about 1hr! No prior coding experience required. We’ve been working with schools for 5 years to get StudioWeb to where it is today. StudioWeb is proven.
Schools are looking for ways to introduce coding into the classroom, and they have been told that dragging blocks on a screen is coding.
The most popular of these visual ‘code’ teaching tools, is an app called Scratch. The problem is, Scratch is not coding.
Here is a sample of some actual code – a little JavaScript:
function myFunction(p1, p2) {
   return p1 * p2;         Â
}
var person = {
   firstName:"John",
   lastName:"Doe",
   age:50,
   eyeColor:"blue"
};
Or how about some CSS3 code:
div {
   width: 300px;
   border: 25px solid green;
   padding: 25px;
   margin: 25px;
}
Now compare that above code snippets to the Scratch ‘code’ block in the top right.
Now as an educator, I ask myself if students will see the relationship between the Scratch block, with actual code? I personally don’t see it.
Scratch cat
A place for Scratch in a Code Curriculum
You could argue that Scratch is very simple programming, since you are controlling the character on screen with a series of commands. But given that nobody uses Scratch to do anything in the real world, why not teach students true programming and coding languages? With the right courses, lessons and supporting software, you can!
That said, Scratch can be used for elementary students in the 4-5th grade or younger, perhaps to introduce some basic coding concepts to students. But, I feel this will have a limited impact. Why?
Writing Real Code helps Internalize Concepts
I have been teaching code since 2003, and one thing that experience has taught me, is that the writing of actual code has a powerful impact in terms of understanding and internalizing coding concepts. It’s important to have students break out the code editor (a tool that coders use) and write code, break code and build actual projects.
… When students see their code come to life in real things, you will see their engagement skyrocket.
Everyone knows that kids who learn to code, will have a big advantage in the workplace and in life. Besides the fact that coding is a valuable skillset with an amazing number of high paying jobs, the mental training that comes with learning to code cannot be underestimated.
Homeschooling your kids in code
If you don’t know web design and coding, you need a structured curriculum that will gently teach your kids. Courses have to be easy to understand, fun and practical. Yes, practical: nothing motivates kids to learn when they see that they are building real things.
… What’s more fun for a kid, to learn to drive a go-cart, or a real car?
Which coding languages should kids learn?
Teaching your kids to code in any language is great, but I would say the most important and effective languages to teach are the languages of the Web:
HTML5
CSS3
JavaScript
Besides being used to create all the world’s websites and web apps (ex: google, facebook, amazon), these coding languages are also a popular choice in creating games and mobile apps that work on iPhone, iPads, Android devices and even Windows mobile devices.
Another great thing about these languages is that they are visual: students see their code come to life in real-world projects. This touch of reality is far more engaging than writing code that moves a character around a screen in a simulator.
Conclusion
I’ve been coding since 1994, teaching code since 2003 and helping schools teach code over the last 6 years. That experience teaches you a lot about teaching. If you want to easily home school your kids in code, feel free to check out StudioWeb.com.
Everyone knows that kids who learn to code, will have a big advantage in the workplace and in life. Besides the fact that coding is a valuable skillset with an amazing number of high paying jobs, the mental training that comes with learning to code cannot be underestimated.
