I started with the Web Fundamentals because I figured it would give me a good base to build from. It focused primarily on HTML and CSS, both of which I have some familiarity with from years of tweaking my sites. I was surprised by how much of the HTML I knew but I still learned a lot and the CSS was almost all new.
Course Pros:
- It was laid out and progressed well in an engaging and occasionally humorous manner
- It was an intro but covered most of the common HTML and CSS elements and some not so common
Course Cons:
- If you get something wrong, there is no way to determine what it is so if you are really confused you just get stuck. It would be nice if there was a “see correct code” button so you can see where you went wrong and then try again.
- There is no easy way to look back at what has been covered previously if you forget an element. Be prepared to go hunting off-site for help.
- It was a LOT of information to absorb in one course – particularly the CSS. This is probably at least partially my fault as I crammed it all into a day. Those who take it more slowly probably won’t be as overwhelmed.
Conclusion:
I’m glad I started with this course. It gave me some confidence to move forward and familiarity with terminology which I think will be found across languages.
Next Steps:
Because I’m still a bit confused by some of the CSS stuff, I want to practice a bit before moving on to another language. I will do this via the “Projects” section on Codecademy and “Coding Exercises” on Programmr. Both will help me practice what I have just learned which will make me more comfortable moving forward.
Learning to Code 