Codeschool RubyBits vs Codecademy, The Sequel

Part II of the Codeschool vs. Codecademy Comparison!

I finally got around to checking out RubyBits, CodeSchool's interactive coding lessons for Ruby. And let me tell you, I actually love it. It consists of a video lesson (with a teacher talking) highlighting different concepts, followed by different "challenges" (practice problems) all presented in a cute, 1980s video game/RPG format.

What I Liked

The COLORS! Let's face it. With the exception of a few die-hard code junkies, for most of us, learning code can be dry and difficult. But the bright colors and 80s RPG graphics make me smile, even as I'm trying to figure out the answer to the question.

The EASY-TO-NAVIGATE INTERFACE! Wow! When I want a hint, I can click on it. When I want the answer, I can click on it. When I want to review the slides from the lesson, I can do that too, with one simple click. Genius!

VIDEO WITH A PERSON! Yes, yes, I know it's a pre-recorded lesson. But somehow, having a human go over these dry concepts with me somehow makes coding more...human!

Now don't get me wrong. Codecademy is still my first love. It was where I first learned to love the instant gratification of online coding lessons. But RubyBits took it one step higher, and now I'm hooked. It also helps that I paid for the subsciption. So will I be practicing? You bet!

**Note** In the CodeSchool forum, some folks mentioned that the jump in level from "TryRuby" (the introductory Ruby lesson) to Level 1 of RubyBits was too abrupt. I personally did not find this to be so, as I have already been studying Ruby from various sources. I find that with each different source I study from, I learn something new, even if it's something I already thought I knew. However, I can see how someone might think the jump in level is too abrupt as RubyBits is especially jargon-heavy. I appreciated the jargon-heaviness of this as I'm a beginner and need practice using correct terms/jargon. The final verdict, of course, is up to you, my friends.

Happy Coding! :-)

Codecademy vs Codeschool

**SCARY LEGALESE** I am not sponsored by either Codecademy or CodeSchool. I wish I were! LOL. Anything written here is my free and honest opinion. No goods, money, or services were exchanged for this blog entry. No small animals were harmed in the making of this blog entry.

Whew! Oh yeah, and Happy New Year Everyone!

Okay! So let's start this thing for real!

It's been about a month and a half since I decided to change my life and learn to code. It's been an up-and-down experience of course, as anyone trying something completely new can tell you. I've tried various books (which I plan to review here) and web sites, most of which I have stumbled upon by accident. Two websites which have figured prominently in my Journey to Ruby Developer are CodeSchool and Codecademy.

If you want to read other folks' take on this topic, I will now direct you to to Quora (a lovely web site which I can spend hours wasting time, I mean, doing research on.) I will be writing from my own SUPER newbie perspective. I love both these web sites for different reasons.

First off, I LOVE Codecademy for its price: FREE. For someone (like me) who is low on funds and not entirely certain (at first) I wanted to do this coding thing, I wanted to try something risk free. And because I had only studied coding previously with books, it was nice to have INTERACTIVE tutorials. I type something in wrong, BAM, Codecademy will tell me instantly. Stuck on something? Post your question on the forum, and a fellow user will answer you usually within 24 hours.

There were also things I didn't love. Anyone who codes for a bit knows that there is usually more than one solution to a coding problem. But for Codecademy, if you use correct Ruby code but don't use the exact code they want, your code will not be accepted as correct. I understand they do this so that you practice the exact code they want you to learn, but still, it sometimes gets to be a pain in the butt. Another thing I didn't like, was that they have you practice all these skills, but rarely tell you what the practical applications of this code is. Hash? Array? Huh? Finally, although I liked the interactive style learning, I missed learning from a book. When I was studying from a book, I had to painstakingly type in things line-by-line vs copy/paste, which forced me to get to know the code more intimately. And from a book, there's less pressure to pick up new concepts instantly. I could type some code, put down the book, mull over the new code, and do something else.

Enter CodeSchool. I honestly haven't been using it that long (I LITERALLY signed up for a subscription yesterday) but I have completed the first free "Try Ruby" module and I already love it. What do I love? First off, although it's a paid subscription, the price isn't too bad at $29 per month. Secondly, I like that, while completing the TryRuby section, they explained exactly what the code could be used for (there's a short section on building your own blog from an array of classes! WHOA! Talk about practical!) I can't speak yet to the rest of the course offerings, Ruby or otherwise, but I will certainly post updates regarding my experience using CodeSchool.

In closing, there's a lot to love about both web sites. I personally found Codecademy's Beginning Ruby section more challenging than CodeSchool's, but that's probably also because I had less experience with Ruby then, so that's why it was more confusing and difficult to me. Either way, I don't think a beginner to Ruby could lose by trying both, as the price is nice (FREE) and even if you think you have a good foundation, you can always stand to learn something from practicing the basics. Take care, everyone! And if there's winter where you are, keep warm!