Codewars

Despite the lowest unemployment rate in decades, That’s great news for recent computer science graduates and developers currently working in the field, but that doesn’t mean ambitious engineers can get complacent. While there will likely be growth opportunities in the market overall, there are still significant changes happening all the time, and a sense of urgency to keep up with the latest trends. Today, there are more types of technical roles than ever before, and a continued proliferation of new languages, frameworks, and technologies. Technical employees that want to get ahead should routinely test and refine their skills. To that end, I’ve put together the following list of platforms where you can level up your skills for any number of roles, from data science to developer operations. 1. freeCodeCamp Helpful links: Let's begin with freeCodeCamp, which is a great website for beginners who are just getting into coding. They offer all sorts of resources on learning syntax, practicing coding, building projects, and preparing for interviews. They don’t have as many interactive coding challenges as other sites, but they do offer some fun Great for Novices who are just learning to code for the first time. It’s a great place to learn HTML, CSS, and JavaScript in a fun, interactive way. Pricing / Premium content freeCodeCamp is completely free. 2. Coderbyte Helpful links: My platform, Coderbyte, provides 300+ coding challenges you can solve in an online editor using 10 differ...

• • • • • • CodeCombat has a focus on gamification that makes it suitable for a younger audience. If you like RPG games with cartoon fantasy graphics, you'll enjoy it too. The game builds on older learn-to-code systems such as self.moveDown(), self.moveRight(), self.attack(self.findNearestEnemy()), etc.). Commands have to be typed correctly to control the avatar, and incorrect programs with logical faults (like commanding the avatar to run against a wall) will cause it to lose hit points and eventually die. In each level, the player is assigned a set of tasks—usually to collect gems, defeat monsters, and move to the exit of a level. The player is gradually introduced to new commands like loops, conditionals, and variables. Diamonds collected in a level can be invested between levels for better armor, weapons, and programming commands (cleverly symbolized as spellbooks and magic devices) to master the increasingly tricky tasks in the higher levels. CodeCombat begins with a smooth learning curve well suited to players with no coding experience. As the player progresses, the tasks involve more complex programming concepts. Most importantly, the levels themselves become more complex due to more possible interaction with the objects in the game world: fences can be built, fire traps can be set, enemies can be lured into minefields, special weapons allow special attacks with a cooldown timer, etc. In addition to beautifully designed levels, the game's later stages also boast rid...

Mastery Learning is the idea that you need to master one concept before moving on to the next. Mastery Learning’s effectiveness comes from using iterative, hands-on subject matter practice, assessing and analyzing knowledge gaps, and leveraging insights gained from failures to fully understand the concept at hand. Then, you can move onto the next concept and repeat the process.

As a Programmer, you'll probably find yourself having to learn a number of programming languages whether it be for work or just for fun. In this blog, I will share what I personally think is the best way to learn a new language provided you're fairly proficient in one of the same So whenever we learn something the majority of us head to YouTube or grab a book or use some learning website to get stuck in. But for us programmers who already know the basic principles of programming, watching tutorials telling us how to do an if statement can be quite laborious. However, I know there are books and even tutorials out there which cater to people who already understand the basic principles of programming, but I'd like to share an alternate approach which works well for me. Because they sponsor me. Just kidding 🤣, I am in no way affiliated with Codewars, although I'd bloody love to be. Katas in which are split by their difficulty. They've also got a pretty awesome leveling system! I encourage you to check it out if you've not heard of it as my description is only brief! In Codewars the easiest type of problem is an 8Kyu and this is where I always start when learning a new language. And I'm sure the majority of you are looking at the kata thinking it is far too easy and potentially a waste of time, but the beauty of this approach is it forces you to ask questions, and these questions are vital for sculpting your mental model of the language. Codewars has its own built-in editor, bu...

Learning how to code can change your life for good. It’s never been easier to teach yourself technical skills online and start a career as a developer. But the hardest part is knowing where you should start learning. How can you find the best websites to learn coding from scratch as a beginner? How can you make sure you are not wasting your time learning skills you won’t need? Not too long ago, I was where you are right now. I knew I wanted to learn coding, but I had no idea where to start. With all the I didn’t know what skills I wanted to specialize in. So I didn’t know how to pick the best websites to learn to code that would teach me the right skills I needed. If you are interested in teaching yourself how to code online, you are in the right place. In this post, I will walk you through the best websites to learn coding and web development from scratch. You will find free coding courses and tutorials to start learning right away. I will also cover a few paid resources I have tried and found helpful. Let’s dive right in! Here are a couple of related posts you may find helpful, too: • • • FAQ: How to Become a Web Developer? Please note: This post contains affiliate links to products I use and recommend. I may receive a small commission if you purchase through one of my links, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support! Why should you learn how to code? If you’re completely new to coding and web development, you might be wondering why learning how to code is...

Learning how to code can change your life for good. It’s never been easier to teach yourself technical skills online and start a career as a developer. But the hardest part is knowing where you should start learning. How can you find the best websites to learn coding from scratch as a beginner? How can you make sure you are not wasting your time learning skills you won’t need? Not too long ago, I was where you are right now. I knew I wanted to learn coding, but I had no idea where to start. With all the I didn’t know what skills I wanted to specialize in. So I didn’t know how to pick the best websites to learn to code that would teach me the right skills I needed. If you are interested in teaching yourself how to code online, you are in the right place. In this post, I will walk you through the best websites to learn coding and web development from scratch. You will find free coding courses and tutorials to start learning right away. I will also cover a few paid resources I have tried and found helpful. Let’s dive right in! Here are a couple of related posts you may find helpful, too: • • • FAQ: How to Become a Web Developer? Please note: This post contains affiliate links to products I use and recommend. I may receive a small commission if you purchase through one of my links, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support! Why should you learn how to code? If you’re completely new to coding and web development, you might be wondering why learning how to code is...

Despite the lowest unemployment rate in decades, That’s great news for recent computer science graduates and developers currently working in the field, but that doesn’t mean ambitious engineers can get complacent. While there will likely be growth opportunities in the market overall, there are still significant changes happening all the time, and a sense of urgency to keep up with the latest trends. Today, there are more types of technical roles than ever before, and a continued proliferation of new languages, frameworks, and technologies. Technical employees that want to get ahead should routinely test and refine their skills. To that end, I’ve put together the following list of platforms where you can level up your skills for any number of roles, from data science to developer operations. 1. freeCodeCamp Helpful links: Let's begin with freeCodeCamp, which is a great website for beginners who are just getting into coding. They offer all sorts of resources on learning syntax, practicing coding, building projects, and preparing for interviews. They don’t have as many interactive coding challenges as other sites, but they do offer some fun Great for Novices who are just learning to code for the first time. It’s a great place to learn HTML, CSS, and JavaScript in a fun, interactive way. Pricing / Premium content freeCodeCamp is completely free. 2. Coderbyte Helpful links: My platform, Coderbyte, provides 300+ coding challenges you can solve in an online editor using 10 differ...

Mastery Learning is the idea that you need to master one concept before moving on to the next. Mastery Learning’s effectiveness comes from using iterative, hands-on subject matter practice, assessing and analyzing knowledge gaps, and leveraging insights gained from failures to fully understand the concept at hand. Then, you can move onto the next concept and repeat the process.

As a Programmer, you'll probably find yourself having to learn a number of programming languages whether it be for work or just for fun. In this blog, I will share what I personally think is the best way to learn a new language provided you're fairly proficient in one of the same So whenever we learn something the majority of us head to YouTube or grab a book or use some learning website to get stuck in. But for us programmers who already know the basic principles of programming, watching tutorials telling us how to do an if statement can be quite laborious. However, I know there are books and even tutorials out there which cater to people who already understand the basic principles of programming, but I'd like to share an alternate approach which works well for me. Because they sponsor me. Just kidding 🤣, I am in no way affiliated with Codewars, although I'd bloody love to be. Katas in which are split by their difficulty. They've also got a pretty awesome leveling system! I encourage you to check it out if you've not heard of it as my description is only brief! In Codewars the easiest type of problem is an 8Kyu and this is where I always start when learning a new language. And I'm sure the majority of you are looking at the kata thinking it is far too easy and potentially a waste of time, but the beauty of this approach is it forces you to ask questions, and these questions are vital for sculpting your mental model of the language. Codewars has its own built-in editor, bu...

• • • • • • CodeCombat has a focus on gamification that makes it suitable for a younger audience. If you like RPG games with cartoon fantasy graphics, you'll enjoy it too. The game builds on older learn-to-code systems such as self.moveDown(), self.moveRight(), self.attack(self.findNearestEnemy()), etc.). Commands have to be typed correctly to control the avatar, and incorrect programs with logical faults (like commanding the avatar to run against a wall) will cause it to lose hit points and eventually die. In each level, the player is assigned a set of tasks—usually to collect gems, defeat monsters, and move to the exit of a level. The player is gradually introduced to new commands like loops, conditionals, and variables. Diamonds collected in a level can be invested between levels for better armor, weapons, and programming commands (cleverly symbolized as spellbooks and magic devices) to master the increasingly tricky tasks in the higher levels. CodeCombat begins with a smooth learning curve well suited to players with no coding experience. As the player progresses, the tasks involve more complex programming concepts. Most importantly, the levels themselves become more complex due to more possible interaction with the objects in the game world: fences can be built, fire traps can be set, enemies can be lured into minefields, special weapons allow special attacks with a cooldown timer, etc. In addition to beautifully designed levels, the game's later stages also boast rid...