"Learn to Code" bundle. Very cheap.

[Jaguar]

These courses are free :

Codecademy

W3Schools

[Formerly SK]

Thanks for these links!  I want my 9yo DS to start learning code. 

[Jaguar]

Yeah Support Admins on ProBoards recommended the Codecademy one, so I got an account with them. The account lets you track your progress.

[Jaguar]

Plus there are code learning sites right here on ProBoards.

[Deleted]

Are the courses any good? I would prefer postings like this if you or someone you knew actually paid and took the classes so the pluses and minuses could be shared. This looks like you are just soliciting for something that wants a random amount of money from people.

[milee]

Feb 22, 2014 12:14:17 GMT -5 @wrongsideof30 said:

Feb 22, 2014 11:49:50 GMT -5 @lillylake said:

I want my 9yo to learn to code also. I think it would be easier if I learned first.

It might be easier if you know and can teach him, but then again he might be just fine poking around on his own.

Both my boys are far more advanced than I am (and even DH is) with computers and everything related to them. For some reason, it's very intuitive for them and not like learning individual steps like I would think of learning in a class.  They're not dumb, but I don't think this has to do with them being particularly smart either.  Certain things seem to be easier to pick up at an early age through exploration and trial and error and programming, coding and using systems seem to fall into that category.

Maybe it's like language. Children exposed to a foreign language seem to absorb it and be able to use it quickly. Not the same for most adults, who seem to need step by step courses and even then struggle.

Not saying any of this is exactly how everybody learns so use your own knowledge of your kid and what works, I'm just suggesting that unlike math or other traditional subjects where it helps to have an adult tutor/guide, programming may be more like language where they can learn just fine on their own and through immersion and experimenting.

[milee]

Another example - oldest son was supposed to be vacuuming this morning. I just went to check and see why it's so quiet and found he'd taken apart the vacuum, done some tuning and improvements and is just putting it back together.   Not something I would even begin to know how to do.  Nobody showed him, he just noticed some issues and wanted to see if he could figure out how to fix them.

The vacuum seems to be working well for him now so I guess whatever he did worked.    Sometimes kids are great at things their parents know nothing about.

Gotta go - I think we belong over in the Nerd thread.  

[swamp]

Can you send him up to my place? Something is funky about my vacuum.

[NancysSummerSip]

Feb 22, 2014 12:36:03 GMT -5 swamp said:

Can you send him up to my place? Something is funky about my vacuum.

Not missing the dog, are you?

[Baby Fawkes]

Feb 22, 2014 12:14:17 GMT -5 @wrongsideof30 said:

Feb 22, 2014 11:49:50 GMT -5 @lillylake said:

Are the courses any good? I would prefer postings like this if you or someone you knew actually paid and took the classes so the pluses and minuses could be shared. This looks like you are just soliciting for something that wants a random amount of money from people.

I signed up. I'll let you know.

Formerly SK, I want my 9yo to learn to code also. I think it would be easier if I learned first. We bought a programming book (for kids) over the summer and we kept getting stuck.

This can be a good idea, but just make sure you are learning to code because you genuinely want to. Just like any skill or education, you'll get out as much as you put in. Learning enough to put a basic website together is not very hard, but there is an entire world of difference with being able to have some simple javascript vs. computer science level coding. The biggest difference I find with people who are learning to code because they really want to vs. those that are learning because they have to (for whatever reason) is the desire to understand what is actually happening 'under the hood' when you type a single line of code. 

Don't get me wrong, there's noting wrong with learning to code to a basic level if that's the goal, but if you want your son to learn to a level that may be suitable for a good job in the industry, try to get him access to something that is going to deal with the theory as much as the application of the code. There is a bit of a movement right now where it's 'trendy / cool' to learn to code and for the most part I agree. Where my thoughts diverge from this trend a little is that they seem to market coding as something that anyone is capable of and with a little work can pick it up. Just like anything that someone is good at or that pays well, the people that make it seem so simple just have a solid grasp or talent for it.


(hopefully that didn't come off as some sort of rant, because it wasn't intended)

[ken a.k.a OMK]

I agree with Baby Bean. There are levels and things you can do with each, so having a goal is wise. I remember some people who entered data (numbers) via a keyboard calling themselves computer operators and programers. We programers just let it go.

[milee]

Feb 22, 2014 12:36:03 GMT -5 swamp said:

Can you send him up to my place? Something is funky about my vacuum.

I do loan him out to my friends to fix their iPhones and computers, but the vacuum thing is new. Sure, what the heck - I'll send him over. Just feed him every once in a while and he'll be happy.

[sarcasticgirl]

Feb 22, 2014 12:34:38 GMT -5 milee said:

Another example - oldest son was supposed to be vacuuming this morning. I just went to check and see why it's so quiet and found he'd taken apart the vacuum, done some tuning and improvements and is just putting it back together.   Not something I would even begin to know how to do.  Nobody showed him, he just noticed some issues and wanted to see if he could figure out how to fix them.

The vacuum seems to be working well for him now so I guess whatever he did worked.    Sometimes kids are great at things their parents know nothing about.

Gotta go - I think we belong over in the Nerd thread.  

my husband tried to do that once... and now i have a shiny new dyson! 

[Baby Fawkes]

I agree with that statement, but there's also going to be a big difference between those that can 'write an app for an iPhone' and those that can understand really what is going on to make the stuff work. I liken it to driving a car vs. being a mechanic. A lot of the 'coding' trend right now is akin to getting everyone to learn to drive. However, they're touting the message that once you learn to drive you'll also understand how the car fundamentally operates.

There are a lot of tools out there that have made development accessible to the masses, but there's still a great need for the people who have the skills to design and develop at the level that making those tools require. I would definitely encourage your son to at least explore the computer science part of development, even if it's just basic data structures and algorithms as that is what will really set him up for a solid future in it if he enjoys it.

Good luck either way though.