Online Turnkey Sites – Good and Bad
In today’s day and age, the internet is a treasure trove of endless opportunities. One of those opportunities just so happens to be turning yourself into a master in an area that you know nothing about by using some big name sites and apps that will help you learn. Sites like Skillshare, MIT OpenCourseWare, Lynda.com, Udemy exist to teach people new skills online for free when they couldn’t afford it otherwise or wouldn't have access in a classroom environment. Unfortunately for many people though, these sites are not without their pitfalls - becoming dependent on them can be very dangerous since they may not always offer quality content or take time to update their materials due to lack of funds and resources.
Lately I’ve discovered that there are also other sites that offer online courses for workers or big wigs to take and get the same results or at least get their feet wet in the water. While most of these sites are extremely low-budget and may not be of very high quality, nothing beats free training that is given to you by companies such as FreeCodeCamp.com - a site that has become a go-to solution for many people who want to learn how to code but aren’t sure where they should start.
Four years ago FreeCodeCamp , a free coding school, was just an idea... but from there the project and its community has grown to be worth over $3 million dollars in donations from its users and more than 25,000 active members. I got asked by the founder of FreeCodeCamp, Cory House, if I could take a look at the sites that they offer to their students and see if it is something that should be created. It’s no secret that FreeCodeCamp is all about open source code learning - but as great as it is, there are some issues with it. People who use the site have complained about it for being hard to navigate - sometimes requiring you to jump through hoops or go through a lengthy registration process just to view one class. Sometimes, FreeCodeCamp’s team doesn’t offer everything you may need or want to help you with a certain programming language. Sometimes the site just doesn’t load correctly or is not available all of the time for whatever reason. These are all things that can be worked on over time, however.
FreeCodeCamp’s main website is a funnel that guides people from being a newbie in coding to becoming an expert in their area of choice. FreeCodeCamp aims to do this by introducing resources into the user’s workflow so they can pick up new skills at their own pace. There are also free, open source projects that are available for anyone to play around with and learn about certain frameworks like React and AngularJS.
FreeCodeCamp’s course catalog offers a wide variety of coding languages and skill levels. These range from “Beginner to Expert" courses in everything from the basics of HTML and CSS all the way up to full-fledged web languages like Ruby On Rails, JavaScript or Python. FreeCodeCamp has even tackled languages such as C++, Java, C# or R - which are all very difficult for beginners to learn because they require diving right into the nitty gritty of function pointers and memory allocation. There are even courses available that are simply for graphic design such as Photoshop 6-course bundles with a similar curriculum split into smaller little sections so you don’t have to waste time learning everything at once on one giant course.
FreeCodeCamp often offers a free version of their website that’s designed to try out their courses without paying for a subscription. Most courses are $25 a month (some are even as cheap as $5) but there are also some one-off fees for ongoing or special add-ons. There are opportunities for students to receive discounts so they can try the site before committing to monthly subscriptions. FreeCodeCamp has this concept of “free" involved with all of their courses because in the site’s view, it is wrong to charge people for something that is completely free - and they have no problem with this as long as you have the right attitude with the site.
FreeCodeCamp’s main purpose, however, is to provide a means of getting skilled at programming languages online while learning from people who have gone through the same hardships and challenges that I have. There are actually people out there who don’t understand the process of learning how to code or believe that it is only for those who come from very wealthy backgrounds. FreeCodeCamp is a great way for these people to get their feet wet with coding so they can start something great in their lives - something they can do on their own accord - without having to worry about being ripped off or not having what they need.
Anyone can apply for FreeCodeCamp - with the exception of a few major countries like Iran, North Korea and Sudan. Before you do though, you will want to go to the FreeCodeCamp website and read the “Sign Up Guide" completely through so you do not get left behind by everyone else who has gone through the process before. The guide is more like a checklist that gives you an idea of what needs to be done in order to complete your application - such as listing why you are applying for the site or what skills you have that make you qualified for learning it in the first place.
There are a lot of steps you will have to take to complete the application process. After filling out your details you will need to submit links to any previous projects or work that you have done in order to prove yourself. If you don’t have any, don’t worry, they can be made from scratch with a bit of effort. You will also need an email address where they will send information relating to the next step - which is actually an interview process and not just a simple Q & A sheet like I thought it was going to be.
Conclusion
After you have finished the application process, you will be ready to begin your journey into the world of coding; and all you will need is a computer or laptop - which I strongly recommend - along with a stable internet connection and some free time to learn.
FreeCodeCamp’s courses are broken down into small modules that make it easy for beginners to digest. You will want to work your way through the module as quickly as possible so you can learn more advanced lessons, which means you won’t have any excuse not to finish any of them quickly. Don’t get hung up on learning everything about one language or one chapter though because FreeCodeCamp doesn’t encourage that.