Code School vs Treehouse

After each video, there are a series of challenges that give you a chance to apply what you just learned. The great thing about these challenges are that they force you to think through a problem, and use the new skills to solve it. It's not just regurgitating facts; it requires some effort.

While you can jump into any video you like, there is also the option to follow a path for what you are wanting to learn. These give a nice direction if you are wanting to improve on a particular area and guide you into what to do next. They currently offer Ruby, Javascript, HTML/CSS, and iOS.

Soup to Bits is a series of videos that shows a developer creating an app from scratch in real time. It's easy to pause a video and follow along with the developer.

Videos give an overview of the course/lesson plan before a single line of code is written. This gives context and a general understanding of what is possible and how teaching will be approached.

The instructors often use humour throughout the videos while letting their passion for the topic show.

Code School is not just for beginners to programming, but provides plenty of intermediate and advanced courses for students as their skills grow.

The course formats are flexible enough that instructors are able to employ their own styles so long as exercises are offered in consistent intervals and student progress is measurable. The instructors communicate very clearly and are very approachable.

Their animations and screenshares supplement the instruction, giving a really good all-around learning experience.

Materials are very well made and it'll get you started with the technology as fast as possible. Haven't found tutorials that well made and understandable.

Nothing is skipped or assumed without reference to courses within that were recommended to you earlier. This makes the site an efficient review resource if you ever forget a basic concept.

Soup to Bits videos show you how to build an app step by step in real time. Each is short and digestible yet illustrates many relevant new concepts.

Trying to figure out what language or tool to learn can be frustrating. TreeHouse groups their courses into learning tracks so you have more guidance, based on what type of development you want to do. Some of the tracks they offer: Web Design, Front-end Development, Full-Stack Javascript, and PHP Development (see the list here).

You don't have to install anything to your computer and can learn from anywhere using their Workspaces.

The effectiveness of this tool cannot be overstated. Even though instructors often preface courses with installation guides to setup popular environments the Workspaces allow you to jump right in, mimic the examples, work on your project, experiment with tangent thoughts, or even complete parallel courses simultaneously, within separate Workspace instances. Execution is very fast and space is ample.

Most TreeHouse courses allow you to build interesting real-world projects that make for a fun way to learn how to apply what you've learned (such as apps, websites, UI elements and more).

TreeHouse releases multiple new courses every month on various different topics. They do an excellent job of keeping pace with a changing industry. For example, they released courses on Swift not long after Swift was released.

If you're stuck with an task you can easily get help on their forum.

Most topics are visited by hundreds of students per day and responses are often returned within minutes if not seconds. In case your question cannot be answered by the imminent community, they can be pushed to recommended members or staff experts for prompt responses.

Criticizing the lack of advanced material seems unjustified considering how consistent the paths are with the costs and transparent intentions. Advanced resources are usually politely introduced then passed over.

Treeehouse provides an app for both iOS and Android that is easy to use.

You can share courses that you successfully completed when you're applying for a job. Probably after completing course you have a solid understanding in given technology.

The community is very supportive and the company convincingly more interested in your positive referral than in your subscription, though both is obviously preferred. Besides recognition and gamification, your timely progress is actively encouraged. There are even employer monitored sections with suggestions of how to meet career goals with related skills.

You can get a student discount easily using their email support.