Khan Academy Computer Science program - I enjoyed this website the least and the reason is that I felt it was the least "hands-on" of the three. With that being said I thought the tutorials were well presented and laid out, and the website itself was clean and it made it easy to follow. You definitely have to know a little javascript before entering this service because it skips the very basics of this programming language, which may or may not benefit certain people. I guess it all depends on the level of the novice programmer. I thought it was great that I was able to pause the videos and manually enter different variables to see what would happen to the code. Overall, I enjoyed learning the programming aspect of simple drawing and feel that this learning service could be used to better myself in this field.
Learn Street - Overall I thought that Learn Street is a great tool in developing basic javascript skills. The setup was quick and easy and within a minute I began to get started with some very basic string and variable work. Even though it was a little too elementary at first, I think that it has the right approach in how the progress system works. Much like codecademy, the log tells you what strings and variables to write down and the user replicates them before moving on to the next step. I truly believe that this repetition is probably best in learning any programming language. You can only do so much in learning theory and watching videos of code, it's best to get out there and just do it. Perhaps the only downside would be that if you have some experience in javascript, this service may not be the best tool for you. You will probably need something a little more advanced.
Codecademy - Now perhaps this is a biased review of codecademy because I've used this to learn some basic HTML, but I thought it was the best tool in learning javascript. One of the best features is the scoring system, which rewards you with virtual trophies the further you get into different courses. In terms of difficulty, I felt that it was very easy to get started with but it got progressively challenging which was welcoming. I did use the "hint" button a few times as I went further into the course material but at the same time it wasn't rocket science. I think it's great that the user cannot progress until completing the proper code, which forces you to pay attention and be aware of details. Speaking of course material, there are so many to take such as javascript, html, css and more. Overall, I think that it's a better and more polished version of Learn Street and would continue to use this website to learn some javascript.
Learn Street - Overall I thought that Learn Street is a great tool in developing basic javascript skills. The setup was quick and easy and within a minute I began to get started with some very basic string and variable work. Even though it was a little too elementary at first, I think that it has the right approach in how the progress system works. Much like codecademy, the log tells you what strings and variables to write down and the user replicates them before moving on to the next step. I truly believe that this repetition is probably best in learning any programming language. You can only do so much in learning theory and watching videos of code, it's best to get out there and just do it. Perhaps the only downside would be that if you have some experience in javascript, this service may not be the best tool for you. You will probably need something a little more advanced.
Codecademy - Now perhaps this is a biased review of codecademy because I've used this to learn some basic HTML, but I thought it was the best tool in learning javascript. One of the best features is the scoring system, which rewards you with virtual trophies the further you get into different courses. In terms of difficulty, I felt that it was very easy to get started with but it got progressively challenging which was welcoming. I did use the "hint" button a few times as I went further into the course material but at the same time it wasn't rocket science. I think it's great that the user cannot progress until completing the proper code, which forces you to pay attention and be aware of details. Speaking of course material, there are so many to take such as javascript, html, css and more. Overall, I think that it's a better and more polished version of Learn Street and would continue to use this website to learn some javascript.
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