Codecademy

HTML/CSS

Learning HTML and CSS code was an adventure to be certain and their was of course, like any adventure, times when I wished to give up. However, every time I felt frustrated I reminded myself that Harry defeated Voldemort and Frodo destroyed the ring, and by golly I was going to get past level 16 in CSS Classes and IDs. Of course there was also the aspect that finishing these courses in code were/are imperative to my grade. This out of anything was probably the more driving force. Yet, that is not to say I did not learn anything, and that I did not have moments where I enjoyed the work.

As a human who has never considered herself capable of learning code, or let alone enjoying it, it was really a surprise, a happy surprise, that I did. When I would finish one level that I was stumped on for some amount of time (for example, level 16 of CSS Classes and IDS as already mentioned), I would instinctively do a fist pump in the air. These were the proudest moments. The reason was not just because these were hard levels, but that Codecademy makes it so. To elaborate, Codecademy starts the user off with comfortingly easy steps, but like a true teacher eventually leaves you to learn how to apply all that you should have been learning from the beginning. The only skill set one needs is the ability to read and take orders. Yet, if you are mindlessly going through the introduction sections of a course, you quickly find yourself wanting. Wanting to go back and redo the introduction section (which you can do) and wanting a piece of chocolate (which I did have).

JQuery

For my second course in Codecademy I decided to take on JQuery; an element to JavaScript. I picked JQuery for the fact that the set up of learning was very similar to what I knew from HTML/CSS with the instructions on one side, worksheet in center, and results box in the corner. The premise of the work seemed easy enough, or until I got into the nitty, gritty of the work. I was not able to complete the entire course because Codecademy makes you pay to do the final project. In some ways I am annoyed by this (yet completely understandable for they have to make money some way) and in others I am grateful because I most likely would still be trying to finish that final project.

Once again, I found myself flying through the introduction section of the course. Yet, I had the foresight to know that it was going to get harder so I made a point to really pay attention during the introduction section. This did not seem to make a difference, for by the time I was in section 4 -JQuery Events – of the course I was having to go back and relearn things and was eating chocolate like it would provide magical power to understanding.

But the victory was mine in the end, I was able to make it though the sections that were free and gain more knowledge in code.

*Here is a link to my people.emich.edu page.