Tuesday Tech Tools: 28 Learning Sites (coding & professional development)
/Academic Earth
More than 1,500 video lectures by professors from Harvard, Yale, broken down into single classes on topics like art, architecture, and astronomy. Free.
Code Cademy
Learn to code for free. Formal. Good reviews.
The Code Player
Learn to code through videos demonstrating actual typing of code to create items from scratch.
Colaboratory
An online code editor that exists right within Google Drive. Basically, its Google Docs for code. Write and execute code right in the browser. Only handles Python at the moment. Share files and have multiple people people edit them. Free.
Coursera
Learn to code through classes from accredited universities or develop yourself professionally. The courses are made up of lessons with multiple video lectures, along with readings, practice exercises, homework quizzes, and assignments. Most are free but have a cost if you want a certification. Limited help options.
Data Camp
Practice coding. See progress as you go. Free sign up.
Domestika
Mostly high quality online courses covering creative topics such as drawing, fine art, graphic design, arts and crafts, photography, etc. and some courses in business and design. No deadlines, learn at your own pace. Each course lasts from a couple of hours to 10+ hours and is divided into short lessons Certifications available. Most courses have a low fee ($10-$40) but some are free. Some courses are only available in Spanish with English subtitles.
FreeCodeCamp*
Founded by a schoolteacher turned programmer. Free, user-friendly hands-on online courses for beginners. Most courses run 300 hours. Positive reviews.
FurtureLearn
UK-based online learning platform. Earn a certificate with 3 or 4 classes (in 10 to 12 week blocks of learning). Mostly novice level content for job education. No phone apps and limited support. Some free tracks.
Google Code Playground
An advanced educational tool of Google’s Javascript APIs (application programming interfaces that simplify software implementing). Available for anyone to try out and tweak the code. Free but not for beginners.
Hands on Programming with R (free book)
How Cast
Free learning site divided into categories like environment, first aid, and parenting. Experts share their knowledge in videos that cover everything from surviving heart attacks to playing charades.
iTunes U
More than 350,000 free video lectures.
jQuery
Build coding projects to include in your portfolio, and collaborate with other members. A 4 question quiz matches you with the best course for you and your goals. Free 7 day trial if you enter a credit card number. $40 per month for unlimited courses.
Lynda Software Training*
Software training & tutorial video library.
Kaggle Data Sets
A database of some 29k data sets for learning data science. There are more than a dozen free micro-courses for learning Python, machine learning, data viz, etc. Share/collaborate with others on the site.
Khan Academy
Tools for kids and adults in single, short lessons on a neon blackboard. More than 20,000 free videos. Free coding lessons with reputable content.
Learn Python the Hard Way
A book that introduces readers to Python.
MIT OpenCourseWare
For beginners. Textbook.
Mozilla Developer Network
Beginner friendly. Have to sign up to see. Positive reviews.
R for Data Science
Free Book. Good reviews for beginners.
Scratch
MIT-developed site tilted for children (but adults too) to learn coding basics focused on helping people create interactive stories, games, and animations. Free.
SoloLearn*
Free lessons on coding but with ads.
Stack Overflow
A popular programming problem-solving sites despite a number of negative reviews. Ask your coding questions as you learn or find chunks of code. Low as $5 a month.
StoryBench
Not hands on, more of a explanation of projects. Positive reviews.
TeamTreehouse
Tuturals on web design, coding, business, etc. Students sign up for annual subscriptions.
Udacity
User-friendly online school focusing on job-related skills. Users very positive but expensive. $79 a month.
W3Schools Online Web Tutorials*
Learn HTML, CSS, etc. Easy-to-use. Navigate.