People have been taught by their IT dept., their family members, friends, store clerks, etc., to not mess with a computer. This also applies to their automobiles, appliances, etc.
In short, a lot of people out there have been hit with a newspaper on the nose (various times) for trying something new.
So, they decide to learn a new hobby (or craft), and they spend (waste) a lot of time fighting the fear of breaking things.
Yet, we (as in hackers) all know that one can't really do much harm to a computer with a simple approach such as the one used by CodeCademy. But non-hackers do not know that. They fear the machine (or the result of making a mistake with it (their files will be deleted! - plays in their mind)).
So, CodeCademy, I suggest you help people overcome such fear by showing them what they can do before showing them how to do it.
The terminal is fine, actually, I find that it was a genius idea. But, learning how to code is not bound to a terminal. It is bound to thinking, problem solving, abstractions. A learner cannot be afraid to break things, otherwise, they will not learn.
Challenge their fear (and ignorance) from the start. Instead of throwing them crumbs in the form of a simple string.length exercise, show them that they:
- cannot mess their computer up by playing with your website
- will not get a virus
- should try again if they fail at something
- programming (not coding) takes time to learn
How will you do that?
I can point north, and tell you that Nirvana is that way, but I cannot walk the roads for you.
Sit back, and think about what I'm saying.
Help people learn how to code by helping them get over themselves.
People have been taught by their IT dept., their family members, friends, store clerks, etc., to not mess with a computer. This also applies to their automobiles, appliances, etc.
In short, a lot of people out there have been hit with a newspaper on the nose (various times) for trying something new.
So, they decide to learn a new hobby (or craft), and they spend (waste) a lot of time fighting the fear of breaking things.
Yet, we (as in hackers) all know that one can't really do much harm to a computer with a simple approach such as the one used by CodeCademy. But non-hackers do not know that. They fear the machine (or the result of making a mistake with it (their files will be deleted! - plays in their mind)).
So, CodeCademy, I suggest you help people overcome such fear by showing them what they can do before showing them how to do it.
The terminal is fine, actually, I find that it was a genius idea. But, learning how to code is not bound to a terminal. It is bound to thinking, problem solving, abstractions. A learner cannot be afraid to break things, otherwise, they will not learn.
Challenge their fear (and ignorance) from the start. Instead of throwing them crumbs in the form of a simple string.length exercise, show them that they:
- cannot mess their computer up by playing with your website - will not get a virus - should try again if they fail at something - programming (not coding) takes time to learn
How will you do that?
I can point north, and tell you that Nirvana is that way, but I cannot walk the roads for you.
Sit back, and think about what I'm saying.
Help people learn how to code by helping them get over themselves.
I wish your team the very best;
code_pockets