Learning to Code in Orlando

Don’t know any code or rusty with your 01000101 (binary for the non-geeky)? Looking to enter a new field of front end, back end, or mobile development? It might be time to take on learning at a faster pace to beef up your skill to find that new job. Learning to code in Orlando has become a little easier and faster with a few new courses and resources available.

Zero to App:

Valencia College’s newest program, which debut in Spring 2014, takes classes to cover either iOS development or Android development in three 5 week courses during a single semester. The first five weeks of the semester are geared toward teaching the basics of programming; during the five weeks, the students focus on learning the programming lanaguage, and in the final five weeks, they learn to create an app.

The Zero to App will be offer with iOS app development for the fall semester and Android app development for the spring semester. You don’t have to be a computer science major to take them and can earn these three course to start developing your own apps. These course can be taken for college credit or through the continuing education division at the college. Currently for the fall the classes will be on Monday and Wednesday evening from 7-9:45 p.m. For more information this as a continuing education course, visit: Zero to App (CNZ 2008). All three courses can be take for under $1,500 with lab fees through the continuing education division. That’s a steal!

The Iron Yard:

Orlando newest on-site code school is The Iron Yard. The Iron Yard, who is based in Greenville, S.C. is opening a new location in Church Street District, near Canvs, this September. This private code school helps students learn computer programming skills like HTML, CSS, JaveScript and Ruby on Rails. Currently the two intensive 12 week academies coming to Orlando will be Front End Engineering (HTML/CSS/JavaScript) and Ruby on Rails Engineering.

The students at taking these fast paced courses won’t be investing in a full college education but they will cost you $10,000 for the 12 week program. The Iron Yard offers financial assistance for its tuition and living expenses. In addition to it’s programming the company will help graduates with their job hunt. Learn more about The Iron Yard in Orlando: http://theironyard.com/locations/orlando/.

Don’t forget to look into other options, such as full degree programs at Valencia College, Full Sail, and University of Central Florida.

Learning to Code in Orlando with Self-Paced Interactive Platforms

Various self-paced interactive platforms exist for people who want to learn new technical skills, such as WordPress, Ruby on Rails, Photoshop, or how to build a web site. Most middle and high schools don’t attempt to teach these types of skills, but they’re absolutely necessary for budding entrepreneurs and tech-savvy youth. Here are four examples of platforms that provide self-paced learning opportunities.

A. Code School (codeschool.com)

Known for their course, Rails for Zombies, which teaches Ruby on Rails, Code School combines educational, but entertaining videos with onsite coding activities. At $29 per month, you get access to over 30 courses, 1,700 coding challenges, and lots of content.

Gregg Pollack, founder of Code School, says the school’s focus is on creating the best way for someone to start learning any new technology. “Often, this means it takes three months and five to six people to create four hours of online content. We want that four hours to be the most engaging and effective introduction to any given topic.”

B. Lynda.com (lynda.com)

Lynda.com covers everything from 3-D animation to project management to retouching photos. A variety of membership levels are available from $25 a month to $37.50 a month for access to over 111,000 tutorials and exercise files. Learning on the go is a plus at Lynda.com with the ability to switch from computer to mobile device. Lynda Campus provides educational institutions access to reports, co-branding, and certificates of completion with the convenience of single sign-on capabilities.

NOTE: With your Orange County Library card in good standing you can access this service for free by creating an account through the OCLS site. 

C. Treehouse (teamtreehouse.com)

Treehouse provides tracks for learning web design, iOS development, Android development, WordPress, and much more. Their expert teachers are entertaining and make learning easy with clear steps along the way. The basic plan is $25 a month with access to thousands of videos, live code challenge practices, and members-only forums. The gold plan is $49 with all the basics plus talks from industry professionals and exclusive workshops and interviews. They have a special promotion right now: for every new gold account, they will donate an account to a student attending a public school.

NOTE: With your Orange County Library card in good standing you can access this service for free by creating an account through the OCLS site. 

D. Code Academy (codecademy.com/)

Code Academy is a free educational site for learning to code. Various platforms include JaveScript, HTML, PHP, Python, Ruby, and APIs. They also provide an after-school program to help students learn more about coding or start a coding club with a curriculum attached.

Each of these programs is unique, but all share a similar goal: helping people learn.