dwyl
Add Edabit as a resource for learning JavaScript
Once someone is familiar with the basic syntax and semantics of JavaScript using one or more learning resources, a basic pattern is to practice the rudiments of algorithmic problem solving with a site such as CodeWars. From a pedagogical point of view, I think that Edabit is far superior, primarily because associated to each problem are resources that give the information to help solve the problem. This way, a learner would be directed to systematically learn about various documentation and resources, while solving a specific problem (which is the basic pattern of self-teaching how to code). This solves the problem of giving someone starting the task of doing blind searches for information, as spoken of in the promotional video here.
More generally, I suggest more explicit advice about how to practice the materials in the READMEs.
Oo! I'd also suggest Exercism which went through a redesign recently and have an even friendlier interface and mentorship model. All of your attempts are private unless you choose to publish it, along with comments for mentors. You can also create teams and view other people's answers after solving a challenge.
I really like Edabit, it might be an even simpler interface. With Exercism you do have to use a CLI, which might be a little more difficult for someone completely new to programming.
@YvesMuyaBenda I agree that CodeWars is not ideal. (Even the name is unfortunate).
If edabit were Open Source I would recommend the platform unreservadly.
Sadly this is the extent of their Open Source(ness) at the time of writing:
https://github.com/edabit
https://edabit.com/about
Exercism by contrast is Open Source: https://github.com/exercism/ecmascript
P.S: This is a good list of online learning resources: https://github.com/daniellmb/learn-online
@nelsonic @newswim My main focus was entirely pedagogical; that is, most all other coding-challenge platforms I know of have the beginner doing blind searches for information while solving coding algorithims.
I am assuming that this repo is for people starting with little or no background, so they will likely not have a lot of context for solving algorithmic challenges. One person in one of the Founders&Coders chat groups openly complained about the time-wasting (hours and hours and hours) inefficiency of learning to solve coding challenges while not having much of a background.
Searching for information and reading documentation is a separate skill, and I think someone doing edabit would gain a lot of that skill just from being systematically exposed to a wide array of documentation and tutorials while solving specific problems.
Too there is the problem of choice, which is why I only ever link a few resources and if I can just one.
@YvesMuyaBenda that's a really good point.
Getting started from scratch is still one of the hardest things; there are so many rabbit holes waiting for you to get lost in.
I think I would recommend folks first try out Edabit, and then when they're more comfortable sifting through documentation, trying Exercism.
@newswim Here in this README and just generally, I am constantly asking myself, what should the first step be? One has to work out the first step, before the second or the third. People who become experienced with programming sometimes forget the kinds of struggles folk starting--who lack all context and background and experience and examples of small and big projects to practice with--have.
@newswim With algorithmic problem solving, you either have to have done or seen enough examples of algorithmic challenges at the same level of difficultly, sometimes repeating and varying the same concept, so it is not just a matter of learning how to read and find suitable documentation, but also just sheer familiarity with a large number of problems. For me the only way to gain that familiarity in a reasonable amount of time is if one does not have to search for documentation at all! We should be making it as easy as possible, as opposed to just testing and selecting for persistence and/or prior background.
Yeah, I am kinda experimenting with italic emphasis these days!
We should be making it as easy as possible, as opposed to just testing and selecting for persistence and/or prior background.
This guy GETS it!
