How to Make Coding More Interesting for Beginners

Coding is rapidly becoming ingrained in society, to the point that it is now being taught in schools.

It’s a skill that is valued highly by employers – particularly those in the tech and digital spheres – so it can boost your employment chances if it’s listed on your CV.

The prospect of learning how to code can be daunting, but we’ve listed a few ways that you can make it an enjoyable experience.

Get to know the basics

There’s nothing more off-putting than plunging headfirst into something that you don’t fully understand.

The first thing you’ll want to do is figure out which language you want to learn. HTML and CSS are obvious places to start if you’re interested in working on websites. JavaScript and Python are always in demand too.

A BBC micro:bit can run on several computers and makes it fun and easy to learn these languages with various projects.

Get help from a mentor

It’s often easier to get your head around something new when you have it explained to you by an expert.

Search YouTube for tutorials, listen to podcasts about codingor try to find yourself a mentor. Look for regular advice from someone you know who already possesses the skills or try to connect with someone on LinkedIn.

Carry out challenges

Simply being told things is not always the best way to learn. You need to put things into practice to consolidate them in your mind.

For example, if you’re learning JavaScript, you could attempt some of the following challenges:

• Print even numbers (try to use as few commands as possible)

• Create a measurement converter

• Tidy up data (create something to remove spaces)

• Return the number of vowels in a string

There are plenty of practical things you can do once you’ve learned the basics. Hopefully, you’ll then be able to scale them up and apply them in different situations.

Play coding games

Few things make learning as fun as games do.

Fortunately, there are myriad resources you can use to learn to code while you play. And when you complete them, you get the added satisfaction of knowing that you’ve learnt something new.

There are colourful block-building games to help kids piece together the initial knowledge required. But there are also ones aimed specifically at adults, meaning age is not a barrier when it comes to learning to code through online games.

What is your motivation for learning to code and why language do you want to learn? Let us know in the comments!