Skip to main content

Coding Challenges as a way to Level Up

 In my pre-course work for General Assembly's Data Science Immersive program, we were introduced to the website CodeWars. 


The first few times I practiced my coding, I was frustrated but engaged. The way the website is set up allows you to level up as you continuously progress - like a way to see where you rank among others. 

Here's what I love about it: 

  • You can get extra practice by choosing your level of difficulty for each challenge. If you want to practice, stick with challenges at your current level. If you are looking to level up, choose something at a level above your current one. There are options for either path!
  • CodeWars felt like a fun way to push me out of my comfort zone with coding. There is no risk at all to trying something that is just beyond my current level. 
  • There are so many programming languages available! Want to dabble in Haskell? Ruby? SQL? They've got you covered. (From what I counted, there are 29 core languages and 26 beta languages currently supported!) 
  • Every challenge is community-created. When folks spot errors in a challenge, they report them, and the challenges get updated - sometimes with something simple, like clarification on directions. (None of us are perfect!) 
  • Once you've submitted your working code, you can see other solutions as well - sometimes (as a beginner still - often) much shorter and more clever than my own code. It is an additional learning tool to see how others solve the same problem. 
  • A pro for me - sometimes the problem is more of a math problem than a coding problem. I love keeping those math skills flexible! 
(Here's one that is super easy once you see the mathematical pattern!) 





One drawback is that it's not easy for those just beginning. I had some knowledge of Python going into these challenges, which helped in my enjoyment. Consider CodeWars as a way to level up if you have some base knowledge but are looking for a fun (and free!) way to continue to gain coding skills. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

From the Classroom to Data Science

Ever since I was in 10th grade, I’ve wanted to teach high school math. I was one of the lucky few who knew exactly what my major would be upon entering college. And it was exactly the right path for me. After college, I taught for five years in a public school in the county where I grew up. Then, wanting to leave Michigan and begin life in a new place, I scored a job at a private school in Colorado. Seven years later and my family (created in Colorado) signed up for a new adventure teaching and living at a boarding school in rural New York. Little did I know that last school year in New York would be the hardest of my career.  As I struggled with the decision of whether to stay or leave and completely change my career, there were so many “what ifs” that ran through my mind.  Would this decision be on my mind if I hadn’t struggled through a year of teaching during a pandemic?  Would I want so desperately to move back to Colorado if I had formed a community or felt fully welcomed into th
Post a Comment
Read more

Fail Your Way to Success

As a recovering perfectionist, I struggle with anything less than perfect. Coming into an immersive Data Science program was like being blind-sided. Python coding is essentially failing over and over again and learning from those small mistakes.  Forget a colon? Didn't indent? That will throw an error.  In many ways, I have learned about changing my approach to life through my experience learning Python. Not an hour goes by where I don't throw some kind of error or have to stop and debug my code. Or, since I'm still learning so much daily, I come across a need to do something that I don't quite know how to do. I've learned to strategically Google (as any coder/engineer can understand and appreciate!)  Isn't this just like our lives? I've been on a healthy person journey now for some time. Prior to working with a coach, I had mastered the 'all or nothing' approach. Instead, as a healthy person, I pause regularly and evaluate my errors. Where did I go
Post a Comment
Read more