CodeGym

What is CodeGym app?

Java, not to be confused with Javascript, is a well-established programming language that likely powers a lot of your favourite software, especially if you are an Android user. In fact, one of the options when you first set up your CodeGym account is to choose whether your goal is to become a Java game developer or an Android developer. They aren't exclusive, but your route through the learning material will be different as you'll need different approaches for each.

CodeGym teaches, provides practice, sets tasks, checks your assignments, and records your progress. Its course material can take you from a coding beginner to a programming pro. If you have some past programming experience, the app will assess it to give you the most appropriate starting point.

CodeGym contains a detailed and comprehensive Java coding course with tasks built into the lessons. These tasks open up a built-in coding environment, which gives students scaffolded support appropriate to their level and assesses their success.

The course covers the theory behind coding alongside the practicalities of producing working programs. Students learning with CodeGym should develop well-rounded knowledge and skills in the Java language, which are also applicable to other languages should they choose to add them to their repertoire in the future.

What we love about the CodeGym app

Many would-be coders have given up before really getting going because setting up coding environments (IDEs) and computers with all of the prerequisites can be technically challenging.

When all learners want to do is try coding, jumping through those hoops can leave them exhausted and stuck before they've even tried.

CodeGym gym gets them past all this as it includes an IDE in its web and native apps. When learners get to enter their first lines of code, they'll do so without having to set up their computers and within a template so they can focus on one command at a time.

CodeGym has thought about the form factor of the devices on which it is most useful.

When coding a full project, large screens and hardware keyboards are the best tools, but a more flexible approach is best for learning. Students may want to use short periods between other activities to get some practice, as this is an efficient way to use their time. Even a laptop is too large and inconvenient for many of these times.

Students will have their phones with them, though. While these devices have small screens and no physical keyboard, CodeGym has effectively implemented features to mitigate these limitations. The app predicts, formats, and verifies code written by the user to make it as painless as possible on the phone.

Once students are in a place where they can use laptops and PCs, they have other options. The web app lets learners use larger screens and physical keyboards.

CodeGym also has a plugin for IntelliJ IDEA, a coding environment used in industry—students and teachers can download IntelliJ IDEA under a free Community Edition license.

The modules are clear and well-written. They often use metaphors to explain coding concepts, for example, likening classes to apartment blocks and commands to rooms. Every learner has different ideas about how helpful explaining abstract principles in this way is, but the explanations are also grounded in computer science.

Regarding inputting examples, we liked that the coding environment appeared in line with the course material. We'd expected it to open up separately but seeing it this way makes it much easier for students to go back and forth between the course and their code.

Once students enter their examples, CodeGym verifies the code to reassure them that they have understood everything appropriately. The verification checks that the code works and meets any other requirements set by the course.

These checks cover more than one aspect of the code, not just whether it works. For example, a coder could write a function that technically works but takes shortcuts considered bad practice. CodeGym sets tasks with more than one requirement, such as structuring the code appropriately, and the app checks them.

Learners see a tick next to each requirement they meet but will recognise where they have not followed the instructions, even if the code works.

Students get to see how many attempts they made and how this compares to the average number of attempts by CodeGym's community.

Students also have a period of time to perform rechecks. The rechecks let users make subsequent attempts at completed tasks and still have them checked. There's rarely only one way to achieve a goal in coding, and experimenting with different approaches is a great learning strategy.

What skills does it teach?

CodeGym is suitable for learners of the Java programming language. Students using this app could be new to coding or adding a new language to their coding skillset.

High-school students following the rigorous AP CSA curriculum must learn to code in Java, and CodeGym has a learning track to support those following this course.

Learners preparing for the Oracle Java Foundations exam will also find CodeGym an effective resource.

What age is it appropriate for?

Java is a professional-level coding language. Secondary/high school students and older are most likely to benefit from this app.

Is the CodeGym app easy to use?

CodeGym does its best to support learners in achieving their goals. To do this, it needs to know what those aims are and how students prefer to learn. The set-up process asks a logical set of questions determining each student's hopes and preferences. These are quite varied and allow an excellent level of fine-tuning.

Engaging with the course material is easy within the well-designed platform. There is a huge amount of tasks, but CodeGym makes it easy to navigate them. The tasks section shows an overview of completed, uncompleted, and as yet unlocked tasks.

This summary lets students easily revisit past assignments or complete those they skipped earlier.

A convenient icon conveys each task's type from a selection of six. These include homework tasks which expect the learner to use the IntelliJ IDE or code entry tasks which use the built-in coding tools. With this information, students can easily find a task to suit their current situation. If at home with a PC, they can do the homework tasks; if they're on public transport, they can use their phone's app to complete a code-entry task.

How will students benefit?

We appreciated that CodeGym did not try to enforce a learning style on students. Instead, it lets them choose what they prefer. For students who just want the learning material, they can select a classic mode that cuts out pretty much everything except for the information. Those who prefer more structure, get to choose the Reading option, which follows a more conversational story-telling approach. 

Many students will also be gamers, and CodeGym reflects this interest in two ways.

It gamifies the learning experience with achievements, a storyline, and letting players compare their relative standings. This acts as a motivator for many students to keep going but also provides them with a clear understanding of their progress.

As learners succeed, they also earn an in-game currency. This mechanic will be one students recognise, and they can use it to unlock new sections of the CodeGym platform.

Computer games also inspire some of the learning tasks. The AAA titles students love on their consoles are the work of large teams and are out of the scope of any single coder, however, experienced. Simpler games are well within the capability of single coders, and CodeGym sets students off building some well-known game styles. It also looks at modules that are key features of games.

How will parents benefit?

Parents are often the ones who pay for educational apps. CodeGym provides a single good-value purchase that covers a vast amount of what would-be coders need to learn. Add in the tools to actually code, and the code verification features, and CodeGym is all a new coder needs to learn.

How will teachers benefit?

Course requirements change, and this can be difficult for computer science teachers as they might need to extend their knowledge of a new language. CodeGym is just as good for those with established coding skills as beginners.

Teachers who need to brush up on their Java skills or convert their lessons to cover it will find CodeGym an efficient way to learn and an excellent reference tool.

Teachers who use it for personal learning will also have a clear idea of how CodeGym can support their lessons if they make it available to students.

What can the CodeGym app improve on?

We found using CodeGym to be an overwhelmingly positive experience. Our suggestions reflect ways to make minor quality-of-life improvements rather than representing a problem in the app.

The forum and articles section are multi-lingual. We think this would be easier to navigate if users could filter the threads and articles according to their language.

In any app full of content excellent content, we always want more. A good place for CodeGym to begin adding more would be in its video content which seemed a little more sparse than the other task types.

How much does the CodeGym app cost?

The Android app version of CodeGym, is free to use, but the web app version on PCs and Macs requires one of the paid premium subscriptions, although the first level of the course is free on the web app.

The two paid plans are Premium and Premium Pro.

Premium gives you all of the CodeGym content and the majority of its features.

The Premium Pro subscription adds some extra features to the premium tier. One of these is the style checker. While the solo coder can write code in whatever format they choose, most learners are seeking to work in the industry, and others will need to read their output.

Under the Premium Pro tier, students will learn how to produce code that is legible as well as functional. Java has a generally accepted style that CodeGym will use to inform learners how well their code follows the formatting standard.

Is the CodeGym app safe to use?

There are community tools in the CodeGym app which allow for discussion and comments. CodeGym's privacy policy states that it may need parental permission for learners under 13 to use the service.

Parents who consider this app for kids need to keep in mind the community aspects of CodeGym, which allow for comments and discussions. While these are helpful learning tools, all online communication comes with risks, and parents must consider their child's age and maturity in relation to the app's community tools.

Overall rating of the app.

CodeGym has a huge scope. It takes learners well into their Java-learning journey and provides the tools and support necessary. It does so much that it could be challenging to take it all in, even with this CodeGym review. Fortunately, the app is supported by very helpful videos that give visual examples and descriptions.

We are confident that anyone willing to put in the effort to learn to code Java will find CodeGym a valuable tool. Teachers should definitely consider building it into their courses to enhance their students' experience and make their planning easier.

CodeGym will act like a teaching assistant leaving teachers to assist with bigger- picture problems rather than helping debug many minor coding errors for kids.

Teachers and students should look at the videos and set aside time to complete the free first level. CodeGym is a five-star app that could turn a non-coder into someone ready to begin their career as a Java programmer.