Choosing the right coding exercise

DataCamp is all about learning by doing - so if you are developing a coding course, you want your learners to be coding as often as possible!

However, there are lots of different options to choose from when it comes to coding exercises, with strengths and weaknesses for each one.

This exercise is part of the course

Course Creation at DataCamp

Hands-on interactive exercise

Turn theory into action with one of our interactive exercises

This exercise is part of the course

Course Creation at DataCamp

BeginnerSkill Level

4.9+

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Are you interested in creating a DataCamp course, but not sure what exactly to expect? This introductory chapter will you give an overview of the different phases of course creation and the people you'll work with during each phase. You'll focus on the first two phases: course design and course development and meet Curriculum Leads and Content Developers, who will be your guides.

Exercise 1: Welcome to DataCamp!Exercise 2: Course specs Exercise 3: Content Developers Exercise 4: Course maintenance Exercise 5: Course design Exercise 6: Which parts require the course editor?Exercise 7: Course design tasks Exercise 8: Course development Exercise 9: Who owns the course IP Exercise 10: Instructor vs CD responsibilities

Before diving deep into pedagogy and the nitty-gritty details of DataCamp exercises, it's important to learn the values we hold ourselves and our instructors to when building a course, namely accountability, predictability, and transparency. Furthermore, it is vital to understand the tools we use, how they work, and how they support our values.

Exercise 1: Accountability, transparency, and predictability Exercise 2: Why are deadlines important?Exercise 3: Are DataCamp deadlines flexible?Exercise 4: How hard can it be?Exercise 5: Course management tools Exercise 6: Asana is our ground truth Exercise 7: Understanding our meeting tools Exercise 8: Communication strategy Exercise 9: Navigating the DataCamp course editor Exercise 10: Using the course outline Exercise 11: Text vs. code fields Exercise 12: Saving in the course editor Exercise 13: GitHub and course development Exercise 14: GitHub files Exercise 15: Saving and commits

At DataCamp, we strive for quality in our content, our product, and our instructors. We do this by building our courses with a specific structure around learning objectives. We've built this structure so that our students get the best eLearning experience. We also know that this can be a challenge, so in this chapter, we provide a few tips and tricks on how to teach effectively on an eLearning platform.

Exercise 1: Structure and optimal flow Exercise 2: Lesson framework Exercise 3: Motivating a lesson Exercise 4: Progressive build-up Exercise 5: Defining learning objectives Exercise 6: Clear learning objectives Exercise 7: Real-world scenarios Exercise 8: Optimizing for digital learning Exercise 9: Creating course descriptions Exercise 10: Deciding on prerequisites Exercise 11: Using analogies and heuristics Exercise 12: Fostering learner engagement Exercise 13: Keeping learners motivated Exercise 14: What to avoid in interactive exercises

Now that you know our tools and the tricks to making a great course, dive into the nitty-gritty of DataCamp courses. In this chapter, you'll learn about how to create videos and the different types of interactive exercises we support on our platform. You'll learn about the different parts of interactive exercises and the guidelines we follow to ensure our courses keep our students engaged. Lastly, you'll return to GitHub and learn about how it's used to get all the content from your videos and exercises reviewed to ensure it's top quality!

Exercise 1: Video exercises: Slides & transcript Exercise 2: Animating text & code Exercise 3: Animating images Exercise 4: A great video Exercise 5: Components of interactive exercises Exercise 6: Anatomy of an exercise Exercise 7: What is sample code Exercise 8: Interactive exercise fields Exercise 9: Types of interactive exercises Exercise 10: Choosing the right coding exercise

Current Exercise

Exercise 11: Choosing the right non-coding exercise Exercise 12: Striking the right balance Exercise 13: Respect the guidelines Exercise 14: Learning the guidelines Exercise 15: Course evaluation Exercise 16: GitHub for course review Exercise 17: Pull request in your Github repo Exercise 18: GitHub resources

Many things happen after a course has been designed and developed; namely, it must be launched! In this chapter, you will learn about the different aspects of course launch, the work that goes into a course following its launch, and importantly, how you will get paid for your course. If you have enjoyed creating a course, and want to make more DataCamp content, you will find out all we have to offer!

Exercise 1: Post-dev review and course launch Exercise 2: Screencasts vs. audio recordings Exercise 3: Submission Correctness Tests (SCTs)Exercise 4: Soft launch vs. hard launch Exercise 5: Course maintenance Exercise 6: Content Dashboard Exercise 7: Maintenance process Exercise 8: Marketing and royalties Exercise 9: Marketing courses Exercise 10: Understanding royalties Exercise 11: Congratulations!