It is hard to overestimate the necessity to study new programming languages. Advanced programmers have always been in high demand and the need in programming skills will be only increasing with years (maybe someday code writing will be fully automatic and run by machines; but in any case it is not that soon and it will be the last human activity to be replaced).
Programming is the future. No surprise that there appear so many online programming courses and tutorials. These courses appeal to numerous students who try to improve their career prospects.
Let’s review the most popular online courses in Ruby on Rails and see what they offer.
Code School is definitely one of the biggest resources to start learning programming. It provides a great variety of small courses to get familiar with the main concepts and try your hand at coding.
Code School uses ‘learning by doing’ approach which means that students are encouraged to complete coding challenges after watching video lessons and screencasts. Instant feedback with live visualization, gaming element with colourful layout contribute to the overall course appeal.
The school offers a series of Ruby and RoR courses. Courses vary from from 2 hours till 8 hours.
Ruby courses (for beginners):
- Try Ruby
- Ruby Bits
- Ruby Bits Part 2
Ruby on Rails courses (intended for students who got some command of the language):
- Rails for Zombies Redux
- Rails for Zombies
- Rails 4: Zombie Outlaws
- Rails 4 Patterns
- Surviving APIs with Rails
- Rails Testing for Zombies
Even course titles alone speak for themselves. Students are “doomed” to enjoy the course and reach the starting point to continue learning and improving their skills.
Teaching methods and materials: video lessons, online coding tasks completed in a web browser, system of points.
Cost: there are both free and paid courses (unlocked with a monthly subscription).
Founded: 2011.
Codecademy education company presents several Ruby/Ruby on Rails free courses for beginners:
- Ruby (9 hours).
- Learn Ruby on Rails (5 hours).
- Ruby on Rails: Authentification (2 hours).
The classes consist of lessons, projects and quizzes.
Teaching methods and materials: lessons (step by step guides performed in browser), quizzes.
Cost: free + extra resources and support are available (at a monthly fee).
Founded: 2011.
One Month Rails branded as a set of video lessons and tutorials provided by educational startup from New York - One Month. The course aims to teach any beginner the basic things about Rails. To complete the course means to finish building a Pinterest-style application. The course consists of 30 days (about 2-3 hours per week)
The course is not free. You can select a plan to proceed but free trial is also available just to get the first idea.
The mentor is Mattan Griffel, co-founder and CEO at One Month.
Teaching methods and materials: video lessons, direct interaction with the teacher (premium courses), learning library.
Cost: paid course (studies according to monthly or yearly subscriptions for individuals or teams).
Founded: 2013.
It’s worthwhile checking courses available at Udemy marketplace platform. It provides courses from plenty of experts including Ruby on Rails specialists with their programs and number of hours.
There are many courses available: starting from lectures for beginners and finishing with advanced lessons to master your skills.
The variety is certainly is a huge plus for Udemy.
Teaching methods and materials: video lectures, quizzes.
Cost: free and paid courses are available.
Founded: 2010.
The school offers a number of courses to study Ruby on Rails. The curriculum starts with preparatory work phase (mandatory and free) and continues with programming foundation course (with assessment in Ruby), Rapid Prototyping with Ruby on Rails (about 80-120 hours) and others.
The program is not for beginners or for those who intend to get fast results. Launch School is not branded as a set of reference videos or lectures: it’s more focused on interaction and frequent assessment tasks.
Teaching methods and materials: video lectures, assignments with detailed video walk-throughs, help of staff teaching assistants (at the forum), 1-on-1 mentorship.
Cost: paid course.
Founded: unknown.
Bloc is the world’s first online bootcamp founded in 2011. Among others it offers Rails Web Development course (12 weeks to complete).
The course is meant for anyone who wants to learn the fundamentals of RoR programming and start building web applications.
Course main features:
- 1-on-1 mentorship with experienced developers
- Learning via creating web applications
Apart from courses Bloc offers career programs: Software Engineering Track (a year) and Full Stack Web Developer Track (24 weeks).
Teaching methods and materials: 1-on-1 mentorship, practical assignements and challenges, completing projects.
Cost: paid course.
Founded: 2011.
The school offers beginner course for web development in Rails. It gives fundamentals and includes 1-on-1 sessions and the development of the first MVP. The course if focused on practice over reading.
Time estimate is 3 months (10-15 hours per week).
Teaching methods and materials: 1-on-1 mentorship, workshops.
Cost: paid course (part time and full time plans).
Founded: 2012.
Coding bootcamp that starts with programming fundamentals and goes deeper to enhance Ruby on Rails skills. The core course is estimated at 13 weeks.
Students create their own applications and attend online 1-on-1 mentor sessions.
Teaching methods and materials: 1-on-1 mentorship, pair programming, video conferences.
Cost: paid course.
Founded: unknown.
The portal provides around 1700 online courses.
Ruby on Rails course includes more than 4 hours of videos, 20+ lectures. A good choice to start learning Ruby on Rails for beginners.
Teaching methods and materials: video lectures.
Cost: paid course (according to subscription plan selected).
Founded: 2008.
The program focuses on teaching full engineers (entire web development stack). The curriculum includes 5 parts: Preparation, Fundamentals of Programming, The Back End, The Front End, Hiring Bootcamp and Demo Day. The studying process is estimated to take 6 months. Along the way students write code, build an app and pair-program with instructors.
There is no course tuition for US-based students: they pay only when they get a job. If they don’t it’s free. For international students it is recommended to check Flex Program provided by the school.
Teaching methods and materials: collaborative project work, video and chats, 1-on-1 sessions with instructors.
Cost: paid course.
Founded: 1997.
Ronin is a British online course presented by Makers Academy, Europe’s leading Web Developer bootcamp. The main idea is to teach people to code providing a highly immersive atmosphere. It also focuses on getting students into their first jobs (the school is supported by a big network for hiring partners).
The program is full-time and takes 12 weeks (from 9 am to 6 pm, Monday – Friday + some weekend projects). Students have to fully commit to the course as there are no part-time options.
Ronin covers Front end (HTML, CSS, JavaScript), Back end (Ruby, Ruby on Rails, NodeJS, Object Oriented Programming, TDD, Pair Programming, Agile and more.
Teaching methods and materials: 1-on-1 mentorship, pair programming with other learners in real time, project driven development.
Cost: paid course.
Founded: 2015.
No doubt, Ruby on Rails is a good choice for beginners or those who want to achieve higher career prospects. Online courses may become the first step in this.
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