Website: Codecademy

URL: http://www.codecademy.com

Other Choices: Khan Academy, WatchKnow, Do Ink

Synopsis: Smart site gives teens hands-on experience with coding.

Common Sense Rates It:

Parents need to know
Parents need to know that CODECADEMY teaches users how to code in several programming languages by providing interactive exercises organized into lessons. There's no content that would be iffy for younger kids, but the reading level and skills taught are challenging.

• Families can talk about how technology can help students learn. What did you find useful on this site? How might you improve it?
• Who are the people working behind the scenes to make computer programs and games? How is building a game different from playing one?

What's the story?
Designed to introduce newbies to the world of coding -- writing computer programs -- CODECADEMY provides interactive lessons on JavaScript, HTML, and CSS, with plans to expand to additional programming languages. Lessons are organized into three tracks, and users earn points and badges as they complete each exercise, which can be shared on Facebook or Twitter. Those who are already well-versed in the world of coding can also create their own lessons. Codecademy plans to expand on its social features so that users can find their friends on the site.

Is it any good?
Codecademy does a great job getting users to overcome the first obstacle to learning: getting started. Visitors to the site can immediately try out a simple, fun programming exercise. After a few more lessons -- and a confidence boost -- they're asked to sign up. By focusing on the hands-on experience, Codecademy keeps lessons engaging rather than didactic. On the other hand, users who don't have much coding experience might want a little more background information about the programming languages and what they can do.