For those of you who have been waiting expectantly on the edge of your seats for my next article to inspire your imagination and spark you to even greater heights (okay, that’s enough of the soaring rhetoric, I won’t be running for office any time soon!), this article is about what I consider to be one of the best training and educational tools available in the web development realm.
Team Tree House: Web Development Made Fun
“Gamification” is a relatively new term that uses graphic “awards” to show progress – to inspire continued performance. The experts over at TeamTreeHouse.com have used this carrot system to teach web design and iOs application development to iNoobs.
Founded by Ryan Carson, web-trepreneuer Team Treehouse is boasting a 49% increase in membership each month. They’ve been featured in the Wall Street Journal. They’re giving aspiring web designers, app developers, and web-trainees the education they need at a fraction of the cost of a computer sciences degree.
No more pencils, no more books, no more teachers’ dirty looks!
Serial Web Entrepreneur Hires Outrageous Talent to Teach
And I guess that was the inspiration for spinning Team Tree House (formerly Think Vitamin) into a gamified alternative to the classroom. And, it works. And, it’s relevant.
According to their inspiring mission statement:
Our goal is to teach Web Design, Web Development and iOS, to everyone in the World who wants to learn. Millions of people can’t afford a quality technical education, or if they can, it’s out of date immediately when they graduate. We aim to change that.
Staying Abreast (can I write that?) of Technology
Kudos to you, TeamTreeHouse for the visionary goal. As an owner of a Fort Myers Web Design Firm, I have seen web designers fresh out of college or “tech” school who have all the skills necessary to be successful web developers and designers. These “noobs” spend a couple of years without work (thank you foreclosure crisis and economic recession) and their skills are nearly obsolete.
Technology changes just too fast for you to blink for a moment. If you do, it’s gone and you’re back to the drawing board…
Different Kind of Chalk Board, Better Knowledge
And, that’s where Ryan Carson and his crew of deadly expert staff enter. They’ll keep you out of school (good thing – in my opinion), teach you what you need to know, and… *pregnant pause* …even make it fun.
Okay, inhale again. I know, my techno-nerds, this is just what you were waiting for. But don’t take my word for it. Click on over to judge for yourselves and see if those techies can’t take you to the treetops of design (over the top with the extended metaphor, I know, but I had to do it!).
Zach Katkin
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Thanks for the kind words! :)
Oh, and Ryan rocks too!! :-]
[...] Team Tree House Rocks (inspiredm.com) [...]
Nice article! There are a lot of people who are motivated, but don’t know where to start. Sites like teamtreehouse.com and codepupil.com are great resources for people like me who want to learn on our own time.
[...] The open and convenient nature of online learning is largely what sets it apart from traditional educational resources, and some of the best open-source online resources help users to continue online progress. Codec Academy, for instance, is a site that demystifies writing code in an social and simple way. “I thought about the best learning experiences I’ve had and realized it comes down to motivation and rewards systems,” Codec Academy co-creator Zach Sims said to Wired regarding Codec Academy’s peer-motivated philosophy. Team Treehouse, another site designed to make web design simple and intuitive, offers plans ranging from $25 – $49 a month. While Team Treehouse is only available for a charge, the skills customer satisfaction seems to be very high, as they’ve garnered strong reviews and have seen a 49% increase in membership each month. [...]
I don’t get the hype, the videos i previewed where painfully slow and childish, with nursery-ish music. I don’t get who they are aiming at. There are only a handful of videos. and for 50 per month. Askvideo has over 20000 videos for half that price, and lynda probably close to that. Good for them for starting up another tutorial company but it is not at the level i would hope for.