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 Millions of people can’t afford a quality technical education, or if they can, it’s out of date immediately when they graduate.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!).