Introduction

Learning to program has been more and more popular as technology advances. Today, I will go through some of my best resources that I have used.

It can be hard to find accessible resources for those with disabilities so my hope is that I can share some of my best accessible resources. Resources are broken down by type for easier organization.

Tools for Writing Code

Before you write code, you need to have the right tools in your toolbox to help you to be productive. The following resources will get you started picking the right tools.

Visual Studio Code

Depending on what you are trying to code, Visual Studio Code may be the perfect tool for the job. I have used Visual Studio Code extensively for programming websites, console apps, and more. If you are doing heavy desktop development, you may need a more advanced tool like Visual Studio because of the integrated debugging and provisioning tools. In addition, with over 23000 extensions, you can extend the editor to do anything and the possibilities are endless. Finally, the editor is fully accessible for all which is amazing news.

If you would like to learn Visual Studio Code, I have put some videos together on my YouTube channel. I will link to my setup video where I show how I set up Visual Studio Code for best productivity.

Xcode

If you are into development for the apple platforms, then Xcode is what you need to use. Xcode is accessible for all, and has all the tools for creating amazing apps.

Other tools

There are so many tools for programming. The ones listed above are the ones that I have the most experience with but there are plenty of others out there. I would say that you should try the tools available and you will find the ones you like quickly.

Learning To Program

It is now time to dive in. You have your tools, now let’s actually code. There are many programming languages like python, javascript, java, c#, swift, c++, and more. Choose a programming language which will help you solve a problem you want to solve. There is no point in learning a language if you have no project to do. If you are doing web stuff, then learn HTML(hypertext markup language),CSS(cascading style sheets), and javascript. If you are wanting to dive into mobile app development, SWIFT for apple and kotlin and java on android is.

If you want to make scripts that work cross platform, python is what you need to learn.

Free Resources

If you are unsure if you would like coding, these free resources will give you a taste. All of these resources I have used and they are fully accessible.

Freecodecamp

This is an amazing place to learn web development. You learn by completing challenges along the way. In addition, they have projects and certifications.

Coding tutorial websites

There are many free coding tutorials out there. Many of these cover many languages.

Traversy Media

Tutorialspoint

Taylors Tech Talks Website for the home of Tutorials and other content

Taylors Tech Talks YouTube the home of all the tutorial videos

GeeksforGeeks

Payed resources

There are many resources you can pay for to learn to code. The following I have used myself and found to be the most helpful.

Codecademy

Codecademy is an amazing website for learning to code. Like free code camp, they have interactive tutorials for learning code. They cover not just the web but almost all programming languages. They also have quizzes and projects at the end of each lesson for enforcing learning. Accessibility has been emphasized over the past year and has made it extremely accessible. In addition, if there are bugs, they will fix them.

While they also have a free plan, you will need to consider upgrading to get all features like projects and quizzes as well as certain languages not offered in free. The monthly cost is $40. If you pay annually, it is $20 per month.

Programming communities

Sometimes it is nice to work and learn from others. Below, I have linked to some programming communities for doing just that.

The First codecademy Chapter Dedicated to accessibility

Blog Post About codecademy Chapter

Programming for Everyone discord server

Accessible Coders Chapter Website

Conclusion

There are many programming resources to choose from. I hope I gave you some good places to start, and it is all about what you find to be most helpful.

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