Microsoft is making Visual Studio Code for Education generally available at the end of the month. This free online education platform includes an integrated curriculum and a sandbox coding environment that doesn’t require any setup or installation, everyone can get started right away learning how to code.
Microsoft said that it made an effort to make Visual Studio Code for Education available across multiple devices, platforms, and browsers to ensure that as many people as possible can get access. It also said that the curriculum is inclusive and offers clear explanations and relevant examples so that learning to code is straightforward.
One of the languages that it has a course on is Python, a popular high-level programming language that is fairly simple to learn. Python is the most popular programming language according to the 2023 TIOBE and PYPL indexes so students who learn about it in Visual Studio Code for Education will be more equipped to meet workplace demands. The platform includes the Introduction to Python course as well as bite-size coding activities to practice what you’ve learned.
Discussing how it has created this platform to be simple and secure, Microsoft said:
“Visual Studio Code for Education will simplify the learning process with a streamlined code editing experience that’s optimized for education. It will feature a content window for learning materials, a simplified user interface and an intuitive layout, making it easier for students to master essential coding concepts. The platform’s one-click-to-code functionality removes any setup barriers, allowing students to start coding immediately.”
Visual Studio Code for Education joins a long list of free-to-use educational resources to learn programming. One of the advantages of this program is that you’ll get to work in Visual Studio Code in the web browser – it has the same interface as the downloadable Visual Studio Code which is one of the most popular text editors to write code in due to its extensibility. This will further prepare learners for the real world of coding.
While the general availability will be from the end of the month, a preview version of Visual Studio Code for Education is already available now, just log in with a Microsoft or Google account and then explore the choice of courses to get started.