5 Handy Online Tools for Developer Students

Recently, we compiled the 30 best blogs to help you stay up to date with programming languages.

Today, we bring you five wonderful tools that every student of web development should know about. With an overwhelming number of boot camps and free resources to learn the hottest profession of the 21^st century, these take the cake for a number of factors.

These are great particularly for students who want to jump right in and work with other like-minded people on improving and growing your skillset.

Check it out:

1. Jet Brains

Good news, students with .edu email addresses! Jet Brains decided to let students use their products for free.

This is perfect for folks who are (or thinking about) learning Java, PHP, Ruby, Python, JavaScript, Objective-C or .NET technologies.

You’ll need the right tools to get your hands dirty. The free JetBrains Student License is for all IDEs and .NET Tools products, according to their recent blog post.

These products are pretty legit, with editor’s choice awards from Java Developer Journal, Visual Studio Magazine and InfoWorld Technology.

2. Exercism.io

Don’t let the morbid name scare you away. It’s a free tool that offers a programming exercise each day, which is really valuable for folks who, again, want to get their hands dirty. “First you download these exercises using a special software client, and once you’ve completed one, you upload it back to the site, where other coders from around the world will give you feedback,” according to WIRED.

The coolest thing about Exercism.io is that it’s highly conversation-based. Any great tech team is collaborative…so this gives you a taste of how to communicate and improve by working together.

3. CodeShare.io

When you’re collaborating with a friend or instructor, CodeShare allows you to share what you type in real-time rather than having to screen share.

You can see from the platform that it’s super simple and easy to use. All you have to do is share your URL with a friend to start working together on your code! CodeShare is created by Lee Munroe, product designer at Mail Gun by Rackspace and Tejesh Mehta of Runnable.com.

4.  Code School

These online crash course web courses allow you to learn to code by doing. Code School’s features include challenges, screencasts and video lessons. This is particularly great for beginners who aren’t sure where they want to start.

There are several other top-rated online courses that allow you to buckle down and learn new languages—if you’re motivated enough. Webmaker Training (formerly known as the School of Webcraft), for instance, is another peer-powered way to learn how to develop for the web.

5. CodeWars

Another great test and training tools that allows you to collaborate (and compete) with your friends. It’s a fun and addicting way to sharpen your skills, challenge yourself and master your favorite programming language.

Right now, you can choose between JavaScript, CoffeeScript, Ruby and Python.

Coming soon: Java, Haskell, Scala, Clojure, Go, C#, C and more.