Treehouse Review
May 27, 2020
A bird's-eye view
Overview
This Treehouse review is one of many in a qualitative analysis comparing popular 'Learn to Code' platforms using 6 categories, each with 5 distinct grades. This is a bird's-eye view, rather than a comprehensive dissection of Treehouse.
Table of Contents
Who is Treehouse Great for?
- Anyone who wants consistent quality in beginner-to-mid difficulty video walkthroughs of projects at a moderate pace.
- Anyone interested in direct interaction with a teacher, and are comfortable paying US$200/month for it.
- Anyone who wants very active discussion forums.
Cost
| 3 | Most courses are less than US$40/month. |
|---|---|
| Cost category and grading details | |
Treehouse offers three tiers of membership, but the first two are very similar.
- US$25/month for their Basic membership. You gain access to most project walkthroughs, and their active discussion forum.
- US$40/month for their Pro membership, which gives you additional access to all project walkthroughs and workshops.
- US$200/month for their Techdegree membership, which gives you access to additional project walkthroughs, quizzes, interactive coding challenges, a Slack channel for students, peer reviews, and blocks of time when a teacher will be available to answer questions.
Teacher Feedback
| 5 | Projects are graded by a teacher. Direct access to a teacher is available within a reasonable timeframe. |
|---|---|
| Teacher Feedback category and grading details | |
- Basic and Pro memberships provide a consistently active discussion forum with very helpful students and experienced developers.
- Techdegree membership provides real-teacher feedback through office hours where a teacher will be available to answer questions in real-time. Office hours are open for one hour 1-3 times per week. Their Slack channel provides even faster response from other students and experienced developers. Techdegree paths only cover a few roles, but they're all in-demand.
Range of Tools
| 3 | Most tools from the basket of tools are covered. |
|---|---|
| Range of Tools category and grading details | |
Treehouse's high focus on quality makes it difficult for them to publish content covering a wide range of tools. The tools that are covered are covered well.
Computer Science
| 2 | Basic data structures covered in some courses. |
|---|---|
| Computer Science category and grading details | |
Treehouse has just a few courses that cover basic data structures and sorting algorithms.
Real-World Projects
| 5 | Real-world projects are presented with a description or walkthrough as a primary objective of courses -- by screened instructors. |
|---|---|
| Real-World Projects category and grading details | |
Treehouse's courses are all typically project walkthroughs in some form. The instructors are all great; Treehouse must have a very strict vetting process.
Beginner Environments
| 2 | Beginner-friendly coding environment available intermittently, but not available as the primary method of learning. |
|---|---|
| Beginner Environments category and grading details | |
Treehouse's courses sometimes have intermittent, small coding challenges. These are contained within artificial environments backed by a few unhappy path tests providing helpful messages for beginners. These appear intermittently throughout courses.
Final Words
Treehouse's heavy focus on high-quality, real-world project walkthroughs aimed at beginner-intermediate students makes it a great place to start for the technically inclined. The only downside of this heavy focus on projects is that they lack courses that explore conceptual theories -- just something to be aware of.