You know that artificial intelligence can accelerate the learning process and completely transform the way you learn, providing practically endless examples or explanations that are personalized to your knowledge and goals. And when it comes to learning how to code, there’s no exception to using AI to help you.
Depending on your goals and the exact programming language you want to learn, the process for which you’re best suited will vary, but using artificial intelligence tools is an incredible resource that can greatly increase your level and speed quite easily. But AI isn’t a one-step solution and as you begin your coding journey, you’ll have to consider all your options and put in quite a bit of work.
In this article, we’ll dive right into the nitty gritty of using AI for education before highlighting some of the benefits–and drawbacks–of using AI in education, and specifically to learn how to code.
AI & Education
When you think about it, using artificial intelligence for education is a no brainer. After all, if there were an easy way for students to learn in a more interactive and personalized way, why wouldn’t they take advantage of it?! Both self-learners and institutions are looking to employ AI methods in their learning process and this is why:
AI can provide personalized learning
Textbooks or online videos can be helpful in specific situations, but we all know that there are times when personalized instruction that’s tailored to your exact needs is just what you need. And on a more detailed level, students learn in different ways; some are more visual and others need more interactive and hands-on practice to truly learn. With the help of AI tools, students can benefit from examples, exercises, and explanations that help them best learn.
AI can keep students engaged
Staying driven and interested throughout your learning journey, especially if you’re learning on your own, can be quite the challenge. With the help of AI tools, however, you can follow a learning plan that’s customized exactly to your needs and interests, helping you stay engaged and on-track throughout the entire learning process.
AI tools can also provide real-time feedback, making the entire learning experience more active; in addition, with immediate responses and lessons or exercises that are designed specifically based on your needs, students will remain motivated.
AI can detect problem areas
Based on the tool’s analysis of your results or answers, it can suggest possible problem areas that may have gone undetected if you were studying in a large group or on your own. And thanks to AI’s ability to customize lessons and provide real-time feedback, you’ll be able to work on the areas that you’re struggling in and ensure that they’re mastered before you move too far ahead.
AI tools are always available
Artificial intelligence tools don’t need to sleep, eat, or take breaks and are always available, which is incredibly useful for those looking to study in their free time or whenever they have a second. Without needing to wait for a human to provide feedback or be available, a student’s learning journey will move a lot faster–and more efficiently.
Using AI to Learn How to Code
Sounds like artificial intelligence is an incredibly useful tool in coding, right? It definitely is–but there are also some considerations to keep in mind as you begin your coding journey. AI tools can help personalize your journey, ensuring your instruction is as detailed and customized as possible, but we can’t pretend that with the help of AI tools, you’ll be coding in just hours.
Just like any worthwhile commitment, learning to code will take time and effort on your part, with a hard fast commitment to improving. Below, we’ve outlined some of our best tips and tricks for using AI to help you in your coding journey–and some things to keep in mind.
AI tools can help with idea generation
We’ve all hit a wall at some point–be it a problem that seems simply insurmountable or a complete brain block when it comes to coming up with a new project to practice your coding skills on. Luckily for you, artificial intelligence tools are limitless when it comes to ideas and are capable of suggesting new problems or solutions that you may not have thought of–and in just a matter of seconds.
AI tools are also incredibly useful when it comes to problem solving and can help identify problems within code, telling you exactly what went wrong and where and providing suggestions for more efficient and cleaner code.
AI tools can review your code for you
Depending on where you are in your coding journey, you may struggle with identifying areas for improvement or simply where your errors are showing up–and what to do to correct it. And even if you’re writing clean code that works, AI coding review tools can make suggestions for where you can make it ever better.
And the best part? AI tools can give you quick and accurate feedback in a number of seconds consistently throughout your building process, meaning you’re not waiting for the end of the project to identify issues that could have been solved earlier on.
AI tools can advise you on specific pieces of code
One size doesn’t fit all in coding and you may not be exactly sure what to use to obtain a specific result, especially if you’re working on a new kind of project. AI tools can help both advise on the best technique for a certain situation or simply let you try out various options without committing to see which ultimately works best.
Concerns When Using AI to Learn to Code
Before you dive right into using AI to enhance your code learning process, take a second to read through some of the concerns of relying too heavily of AI when learning:
Overdependence can hinder your growth as a developer: the last thing you want is to become so dependent on AI tools to code that you’re unable to create quality and useful code on your own. Although it would be easy to use AI to code all your projects, it’s not a fool-proof process and is one that could lead to issues if you depend too heavily on it throughout your career.
Human interaction is an important part of learning: interacting with fellow programmers and experts is a crucial part of the learning process as other people’s diverse experiences and ideas can help enhance your code-writing abilities.
AI tools aren’t perfect: the issue of bias and ethics in artificial intelligence is a real one--and it’s one that will require you to use these tools with a grain of salt to ensure that any biases don’t work their way into your code. Remember that the knowledge of AI tools is limited to the data it’s been fed and if you’re working on a project with a wider scope, you may run into limitations.
