CheckiO in Top American Universities

Python is the most frequently taught programming language in introductory computer science classes. There are many universities and colleges training students in Python, as well as many online classes to help introduce new people to coding, via Python.

As students seek avenues to grow their Python coding skills and become expert coders, the CheckiO community has seen continuous expansion with thousands of new players signing up every month. We have seen great adoption of CheckiO by the top universities in the United States as they look for new ways to supplement their traditional curriculum and engage their students.

The infographic shows the top 20 universities represented on CheckiO. We salute these universities and their professors for encouraging students to learn coding skills that will aid them as they embark on careers in coding. As CheckiO player and University of South Florida student Thomas Dietert stated in a recent interview:

"I think solving practical coding challenges and learning from one another to be essential to not plateau in knowledge gain. Books and theory can only get you so far-- such a significant part of learning is practicing in a way that relates to the real world."

CheckiO is about helping you to improve your Python coding skills with the support of a great coding community. Players can ask for help from others and receive code reviews for their solutions. Similar to a programming class, there is a feedback loop and interaction with expert Python coders to help guide the way so students don't get stuck. This applied learning method helps make programming concepts stick with students. Wenzheng Xu from New York University describes CheckiO as a home, saying:

"I remember many firsts in CheckiO: first time to solve a problem, first time to unlock a section, first time to publish my solution, first time to vote and get voted for, first time to argue with others in comments, and first time to get my position on the first page of the leader board. I met my friends, learnt the beauty in code style and even spent a whole day to get one more score in the 'golf' questions. I have great memories from CheckiO and these precious days make CheckiO like a home more than a game for me."

In CheckiO, players solve coding challenges to level up. Players can ask for help from the community, and can view others' solutions once they have cracked the mission. Community support and self-learning through doing reinforces programming materials that students may have covered in class or online. Says player Séverin Hatt from MIT:

"By allowing the users to view the existing solutions, only once the problem is solved allows you to fully appreciate the beauty of some implementations and learn much more".

At CheckiO, we've devised an innovative and fun way to learn how to code elegantly. At CheckiO, we make coders.