Six-week course
6 weeks
About 2 hours a week
How computers and the web fit together, HTML and CSS by hand, building safely with AI, and shipping a small site.
For career changers, founders, curious adults
Curated by Tommy Adeniyi
Learn to build for the web,with a tutor watching every move.
Code Literacy teaches how computers and websites work, from the first bit to a site you deploy. A live tutor sees what you build and steps in the moment something goes sideways, with the exact correction for the mix-up you just made. So when AI writes the code, you can read it, test it and fix it.
Teaching a group? See the teacher view
- units
- 11
- units
- beats per lesson
- 4
- beats per lesson
- experience needed
- 0
- experience needed
It watches you build
Every drag, keystroke and answer is checked as it happens, not when you hand in.
It knows the usual mix-ups
Each lesson lists the mistakes people make. The tutor names yours and explains it kindly.
It listens back
You explain the idea out loud. The tutor checks the big ideas and asks about what is missing.
How every lesson runs
Four beats, every time.
You always know where you are, and the tutor always knows what to look for.
- 01
See it
Explore the model
Drag, stack and wire a picture of the idea: boxes inside boxes, cards in order, labels on parts.
Nest html, head and body tiles into a page tree.
- 02
Build it
Write the real thing
Write the code behind the picture you just made, with a live preview that updates as you type.
Type the same tree as HTML and watch the checks tick green.
- 03
Break it
Find and fix the bug
A page arrives broken. Find the bug, fix it, and say in one sentence what went wrong.
A heading that never closed swallows the whole menu.
- 04
Say it
Explain it back
Explain it back out loud, or type it. The tutor listens for the big ideas and asks about the gaps.
“What is the difference between the head and the body?”
Then round again with the next idea. A skill counts as mastered once you have built it and said it.
The course
Ten units and a capstone.
From what a computer does with a switch to looking after a live site at 9 p.m. on a Friday.
- Unit 0What a computer actually doesBits and switches, step-by-step instructions, files and folders.
- Unit 1How the web worksThe journey of a request, the parts of a URL, and what status codes mean.
- Unit 2HTML: structure and meaningBuild the tree of nested boxes behind every page.
- Unit 3CSS: the look and the layoutThe box model, the cascade, flexbox and grid, responsive design.
- Unit 4Thinking like a programmerVariables, types, conditions, loops and functions.
- Unit 5Data and algorithmsArrays, searching, sorting, Big O by feel, and a little recursion.
- Unit 6JavaScript in the pageSelect and change elements, events, state, fetch and JSON.
- Unit 7Data that lastsDatabases, tables and SQL, relationships, and who can see what.
- Unit 8Vibe coding with guardrailsPrompts as specifications, reading before running, tests and git.
- Unit 9Ship it and keep it aliveDeploy then verify, DNS, secrets, caches and incidents.
- CapstoneBuild and ship something for a real personBuild and ship something useful for a person you know.
Pick your pace
Three ways through.
College semester
12 weeks
About 3 hours a week
Every unit plus the full capstone. Units 4 and 5 line up with an intro computer science course.
For college and university students
One-day workshop
1 day
Six focused hours
How the web works, HTML, building with AI guardrails, and deploying then verifying a page.
For teams, bootcamps, community classes
For teachers
Run it live with a whole room.
Share a room code and see every learner at once: who is stuck, who keeps making the same mix-up, who is flying. Then teach the thing the room needs.
- A live grid of every learner and what they are working on
- Push a hint to one learner or the whole class
- Pause the room when it is time to look up
What the tutor catches
The mix-ups everyone makes.
Each one has a plain-words explainer and a lesson where you practise the fix.
Questions
Before you start
Is Code Literacy free?
Yes, for anyone learning on their own: free with an account, and the first two units need no account at all. The tutor’s written and spoken replies have a daily limit; once it is reached, the built-in tutor keeps answering with each lesson’s own corrections, so you are never locked out. Colleges, libraries and adult-learning programs license it for classrooms.
Do I need any coding experience?
No. The course starts with what a computer does with a single switch and builds up from there: how the web works, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, data, and shipping a site. Every idea is something you drag, build, fix and explain before you move on.
How long does the course take?
Pick a track. The six-week course takes about two hours a week, the college semester about three hours a week for twelve weeks, and the one-day workshop is six focused hours. Single lessons take 15 to 40 minutes.
What does the tutor actually do?
It watches each drag, keystroke and answer as you work. When you make one of the mistakes listed for that lesson, it names the mix-up and explains it right away. You can tap Help me at any time, and at the end of each lesson you explain the idea back by voice or typing while the tutor listens for the key points.
Do I need to create an account?
Not to start. The first two units need no account: open a lesson and go. From Unit 2 on, lessons are free with an account, which is just your email and a 6-digit code (no password), and it keeps your progress on every device. In a live class you need no account at all: enter the room code your teacher shows and your first name.
Can I skip what I already know?
Yes. Each unit has a placement check: explain the unit’s big question in your own words, and if you cover the key ideas you can test out and move ahead.
Do I get a certificate?
Finish a unit or a whole track to claim a certificate with its own verification page, ready to print or add to LinkedIn.
Does it teach coding with AI tools?
Unit 8 covers building with AI tools safely: writing a prompt as a specification, reading generated code before running it, testing edge cases and using git as an undo button. The rest of the course gives you the foundations to check what those tools produce.
Running a class or a program? See what schools and libraries get.