Hi everyone,
It’s hard to believe that GoCodeIT is now celebrating three years! What started as a project to provide a personal replacement for Replit (and Coding Rooms) in the Autumn term of 2023 has grown into something much bigger than I ever expected.
If you are new to Go Code IT, then please do take a moment to read the ‘about’ page (GCi – About) which gives a little background into how the site began.
With so many schools now using the platform and submissions well over the one million mark, I thought it was a good time to say thank you and share a couple of updates.
A Little Thank You – Updated Subscription Plans
As GoCodeIT reaches its third year, I wanted to take the opportunity to thank the teachers and schools who’ve supported the platform along the way.
There’s nothing quite like knowing that all those hours spent developing the platform over holidays, weekends and late nights have resulted in something that’s making a real difference to teachers. That’s probably the most rewarding part of the last three years.
As those of you who have been part of this journey with me know, I’m constantly looking at how I can continue to develop GoCodeIT while keeping it sustainable and offering schools the best possible value. As the platform grows, I try to constantly review the offer to make sure it is the best it can be.
With that in mind, from today I wanted to let you know that the Individual plan has become the Standard plan, with increased allowances:
- Up to 200 shared student places.
- 2 teacher accounts.
Existing Individual subscribers will automatically receive these increased allowances, so there’s nothing you need to do.
It’s another step towards my goal of making sure GoCodeIT remains an affordable and sustainable option for schools, while continuing to provide more of the tools and resources teachers need.
Python 3.14 – A New Way to Code!
I’ve also been working on something I’ve wanted to introduce for a while – an updated Python environment, bringing Python 3.14 directly into the browser.
The work I did over the summer updating the language engine has allowed me to put in place a lot of underlying support for additional languages and as this has been much requested it makes sense to improve support here first.
The new environment provides updated support for Python 3.14, including its full range of language features and functions, without needing to install anything.
Importantly, this doesn’t mean losing the existing Python environment or its libraries. You’ll now be able to choose between the two:
- Original Python environment: Retains support for the existing libraries, including Pygame, Turtle, Tkinter and NumPy.
- New Python 3.14 environment: Provides an updated Python experience directly in the browser, with support for the latest language features and functions.
This gives teachers and students the flexibility to choose the environment that best suits the projects they’re working on.
Alongside the existing Visual Basic, C#, Javascript and HTML website builder, I hope this offers good coverage for most language needs in school.
Coding Rooms On The Way…
I’ve made big steps on the ‘coding rooms’ feature. It’s been something I’ve been working on, on and off, for over a year. It’s really been a question, as usual, of sustainability and performance.
This weekend I put the finishing touches to the first stage and I thought it was time to release it in it’s current state. This is not a true live coding room just yet. I think that’s nearly ready, but I want to test this initial step first.
I’m keeping an eye on performance in this initial launch so I can make sure the next release with the interactive and collaborative editor is in the best place it can be without affecting the user experience.
I’m happy to hear comments and feedback on the new coding room feature so feel free to get in touch.
Plenty More to Come!
There’s still so much I haven’t done and lots I’d like to add and improve. Many of the features already available have come directly from suggestions and feedback from teachers, and I really appreciate people taking the time to get in touch.
GoCodeIT continues to be developed and maintained by just me, with no additional funding aside from your wonderful support via subscriptions and alongside my full-time teaching role, so things don’t always happen as quickly as I’d like! However, my focus remains on building a sustainable, affordable platform that continues to offer schools the tools they need without unnecessary costs or concerns about long term viability.
So finally, a genuine thank you to everyone who’s supported GoCodeIT over the last three years. Whether you’ve been with me from the beginning, recently joined, suggested an improvement or simply taken the time to send some positive feedback, it really does make a difference.
I’m really pleased with how far things have come, but there’s plenty more to come!
Thanks again for your support!
Pete
Leave a Reply