This really makes me wish they would leave content up rather than following the cohort model -- there are a handful of classes I'd like to take, but their current model forces users to basically adhere to the university schedule (they have 4x more courses starting in september than any other month). Udacity made the switch after a couple months of trying the cohort model -- hope Coursera considers the same.
I agree. Over the Summer I wanted to do the Python course with my son (9 years old) but it doesn't start until October, when he'll be back at school. Shame. Doing the Learn Python the Hard Way with him instead
Udacity has a CS101 in Python that you can start at any time and can be mastered by a 9 yr old with parental guidance. Check it out. I am sure you will be happy with it and your son will have a good time.
Their interface is a lot better and their teachers are great, they've really created a new pedagogy around the new medium rather than adapt existing brick and mortar courses like Coursera and edX is doing. Mind you Coursera and MITx is a great way to get real college classes over the web, but Udacity is rebuilding the whole paradigm and is intensely analyzing data and tweaking to improve things.
LPTHW is excellent, although if you are interested in doing something with videos and the structure of a course, Udacity does use python, and their courses are available whenever you want. You could do CS 101 with him there (even after finishing LPTHW).
By all means Codeacademy should continue with the scheduled courses and deadlines, there are benefits to that. Just leave the content and discussions available for those who want to self-study at their own pace and convenience. Perhaps only make the certificates available to those who take the class on schedule.
