Should I Build It Should I Build It
24 May 2025
Education

a landing pagee that helps school students learn code one on one

Confidence
Engagement
Net use signal
Net buy signal

Idea type: Run Away

Multiple attempts have failed with clear negative feedback. Continuing down this path would likely waste your time and resources when better opportunities exist elsewhere.

Should You Build It?

Don't build it.

Your are here

You're entering a crowded space with your idea for a landing page connecting school students with one-on-one coding tutors. We found 21 similar products, which means there's clearly a demand, but also a lot of competition. The average engagement for similar products is medium, indicated by an average of 9 comments. Unfortunately, we don't have buy or use metrics. This isn't necessarily a bad sign, it's a neutral signal that most products don't get much feedback from users, especially on whether they'd pay for it or use it. Given the number of competitors and lack of overwhelming positive signals, it's crucial to differentiate and validate your approach thoroughly. Many similar platforms exist, and the success of your idea hinges on understanding what makes your service uniquely appealing and effective for students.

Recommendations

  1. Dive deep into the criticism summaries of similar products, especially 'ClassroomIO,' 'New visual language for teaching kids to code', and 'Pickcode'. These highlight common pitfalls like confusing branding, unintuitive interfaces, lack of clear benefits for young learners, and slow sales cycles. Use these insights to proactively address these issues in your landing page and service design.
  2. Refine your target audience. Are you focusing on specific age groups or skill levels? Tailor your landing page messaging and tutor profiles to address the specific needs and learning styles of your chosen demographic. Consider the criticisms regarding the target audience in similar products, as many users found the approach too general.
  3. Clearly articulate what makes your platform different from existing solutions like CodeSandbox, LeetCode, REPL.IT, Scratch or similar platforms. Is it the personalized one-on-one aspect, a unique teaching methodology, or a specific coding language focus? Make this differentiation prominent on your landing page.
  4. Develop a content strategy for your landing page that addresses the concerns of both students and parents. Showcase success stories, provide sample lesson plans, and highlight the qualifications and experience of your tutors. Address the lack of content concern that many users faced in similar products.
  5. Focus on creating a user-friendly experience from the start. Pay close attention to the UI/UX, ensure clear navigation, and provide comprehensive onboarding materials. Improve user experience. Address potential issues like confusing navigation or lack of clear instructions, which were common criticisms in the similar products.
  6. Consider offering a free trial or introductory session to allow potential students to experience the benefits of your platform firsthand. This can help build trust and address any concerns about pricing or value.
  7. Explore strategic partnerships with schools or educational organizations to reach a wider audience and build credibility. This can provide access to a ready-made pool of potential students and tutors.
  8. Before investing heavily, test your landing page with a small group of students and parents to gather feedback and identify areas for improvement. This iterative approach will help you refine your offering and ensure it meets the needs of your target audience.

Questions

  1. Given the existing competition, what is your specific plan to acquire early users, and how will you ensure a high tutor quality and student engagement, especially when competing against established platforms?
  2. How will you handle tutor vetting and training to ensure consistent quality and prevent negative experiences that could damage your reputation, particularly considering the lack of strong positive use or buy signals in similar products?
  3. What specific coding languages or skill sets will your tutors specialize in, and how will you adapt your platform to accommodate evolving trends and demands in the coding education landscape?

Your are here

You're entering a crowded space with your idea for a landing page connecting school students with one-on-one coding tutors. We found 21 similar products, which means there's clearly a demand, but also a lot of competition. The average engagement for similar products is medium, indicated by an average of 9 comments. Unfortunately, we don't have buy or use metrics. This isn't necessarily a bad sign, it's a neutral signal that most products don't get much feedback from users, especially on whether they'd pay for it or use it. Given the number of competitors and lack of overwhelming positive signals, it's crucial to differentiate and validate your approach thoroughly. Many similar platforms exist, and the success of your idea hinges on understanding what makes your service uniquely appealing and effective for students.

Recommendations

  1. Dive deep into the criticism summaries of similar products, especially 'ClassroomIO,' 'New visual language for teaching kids to code', and 'Pickcode'. These highlight common pitfalls like confusing branding, unintuitive interfaces, lack of clear benefits for young learners, and slow sales cycles. Use these insights to proactively address these issues in your landing page and service design.
  2. Refine your target audience. Are you focusing on specific age groups or skill levels? Tailor your landing page messaging and tutor profiles to address the specific needs and learning styles of your chosen demographic. Consider the criticisms regarding the target audience in similar products, as many users found the approach too general.
  3. Clearly articulate what makes your platform different from existing solutions like CodeSandbox, LeetCode, REPL.IT, Scratch or similar platforms. Is it the personalized one-on-one aspect, a unique teaching methodology, or a specific coding language focus? Make this differentiation prominent on your landing page.
  4. Develop a content strategy for your landing page that addresses the concerns of both students and parents. Showcase success stories, provide sample lesson plans, and highlight the qualifications and experience of your tutors. Address the lack of content concern that many users faced in similar products.
  5. Focus on creating a user-friendly experience from the start. Pay close attention to the UI/UX, ensure clear navigation, and provide comprehensive onboarding materials. Improve user experience. Address potential issues like confusing navigation or lack of clear instructions, which were common criticisms in the similar products.
  6. Consider offering a free trial or introductory session to allow potential students to experience the benefits of your platform firsthand. This can help build trust and address any concerns about pricing or value.
  7. Explore strategic partnerships with schools or educational organizations to reach a wider audience and build credibility. This can provide access to a ready-made pool of potential students and tutors.
  8. Before investing heavily, test your landing page with a small group of students and parents to gather feedback and identify areas for improvement. This iterative approach will help you refine your offering and ensure it meets the needs of your target audience.

Questions

  1. Given the existing competition, what is your specific plan to acquire early users, and how will you ensure a high tutor quality and student engagement, especially when competing against established platforms?
  2. How will you handle tutor vetting and training to ensure consistent quality and prevent negative experiences that could damage your reputation, particularly considering the lack of strong positive use or buy signals in similar products?
  3. What specific coding languages or skill sets will your tutors specialize in, and how will you adapt your platform to accommodate evolving trends and demands in the coding education landscape?

  • Confidence: High
    • Number of similar products: 21
  • Engagement: Medium
    • Average number of comments: 9
  • Net use signal: -0.4%
    • Positive use signal: 4.9%
    • Negative use signal: 5.4%
  • Net buy signal: -0.8%
    • Positive buy signal: 0.9%
    • Negative buy signal: 1.7%

This chart summarizes all the similar products we found for your idea in a single plot.

The x-axis represents the overall feedback each product received. This is calculated from the net use and buy signals that were expressed in the comments. The maximum is +1, which means all comments (across all similar products) were positive, expressed a willingness to use & buy said product. The minimum is -1 and it means the exact opposite.

The y-axis captures the strength of the signal, i.e. how many people commented and how does this rank against other products in this category. The maximum is +1, which means these products were the most liked, upvoted and talked about launches recently. The minimum is 0, meaning zero engagement or feedback was received.

The sizes of the product dots are determined by the relevance to your idea, where 10 is the maximum.

Your idea is the big blueish dot, which should lie somewhere in the polygon defined by these products. It can be off-center because we use custom weighting to summarize these metrics.

Similar products

Relevance

Codethis - Developers, freelance projects, homework help

16 Sep 2023 Calendar Education Online Learning

Codethis is a One-Stop Hub for Expert Developer Mentorship, Homework Assistance, and Freelance Project Collaboration. Dive into a platform tailored for tech enthusiasts, ensuring seamless learning, impactful networking, and innovation-driven projects.

The launch received positive feedback, with users offering congratulations and acknowledging the good work of Ahmed.

Avatar
83
2
2
83
Relevance

ClassroomIO – an in-browser programming environment for education

11 Apr 2024 Education Developer Tools

Hey Hacker News,I’m excited to introduce ClassroomIO – a project that I’ve been working on for the past few months. It’s an educational platform that provides an in-browser code editor and execution environment. The idea is to make teaching programming easier by eliminating the technical barriers that educators and students often face.Feature highlights: * In-Browser coding: Write, run, and debug code directly in your browser. No more downloading software, configuring environments, and resolving compatibility issues. * Course management: Manage classes, assignments, and student interactions in one place. * Many languages supported: Python, Java, JavaScript, C/C++, C#, Go, PHP – more incoming.Open beta access: I’d love it if interested people could join my open beta, explore the platform's capabilities, and provide some feedback to help me make it a better tool.Thank you for your time!Contact: support@classroomio.app

Users expressed confusion over the brand name and domain, suggesting a rename for clarity. There's a noted challenge in finding qualified CS teachers, with some experiencing unresponsive job applications. Questions arose comparing the platform to CodeSandbox, LeetCode, REPL.IT, and Jupyter Notebooks, with some seeing similarities to PlayCode and Leetcode playgrounds. Interest was shown in the platform's suitability for younger audiences and its use of Wasm libraries. Shared libraries for in-browser coding were mentioned. Users appreciated the effort and liked the idea, with concerns about future pricing and a lack of content.

Users criticized the product for a confusing domain/TLD and misleading brand name, suggesting a rename and acquisition of a .com domain. There were concerns about the target audience, noting that math or science teachers often lack coding experience. Criticisms also included HR issues, such as disregarding applications without openings and not replying to experienced applicants. Additionally, there was confusion due to the existence of two apps with the same name, unclear unique features, and similarities to Leetcode.

Avatar
51
16
16
51
Relevance

Turing.School - Use ChatGPT to generate coding exercise with your story

25 Mar 2023 Artificial Intelligence Coding Books Education

Transform your coding education with Turing.School! Our AI-powered platform generates infinite personalized coding challenges based on your unique story background. Plus, our AI tutor is always on hand to answer any questions you may have.

The Product Hunt launch received positive feedback, with one user calling the idea "genius" and another offering to list it in an AI tools directory. A minor typo was pointed out in the first screenshot ("Zomebies" instead of "Zombies").

The Product Hunt launch received criticism for a typo found in the first screenshot. This was the sole criticism mentioned.

Avatar
26
3
33.3%
33.3%
3
26
33.3%
33.3%
Relevance

I Made the Duolingo for Coding

28 Sep 2024 Education Online Learning

I have been a duolingo user for quite some time and have been wondering why there isn't an app like that to teach people programming. Well, now there is. Our newly created platform is designed to teach coding in a fun, free, and easy way, accessible from any device. edCode offers bite-sized, interactive lessons designed to keep you engaged while learning at your own pace. Whether you're just starting out or brushing up on skills, we've made coding education simple, enjoyable, and effective.Some exciting features include: - Real-time leaderboard to add a friendly competitive edge - Certificates upon course completion to showcase your progress We’re still in the early stages of development, so your feedback is incredibly valuable as we shape the future of edCode. Head to our feedback page on the dashboard to share your thoughts—we’re quick to respond (within 24 hours)!Thank you for your support and we can’t wait to hear what you think!

Recommends iOS app CodenQuest for inspiration.

Avatar
4
1
1
4
Relevance

A Project_Based Learning platform for coding

20 Aug 2024 GitHub Education Developer Tools

Hey everyone, I’m working on something that I think could really help those of us who’ve been stuck in "tutorial hell"—you know, where you just keep following tutorial after tutorial without really doing anything on your own. The platform is called CodeSprint, and I’d love to get your thoughts on it. Here’s the basic idea: CodeSprint is all about learning by doing. Instead of just watching 10hr videos or reading through docs, you’ll be solving real-world problems by building projects. Think of it like "TryHackMe" but for coding. The goal is to help you actually apply what you’ve learned in a meaningful way. The cool part? The projects on the platform won’t just come from us. We’re planning to have content created by educators, industry pros, and experienced devs. These projects will go through our team for approval before they get published, so you’ll have access to a wide range of high-quality, relevant stuff to work on. A few key features we’re planning: Real-World Projects: You’ll have a bunch of projects to choose from, covering everything from web dev to AI, that will help you build a portfolio that really shows off your skills. Problem-Solving Focus: The instructions are designed to make you think and solve problems on your own—it’s not just about following along. We want to push you to figure things out, which is where the real learning happens. But obviously help and hints will be available. Interactive Coding Environment: You can code right in your browser, no need to mess with setting up your environment. Also there will be a gamification element to the platform. Expert Guidance: You’ll have the chance to get feedback and review from industry experts, which I think will be super valuable. Community Support: We’re building a community aspect too, so you can share your journey with others, get help, and maybe even work on projects together. Here’s where I’m stuck: I’m not sure about the best way to price this. Should it be a pay-per-project, or maybe offer some kind of subscription package? I’d really appreciate your input on what would work best for you. Why I’m doing this: I’ve seen too many people, myself included, struggle with moving from learning concepts to actually building stuff. I want to create something that helps people make that leap—learning in a way that feels practical and engaging. So, what do you think? Does this sound like something you’d use? How do you feel about the content being created by external experts? And seriously, how would you prefer to pay for access—per project, monthly subscription, something else? I’d love to hear any feedback, suggestions, or ideas you might have. Thanks a ton in advance for your help!

Post as 'Show HN' when ready for testing.

Needs to be a normal submission until then.

Avatar
2
1
1
2
Relevance

Made Free tool for coding education – record project state through time

14 Dec 2023 Education Software Engineering

Just released a Free tool for programming educators and students - CodeTimeTravel - which lets teacher record whole project state throughout the lecture and provides UI for students to time travel the code which makes it easier to understand additions, jump to further part, experiment, easier to rewind to working state. I'm very interested in Your opinion if this could be beneficial to someone. BTW - That's super early POC. Thanks!UI: https://timetravel-pearl.vercel.app/viewer?url=https://githu...CLI repo: https://github.com/gediminastub/timetravel-cli

Avatar
1
1
Relevance

New visual language for teaching kids to code

21 Nov 2023 Education

Pickcode is a new language and editor for getting kids started with coding. The code editing experience is totally structured, where you select choices from menus rather than typing. I made Pickcode after experiences teaching kids both block coding (Scratch, App Inventor) and Python. To me, block coding is too far removed from regular coding for kids to make the connection. Pickcode provides a much clearer transition path for students to Python/JS/Java. Our target market is middle/early high school kids, and that’s who we’ve tested the product with during development.On the site, you can do tutorials to make chatbots, animated drawings, and 2D games. We have a full Intro to Pickcode course, as well as an Intro to Python course where you make regular console programs with a regular text editor. There are 30 or so free lessons accessible with an account, and the rest are paywalled for $5/month.For professional programmers, the editor is probably pretty frustrating to use (no vim keybindings!), but I hope it’s at least interesting to play with from a UI perspective. If you have kids aged 10-14, I’d love any feedback you have from trying it out with them. I love talking to users, reach out at charlie@pickcode.io!

Comments reflect mixed opinions on a programming tool aimed at children. Users discuss the effectiveness of 'set' versus '=' and '==' in languages, the intuitiveness of naming, and the use of block-based versus text-based coding. Some praise the tool's design and potential for teaching kids, while others find it complicated or noisy. There's interest in teaching functional programming to children, but practicality is questioned. Concerns about pricing transparency and the need for a clear transition to more advanced programming are raised. Scratch is frequently mentioned as a comparison, with some preferring it for its ease of teaching programming basics. The community also shares personal anecdotes about learning to program and teaching children, with some recommending other resources and tools like Blockly, Hedy.org, and Python.

The product has been criticized for being noisy with excessive keywords, unintuitive naming, and a complicated interface. Users find it hard to type and lacking in features like 'set' from regular languages. The transition to traditional programming stacks for kids is a concern, as is the unclear benefit for young learners. The editing experience is poor, with a lack of code-completion and debugging support. There's also frustration with the limitations of visual programming and a lack of community features. Some users question the pedagogical approach and the suitability for different age groups.

Avatar
420
163
-3.7%
-1.8%
163
420
7.4%
1.2%
Relevance

New language for teaching kids to code

15 Nov 2023 Education

Pickcode is a new language and editor for getting kids started with coding. The code editing experience is totally structured, where you select choices from menus rather than typing.I made Pickcode after experiences teaching kids both block coding (Scratch, App Inventor) and Python. To me, block coding is too far removed from regular coding for kids to make the connection. Pickcode provides a much clearer transition path for students to Python/JS/Java. Our target market is middle/early high school kids, and that’s who we’ve tested the product with during development.On the site, you can do tutorials to make chatbots, animated drawings, and 2D games. We have a full Intro to Pickcode course, as well as an Intro to Python course where you make regular console programs with a regular text editor. There are 30 or so free lessons accessible with an account, and the rest are paywalled for $5/month.For professional programmers, the editor is probably pretty frustrating to use (no vim keybindings!), but I hope it’s at least interesting to play with from a UI perspective. If you have kids aged 10-14, I’d love any feedback you have from trying it out with them. I love talking to users, reach out at charlie@pickcode.io!

Avatar
4
4
Relevance

Pickcode – Free online code editor for kids

29 Jun 2024 Developer Tools

Hi HN! I've posted Pickcode a few times (most recently https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38365638), but we've improved things quite a bit so I thought it was worth posting again. This is a bit of 1.0 release after a long year of working on the company full time!Pickcode is basically Replit-lite, for kids. The editor is simple: text editor + output console + big green button to run your code. We support Python, HTML/CSS/JS, Java, and our block/text hybrid language, Pickcode VL. We're partners on code.org's Hour of Code, and hundreds of thousands of students have tried our free stuff through them.An account for individual kids is totally free, and we offer some free Python and Pickcode VL lessons to get them started. We make money by selling licenses to schools for better customer support and roster/lesson management features.You can use this demo account I made to try out the editor: email: demo@student.pickcode.io pw: Demo1234 (Don't clobber other people's work, and what you put in the demo account is public so be nice)

Users are inquiring about the customer base location, sales cycle duration, and advantages over competitors like Replit. There's positive feedback on progress, with suggestions for improvements and requests for additional programming language support, specifically C# and PHP. Confusion about user data input, such as birthdate and age, was noted. The lack of JavaScript support is a concern, while the '100% AI-free' feature is appreciated. Users also extend their best wishes to the project.

Users criticized the product for a slow and conservative sales process in Northern Europe, a lengthy sales to cash cycle, and the need for improved error messages, editor functionality, and namespace formatting. Comparisons to Replit highlighted its complexity and accessibility issues, while the product itself was noted for unclear account setup instructions and lack of support for PHP and JavaScript.

Avatar
86
12
-8.3%
-8.3%
12
86
Relevance

Tool to simplify authoring and grading of coding questions

02 May 2023 Education

Hi HN, I’m one of the creators of Erudyte, a platform providing computer science teaching tools. We’re excited to share it with HN! Our website is https://erudyte.io/ and you can try it now without creating an account.As students we didn't like the traditional method of coding on paper. Not being able to test our code and the inconsistencies in grading made the process frustrating for both us and our teachers. Therefore, we developed a platform that simplifies authoring and grading questions.You can generate hundreds of test cases easily using a no-code visual test case builder.AI suggested grading, with explanation, for non code questions.We'd love to hear HN's thoughts on what we are building.

Praises Diofanti.org, suggests mobile app and APIs.

No mobile app or APIs available.

Avatar
6
1
1
6
Relevance

I gamified learnpython.org and made a version for kids

05 Jun 2024 Education

Users commented on a Show HN product with inquiries about graphics and command naming, suggestions for more descriptive method names like 'move_forward', and positive feedback on the concept of learning Python through a game, especially for kids. The implementation and user experience were praised as 'cool', and the approach to learning programming was described as easy and playful. However, one user noted the lack of content.

Users criticized the product for having a command name that is too long, which requires additional typing. However, some users argue that the extra typing effort is justified by the increased readability it provides.

Avatar
9
6
16.7%
6
9
16.7%
Relevance

CodingNomads - Learn Coding, Data Science, and AI - anywhere.

27 Mar 2024 Artificial Intelligence Education YouTube

CodingNomads Turns Online Coding Bootcamp Curriculum Inside Out. Top-rated code school releases state-of-the-art custom learning platform that improves access to software engineering, data science, and AI education.

Users are excited about the new platform, noting its improved look and feel. There's anticipation for exploring the courses, particularly the Advanced Java + Spring offering. The CodingNomads course content is also a point of excitement, especially on the well-designed site.

Avatar
12
3
66.7%
3
12
66.7%
Top