That always drove me crazy with programming vids.
I got so fed up I came up with a whole new medium that is much easier to build a walkthrough.
One of the best things about it is I can go thru it multiple times and add refine it. No need to get it perfect the first time.
Teaching code is difficult. Blogs and videos don't always let learners see how code & logic evolves over time. In this post, Mark introduces Storyteller, a VS code extension that plays back code evolution with inline comments so learners can follow step-by-step.
www.freecodecamp.org/news/storyte...
Big update at Playback Press: All code playbacks are now open to everyone, no signup required. Browse the full library and learn at your own pace.
playbackpress.com/books
Want to ask questions about the code? The AI assistant is available for logged-in users. See it here:
youtu.be/WAPql5KZFR4
The most viewed content: Python (44K), C++ (37K), and Web Development (37K). I'm partial to my Clojure and Elixir tutorials. Functional programming deserves more attention, and watching it develop line by line makes the concepts click.
My site to share programming concepts, Playback Press, crossed 180,000 playback views this year. I built it to replace textbooks in my courses. Now people I've never met are using it too.
Check them all out here: playbackpress.com/books
As a web dev, you'll use many tools & frameworks when you're building websites & apps. And to help you learn the key concepts, Mark created this guide. You'll learn front & back end Web Development basics like HTTP, Node, Express, JSON, HTML, CSS, React, & more.
www.freecodecamp.org/news/an-anim...
Check out this playback:
playbackpress.com/books/cppboo...
or any code playback on #PlaybackPress
playbackpress.com/books
I added a small but valuable feature to code playbacks on Playback Press. Since the hand drawn pictures and screenshots are so important to viewers I added a way to search for comments based on the pictures.
Hit 'shift + /' on the keyboard to bring up the new media picker search dialog.
The playbacks show how programs evolve. There's also an AI tutor embedded to answer questions about the code (youtu.be/WAPql5KZFR4). The AI tutor is a great example of human-led and AI-assisted learning resources. Let me know what you think!
Now is a great time to learn some non-traditional programming languages. I have two free 'books' of code playback on #Clojure and #Elixir.
playbackpress.com/books/cljbook
playbackpress.com/books/exbook
The playbacks show how programs evolve. There's also an AI tutor embedded to answer questions about the code (youtu.be/WAPql5KZFR4). The AI tutor is a great example of human-led and AI-assisted learning resources. Let me know what you think!
I’m looking for a little feedback. I am working on a playback describing #perceptrons for my #AI course.
Here is a link to it:
markm208.github.io/cppbook/ai/p...
Reach out to me if you have any feedback!
I'm looking for experienced developers to write code playbacks for my platform. If you enjoy explaining your code and teaching others, code playbacks are a great way to share knowledge and build your reputation in the dev community.
Get the details here:
playbackpress.com/contact
Design patterns are solutions to common coding problems that show up often in your projects. And here, Mark explains how some key object-oriented design patterns work in Java. He covers patterns like Strategy, Singleton, Composite, Decorator, Observer, & more.
www.freecodecamp.org/news/object-...
Learn how to make and use code playbacks in your CS courses on Tuesday July 29th at 1:00pm CDT.
Join with a friend or come with your whole department!
www.reddit.com/r/CSEducatio...
I can’t quite believe it myself but… Playback Press has just crossed a major milestone: 40,000+ playback views in a 30 day period!
I’m hosting a free online zoom to discuss how to create code playbacks, how I use them in the classroom, and the best practices for using them.
"Learn How To Share Your Code With Others With Code Playbacks" Jul 29, 2025 at 1:00 PM Central Time
www.eventbrite.com/e/learn-how-...
Please share!
You can play the game first before diving into the code:
markm208.github.io/wordZearch/
Let me know what you think!
C++ is a powerful, high-performance programming language devs use for things like systems & game development. And here, Mark teaches you the basics through a series of interactive exercises. You'll learn about variables, functions, vectors, pointers, & lots more.
www.freecodecamp.org/news/learn-p...
As a web developer, you'll use many different tools and frameworks. And to help you learn the key ones, Mark created this guide. You'll learn both front & back end Web Dev basics like HTTP, Node, Express, JSON, Mongo, HTML, CSS, Web Components, and React.
www.freecodecamp.org/news/an-anim...
Here is a quick video showing the new AI assistant interface to code playbacks:
youtu.be/WAPql5KZFR4
These new features make code playbacks more interactive. Plus, viewers can review questions they have asked in the past. Check them out here:
playbackpress.com/books
Let me know what you think!
The future of coding requires that people get better at reading and understanding code, not just writing and generating it.
Check out the new features here: playbackpress.com/books
All of the books are free but you do have to create an account in order to use the AI features.
- Skill level selection (beginner/intermediate/expert)
- One click to ask common questions
- Self-grading multiple choice questions are generated in batches now instead of one at a time
- Project extension suggestions to build on the existing code
The new interface is cleaner with tabbed sections for questions, practice problems, and project suggestions.
What's new:
- Tabbed interface and updated UI
- Improved prompts for more specific feedback from the AI model- it really does produce better answers now
It's been almost a year since I added the first AI assistant to code playbacks on Playback Press. They have been helpful to my students to fill in any gaps in their knowledge and to explore advanced concepts. Today I'm sharing a major update.
Just a reminder... in one week I'll be giving a free webinar on how to create and use code playbacks! You can click the link and get a free ticket or if you just want the zoom link DM me for it.
www.eventbrite.com/e/beyond-tex...
Just a reminder... the webinar is in one week! You can click the link and get a free ticket or if you just want the zoom link DM me for it.
I'm particularly proud of this interactive tutorial that makes Elixir's functional and concurrent programming concepts approachable through animated code playbacks. 🎥✨
Great intro before diving into Phoenix or Nerves. 🌐🔌
🔗 playbackpress.com/books/exbook
#Elixir #Programming
UPDATE: I am going to offer some free online training this summer about how to create code playbacks and use them in a course. I'll show how I use code playbacks instead of textbooks and videos and share what my students think of them.
www.eventbrite.com/e/beyond-tex...
I recently wrote two tutorials comparing different approaches to component-based web development. Both approaches solve similar problems but with different trade-offs:
www.freecodecamp.org/news/a-brief...
www.freecodecamp.org/news/a-brief...
#WebDevelopment #JavaScript #React #WebComponents
