Create & Learn Review

Create and Learn logo

It may not be the cheapest option out there, but Create & Learn’s very small class sizes, project-based learning, solid coding and leading-edge computer science instruction more than justify its price in our opinion. 

If you have a student that is interested in coding and technology, and who prefers live online instruction, Create & Learn might be just what you’re looking for.

What We Like

Both visual and written coding languages are taught
Very Small Class sizes (max. 5)
Live, online classes
Flexible class sizes – Small group, pod learning and 1:1 instruction available
Offers both coding and computer science classes
Fun, practical and engaging projects
Uses topics and projects that kids are actually interested in, e.g. Minecraft, robotics and mobile apps
Instructors are thoroughly screened for subject matter expertise and safety
Courses cover some cutting-edge and important topics in Computer science
Classes directly help students transition between visual and written coding
Free trial classes available

But watch out for

Classes are live, may not work for every student’s schedule
Limited audio-video recorded class options
Can get somewhat expensive

What is Create & Learn

Founded in 2017, Create & Learn is a company that provides live, online small and personal classes in coding and computer science topics for K-12 students. 

In addition to teaching coding in Scratch, Python, JavaScript and Java, the company also offers classes that introduce kids to various popular and leading edge topics in computer science, such as artificial intelligence, data science, cloud computing, robotics, game development and more. 

What grades are Create and Learn intended for?

Create & Learn is intended for students in K-12, or roughly from ages 5-18. 

This makes it useful for homeschoolers who want to add coding to their home learning and for those in traditional schools looking for a more tech-enriched STEM education. 

Overall, the courses offered by Create & Learn for each age group are fairly logical and appropriate for their abilities and cognitive development. 

Beginning in kindergarten, students are introduced to the very basics of coding and coding concepts with visual coding and topics and skills progress in complexity from there, with kids in upper grade levels learning more advanced skills and concepts such as:

  • Written coding (Python, JavaScript, Lua and Java)
  • Unity development
  • Cloud computing 
  • Computer vision
  • And more

Interestingly, while some K-12 coding classes for kids tend to group students more or less along traditional grade divisions, roughly corresponding to elementary, middle and high school levels, Create & Learn divides  its classes along finer and tightly grouped grade levels. 

Rather than having kids from the breadth of elementary school in one class, for example, most Create & Learn classes are generally made up of kids within a couple grade levels – K-2, 3-5, 8-12 and so on. 

This not only makes the small, live classes more enjoyable and appropriate for kids, as their peers will be roughly within the same age range and school level, but it also takes into account the different pace of cognitive development and maturity of their students. 

While the company does offer classes to the entire K-12 range, there are some issues that may arise at either end of this spectrum for some students. 

For Kindergarten and younger grade school students, for example, the 45 minute classes may be a little too long to sit through in one go. While the teachers are quite accommodating, these are live classes and so it can be tricky to take a random break now and again.

Parents, therefore, should probably make sure their child can sit through a full zoom class before signing up. 

On the flip side, students who are a little late in starting coding, such as those in high school, may feel a little out of place at times. 

While the company does an excellent job at providing some introductory classes for older kids in scratch and python, which can bring them up to speed pretty quickly, as of writing these are intended for students up to grade 9 or so. 

While we found the company to be pretty accommodating and flexible, novices in grade 11 or 12 may still feel a bit awkward. 

What subjects does Create and Learn offer?

With Create & Learn, there is usually a good deal of interesting coding and computer science courses on offer. 

Broadly speaking, the company tends to divide its classes into several subjects or categories, and students and parents can freely pick and choose courses and subjects they are interested in. 

SubjectCourse examples
CodingScratch Junior, Scratch Ninja, Accelerated Scratch, Python for AI
AI & Data ScienceDiscovering AI, AI Explorers, Data Superpower, AI Creators
Robotics & Smart DevicesJunior Robotics, Lights & Beats with Micro:Bit, Arduino for Kids, Robot Adventures, March to Cloud Computing
Game DevelopmentCode Minecraft Mods, Coding with Roblox, Unity Game Development
Mobile DevelopmentJava for Mobile, Mobile Coding Apps and Games
Web Design and DevelopmentBuild Your Own Website, Discovering Design, Cloud Computing for Web Apps, Power of Color, Digital Photography

In terms of programming, kids can learn visual coding with Scratch and then progress to getting experience in written code with Python, JavaScript, Java and Lua. 

These are all popular and in-demand languages and, as can be seen in the table above, they are taught in interesting and engaging, project-based courses. 

That is to say the classes tend to teach coding in the context of various activities or projects that kids might naturally be interested in or think are fun, such as coding Minecraft mods, creating Roblox games, or creating their own mobile game or app. 

Beyond coding, Create & Learn offers a variety of other tech subjects that kids might be interested in or that parents may find useful for their child to learn. 

There are, for example, courses in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Internet of Things (i.e. smart devices), Mobile and Web development and even Web and Graphic Design. 

Similar to the coding classes, these are also project-based and are often structured around things that can be highly engaging to students, such that kids can try their hands at:

  • Designing and building their own website
  • Creating their own video game or mobile app
  • Building their own cloud-based web apps
  • Designing, building and coding robots 
  • And more

Interestingly, Create & Learn also offers a couple academically-linked courses as well, including a computational biology course and, perhaps most usefully for tech-minded students interested in pursuing software engineering or computer science in college  an AP Computer Science Course and a separate, dedicated prep-course for the AP Comp Sci exam. 

While the exact courses may change from time to time depending on instructor availability and curriculum changes, overall Create & Learn offers a wider range of topics in computer science than other coding courses for kids and tends to explore more cutting-edge concepts than other programs. 

It can therefore, we feel, be very helpful for those seeking a broader education in technology that is beyond pure coding. 

One thing that parents should note is that Create & Learn courses can have prerequisites. 

This means that many courses, particularly those for older kids, assume some level of previous knowledge, either in coding or in STEM, and novice students don’t have quite as much freedom to jump in and out of courses as they’d like based on interest.

For example, their introductory Python course (Python for AI) does assume knowledge of coding fundamentals and Scratch, either from the company’s course or elsewhere. 

Consequently, a student who is just getting into coding but wants to jump right into a written program will have a harder time without getting a little bit of a background first. 

This is in contrast to some other coding courses out there that offer Python courses that assume no previous knowledge and teach from first principles. 

To be fair these requirements aren’t hard and fast rules, and the company is quite flexible and open to alternative experience in this regard and does provide accelerated courses in the fundamentals for older students. 

However, it does mean that some of the classes might seem accelerated to those without any coding background whatsoever and so is something to think about. 

How does Create & Learn work?

Much like other online course providers, Create & Learn is pretty straightforward and flexible to use. 

Parents and students purchase the courses they are interested in studying, selecting their class date and time from a table depending on availability and what’s most convenient for them. 

Each course in Create & Learn is usually made up of several smaller and progressive units, each of which includes several sessions. 

For example the Scratch Ninja course for grades 2-5 students Is made up of Scratch Ninja Units 1, 2 and 3, each of which has 4 sessions making 12 lessons overall and covering approximately one trimester or 3 months of learning. 

As each unit is like its own separate class, parents and students pick a starting date and time for each one, such as Tuesday at 5 pm, and for several weeks thereafter they attend live Zoom classes at that time and day. 

Parents have the option of buying complete courses, which includes access to all units, or they can buy classes individually as they go.

Create & Learn also offers students the ability to take courses in a one-on-one manner with an instructor, which is more like private Zoom tutoring and provides more personalized learning and a customized pace, albeit at an increased cost (about twice as much as a class). 

There is also an option to book group classes, where a child and their friends can attend a class together, which can be a good idea for homeschool co-ops and microschools. 

Finally, and something we always like, Create & Learn offers an assortment of free classes that students can sign up for. 

This not only allows parents and students to get a better idea of what Create & Learn is like and if the program would work well for their learning style and schedule, but lets kids learn a little something as well.

Who teaches these classes

Create & Learn’s teachers generally have several years experience in teaching, a college degree and some experience in coding and computer science. 

It is important to note that not all of the company’s teachers are experts in computer science although most do have strong educational backgrounds in science and technology and are highly passionate about the material. 

That said, they are trained in the material and follow a solid curriculum that is designed and managed by professional educators who do have coding or computer science backgrounds, which is honestly more important. 

As they do work with small children, Create & Learn’s teachers are thoroughly background checked, which is always good. 

In terms of teaching quality, our tester found their instructor to be patient, energetic and fun and was capable of explaining the material in a way they could understand. 

And their experiences seem to be backed up by previous students and parents. Create & Learn has earned high marks for its instruction on various social media sites, with previous users finding the instruction to be very accommodating, enjoyable, friendly and clear. 

What are the classes like overall?

As with most online classes these days, Create & Learn classes take place on Zoom.

This makes them pretty easy to access and gives them a familiar layout and feeling for most students, with the teacher leading and controlling discussion and demonstrating concepts through screen sharing. 

The classes are live and take place at particular times. 

The exact times available for each class depends on the teacher and their availability, bBut usually there are a variety of options available, typically on weekday afternoons and evenings (Eastern Standard Time) as the company is based in Palo Alto, California. 

Classes are kept small, usually between 2-5 students, and can be even smaller for younger students – typically 2-3 at a time. 

This makes Create & Learn class sizes considerably smaller than other online courses available for kids, such as Outschool, which caps classes at 18 and even CodewizardsHQ, which caps class sizes at 7. 

This small class size means the classes feel a little more personal and allows Create & Learn teachers to better address the particular needs of the students, adjusting their pace and instruction accordingly. 

This can be particularly beneficial for the company’s youngest students. 

Those in K-2, for example, who may need to take their time with certain concepts, may need things explained more simply and who may have a harder time sitting through a nearly-hour long class in coding or tech. 

In fact, it’s not unheard of, for example, for classes to go over their allotted time so that students can get a clear and thorough explanation of a concept they are struggling with. 

In terms of educational content, Create & Learn does, even at the early grade levels, dive fairly deeply into coding and computer science concepts, and the lessons do teach fairly important and practical skills and knowledge. 

Even in the earlier Scratch courses, such as Scratch Junior, kids will learn about and get a lot of experience using things like:

  • Sequencing
  • Loops
  • Lists, arrays
  • Functions conditionals and more

Before transitioning to Python and Java if they so choose. 

The courses are project based, as well. Aside from formal instruction, students will put their skills and knowledge to the test by solving various problems and challenges or even completing a larger course project. 

Interestingly, when it comes to hands-on courses such as working with Arduino or Micro:bit for robotics Create & Learn provides a simulator, so that students can work on their robotics and coding projects without having to purchase additional supplies or sacrificing realistic learning. 

One thing the company makes sure to do in its coding classes that we think is interesting and quite helpful is that some of the beginning written code courses (Python for AI) teach in a way that helps bridge the gap between visual and written code. 

In other words, if students who have learned visual coding choose to continue to learn written code, the instructors begin the courses by working to help them translate the skills and knowledge they’ve acquired to written code, showing them how certain concepts and methods can be reworked and adjusted to fit a new language. 

This is a better approach to teaching coding with visual coding than other programs tend to take. 

Many other coding programs tend to separate their visual and written coding classes, offering Scratch programming or introductory python coding, for example, without making an explicit connection between the two.

As a consequence, students moving from one form of coding to another, who perhaps have developed a strong understanding and capability in visual coding, may find it hard to make their ideas come to life due to the sudden need for typing skills, proper syntax, special characters and more complex knowledge. 

As a result they can become frustrated as a result, feeling like they are starting from zero or have wasted their time, possibly causing them to quit altogether. 

By directly showing students how their Scratch skills can be reapplied in a new language, Create & Learn can shorten the time kids need to learn their first “real” coding language and can dramatically reduce any frustration or feelings of inadequacy they might otherwise feel.

Create and Learn Pros and Cons

Pros

Both written and visual coding options available at different ages

Create & Learn offers K-12 students a wide selection of coding courses, offering visual coding courses (Scratch) that can teach kids essential programming concepts and get them thinking more sequentially. 

They also offer more sophisticated, written coding classes in popular and useful languages such as Python, JavaScript and Java. 

Lots of fun, practical and highly relevant coding projects

From coding robots to creating mobile apps and games to experimenting with artificial intelligence and machine vision, Create & Learn doesn’t just offer lectures and instruction but gets kids to put their developing skills to the test with engaging and interesting projects that can help them develop real-world applicable skills. 

Helps students transition between visual and written coding

There are many coding courses out there that teach kids programming with block coding programs such as Scratch. 

They often offer written coding as well, but it is often the case that kids are left to figure out how to integrate the conceptual understanding of coding they’ve developed with this unfamiliar, more precise and finicky written code. 

Quite helpfully, Create & Learn’s classes recognize this issue and often make a concerted effort to directly help students bridge the gap between visual and written code, helping them feel more confident about their learning and speeding up the process at the same time.

Wide range of courses beyond coding

Rather than just offering coding classes, Create & Learn offers classes covering a variety of interesting and sometimes cutting-edge computer science topics. 

This expands the learning that kids can receive and can familiarize them with many important concepts going on in the world of technology today, making Create & Learn a more comprehensive and holistic computer science and coding course for kids than many of its competitors. 

Live instruction

Rather than rely on recorded instruction, Create & Learn offers students live, online classes with actual teachers through Zoom. 

This provides students with more personal and real time instruction, as well as giving them someone who can clarify points, alter the pace of learning and answer their questions on the fly. 

Very small classes

While there are other online course providers that offer smaller classes, there are few this small – Create & Learn’s classes are typically capped at 5 students. 

This can create a more personal learning experience and allows teachers to give each student more attention and modify the class as needed. 

Simulators allows kids to explore robotics and more without buying extra hardware

Create & Learn has several classes where students can get hands-on, in a way, with their coding and computer science, building and programming robots with Arduino or using Micro:bit, for example. 

The company makes extensive use of specialized, online simulators that allow students to use fully functioning virtual representations of these devices, which means that students can get a through and practical learning experience without having to buy any extra kits or hardware. 

Classes taught by engaging, friendly and thoroughly-screened teachers

The teachers that Create & Learn uses to teach its classes are quite good. They have been personally screened and background checked by the company to ensure safety and competence. 

The result is that both our testers and previous students have largely found them to be highly engaging, friendly, knowledgeable and able to explain sometimes complex concepts in an easy to understand way. 

Cons

Schedules for live classes may not work for all students

Create & Learn teaches mainly through live classes. 

These must be scheduled and take place at a regular time and day and while the company does offer a lot of scheduling options to choose from for each class, they may not work for all students, particularly those with busy or unusual schedules or who live in more distant time zones. 

Classes aren’t fully recorded 

While Create & Learn may record the audio of each class for teaching purposes, and can provide these to students upon request, unfortunately, the company does not record video. 

Subsequently, those who miss the live classes, or those who want to review, cannot simply watch a recorded version at their convenience. 

Can be a little more expensive than other options 

Although it does offer a lot in the way of computer science learning, live instruction and small class sizes, with units starting around $105 Create & Learn is not the cheapest online course provider around, and full courses may be a little expensive for those on a budget. 

Who is Create & Learn best for?

Students looking for a thorough introduction to code

Create & Learn provides comprehensive instruction in coding in both visual and written languages for students in Kindergarten through grade 12. 

The company’s curriculua don’t shy away from diving deeply into practical coding concepts and skills, and the company offers courses in highly popular and in-demand languages such as Python, JavaScript, Java and Lua. 

Those looking for a small class hosted by a live teacher

While some students can learn well on their own with a recorded video and written instructions, other students do better in the guided environment of the type provided by Create & Learn where students are directly instructed by a teacher and can interact with them, ask questions and get clarification in real time. 

Those looking for access to a variety of  computer science classes for kids

While coding on its own is a highly useful skill, some parents may want their students to be introduced to more complex ideas in computing theory and practice and to become a little more familiar with computer science as a whole. 

With its courses in robotics, artificial intelligence, cloud computing and more, Create & Learn provides a more comprehensive and broad curriculum in computer science than many other coding courses provide. 

Those who are looking for fun and practical coding and technology centric projects for their kids

Create & Learn’s courses typically involve students engaging in a project (or several projects), putting their skills to the test to solve a challenge or produce an impressive end result.

These projects tend to be interesting and fun for kids and, depending on the course, may involve robots, video games, custom apps, and more. 

Those looking to explore and try their hand at more cutting edge tech concepts

Rather than just covering the fundamental elements of computer science, Create & Learn offers courses in some of the more hot topics in computing today, letting kids get familiar with what is going on in the field and even letting them try their hand at things like artificial intelligence, machine learning, cloud computing applications and more. 

Who is Create & Learn not ideal for?

Those with more busy or unusual schedules

As it is based around live classes and does not offer pre-recorded learning options, Create & Learn may not be the best option for students who have unusual, changing schedules or those that may not fit with the various time slots available to them. 

While parents and students can request audio recordings of the classes, this isn’t really optimal and kind of defeats the purpose of signing up for live online classes. 

High school students with no background in coding or coding concepts

While there are certainly interesting courses catering to students in grades 9-12, such as AP Comp Sci, Computational Biology, Computer Vision and more, these tend to assume or require at least some pre-existing background in coding or coding concepts. 

While the company does offer an accelerated Scratch program and an introduction to Python, this is more aimed at students in grades 5-9 and may be a little awkward for a novice grade 11 or 12 student to take. 

Those on an extremely strict budget

While the classes offered by Create & Learn are high quality, at over $100 per unit the cost can add up and may become difficult for those on a strict budget, particularly if a student becomes enthusiastic about computer science or coding and wants to continue their studies with further courses. 

Younger students who have a hard time sitting through longish classes

While Create & Learn offers interesting and useful classes in coding and technology specifically aimed at younger students (K-3, for example), each class is quite long (45 minutes or more). 

Despite the fact that they are taught by experienced and enthusiastic teachers, these classes are live and can’t be paused at will, and as such it can be a bit challenging for some students to sit through and learn from effectively. 

Price

Note: All prices are current as of writing. All prices are in USD.

Free trial classes available

Create & Learn offers three course structures that students can sign up for, small online classes of up to 5 other students, one on one classes and small classes with a group of friends or peers. 

Small Group

When it comes to small group learning, there can be a range of prices for units and courses, depending on the subject’s complexity and length. 

Generally speaking, however, the price of each unit of study (4 classes) falls somewhere between $105-$129, with most being closer to $105 per class. 

Private

Create & Learn also offers its courses on a 1:1 basis, with students learning privately with an instructor through Zoom. This allows them to go at their own pace and receive personalized instruction and, as might be expected, prices are a little more expensive for this option. 

Private lessons tend to be about twice as much per class as the Small Group option, or $235 per class per student. 

Learn with Friends

Finally, Create & Learn provides an option for small organized groups of students, such as friends, siblings, homeschool co op members or even microschools. 

To take classes together, this option costs more than the standard small group but less than private lessons, and runs around $220 per student. 

Overall, in terms of price, Create & Learn tends to be more expensive than some other online course providers for kids, such as Outschool or Udemy. 

It is, however, more or less competitive with other, more specialized providers of small group online classes in computer science, such as CodeWizardsHQ and others. 

That said, Create & Learn does frequently offer significant discounts on its courses. so it is worth checking out their website for current prices and offers. 

Is Create & Learn worth the price?

It’s true that Create & Learn isn’t the cheapest online course provider out there for kids, but ultimately we do feel it is worth its price. 

Unlike many other providers out there, Create & Learn not only offers dedicated instruction in several coding languages, including Scratch, Python, JavaScript and more, but also provides a fairly broad selection of general computer science courses, such as in artificial intelligence, robotics, cloud computing, web design and even AP-level Computer Science for those in High School. 

These courses also get kids involved in a variety of fun and, perhaps more importantly, quite useful projects. 

From building and coding robots to developing their own cloud-based web apps and mobile games, the projects and challenges that Create & Learn offers its students are highly engaging, impressive and ultimately help students hone the skills they are learning as they go.

Further, the company keeps class sizes quite small (typically under 5 students) and does a pretty good job at keeping classes within a roughly similar and logical age range of students – it’s unlikely that a middle school student will have a class with a second grade student, for example. 

Finally, Create & Learn does an excellent job at finding passionate and fun instructors to teach a fairly in-depth and well thought out computer science curriculum. 

While these instructors aren’t all computer scientists or professional coders, they are carefully screened and quite enthusiastic about coding and technology, and have a well-deserved reputation for being very helpful and tend to explain the material clearly and effectively.

Bottom Line

It may not be the cheapest option out there, but Create & Learn’s very small class sizes, project-based learning, solid coding and leading-edge computer science instruction more than justify its price in our opinion. 

If you have a student that is interested in coding and technology, and who prefers live online instruction, Create & Learn might be just what you’re looking for.

Picture of our tech author David

About the Author

David Belenky is a freelance writer, former science and math tutor and a tech enthusiast. When he’s not writing about educational tech, he likes to chill out with his family and dog at home.