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General Assembly Dash

Jordan Minor
 & Jordan Minor Principal Writer, Software

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

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65 EXPERTS
43 YEARS
41,500+ REVIEWS
Its content is finite, but General Assembly Dash provides a strong introduction to the world of Web development. - General Assembly Dash
3.5 Good

The Bottom Line

Its content is finite, but General Assembly Dash provides a strong introduction to the world of Web development.

Pros & Cons

    • Real-world Web and mobile development scenarios.
    • Easily track learned skills.
    • In-depth courses.
    • Free Web publishing.
    • Limited number of courses.
    • No videos.
    • Inactive community.

In 2012, computer programming school General Assembly began offering coding classes in Manhattan. Since then, over 10,000 students have taken its courses. But in the Internet era, coding lessons shouldn't be limited to those willing and able to spend 12 weeks in one of General Assembly's 18 campuses spread across the world. That's why the school created Dash, a collection of free coding courses anyone can complete online. Its content is finite, but General Assembly Dash provides a strong introduction to the world of Web development.

Running Start
General Assembly Dash consists of five multistep projects for users to complete: Build a Personal Website, Build a Responsive Blog/Tumblr Theme, Build a Small Business Website, Build a CSS Robot, and Build a Madlibs game. Each narrative-driven project presents itself as a real Web-development job and even gives clients some backstory. Eccentric millionaire and mustache enthusiast Cotter was my favorite customer. This attempt at realism makes it easier for students to apply the knowledge they learn here to the challenges they would face in actual coding jobs. There's even some continuity between vignettes that makes progress feel more tangible. New clients mention your great work on previous projects. But outside of a brief video introduction, Dash's lessons are ultimately just a handful of well-written slideshows. If you're looking for full-on video tutorials turn to software like Khan Academy or CodeHS.

Dash

Final Thoughts

Its content is finite, but General Assembly Dash provides a strong introduction to the world of Web development. - General Assembly Dash

General Assembly Dash

3.5 Good

Its content is finite, but General Assembly Dash provides a strong introduction to the world of Web development.

About Our Expert

Jordan Minor

Jordan Minor

Principal Writer, Software

My PCMag career began in 2013 as an intern. Now, I'm a senior writer, using the skills I acquired at Northwestern University to write about dating apps, meal kits, programming software, website builders, video streaming services, and video games. I was previously a senior editor at Geek.com and have written for The A.V. Club, Kotaku, and Paste Magazine. I'm the author of the gaming history book Video Game of the Year: A Year-by-Year Guide to the Best, Boldest, and Most Bizarre Games from Every Year Since 1977, and the reason everything you know about Street Sharks is a lie.

The Technology I Use

I use the newest Android and iOS smartphones for testing, but I currently use an iPhone 14 as my personal phone. I just hate that we gave up headphone jacks.

I've always favored gaming laptops over desktops. On that note, I have a 16-inch HP Envy with an Intel Core i9-13900H CPU and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU. No matter what machine I’m working on, an alarming amount of my personal and professional life revolves around cloud-synced Google Drive files.

For food subscriptions, my household sticks with CookUnity and HelloFresh for meals. Video streaming is a bit more complicated. While there are too many services to list, we're subscribed to most of the major ones. These days, I find myself drawn to HBO Max's movies and shows, as well as Peacock's reality trash.

I've been a lifelong Nintendo fan, and I sincerely believe the Nintendo Switch will go down as one of the best gaming consoles of all time. It has an unbelievable library of new and old games from Nintendo and third-party companies. The handheld/console hybrid approach makes playing games so much more flexible, a legacy that continues with the Nintendo Switch 2 and Valve’s Steam Deck.

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