Free online learning course for coding gathers 200,000 users in 72 hours

A free e-learning site which teaches web users how to code has proved popular, with the site garnering 200,000 new users in 72 hours. 

Developed by Columbia University students in the US, the site's popularity demonstrates the growth and popularity in online courses experienced in the last few years, according to TechCrunch.com.

The site's founders - students Ryan Bubinski and Zach Sims - became frustrated at the current provisions for learning the basics of HTML and CSS, which is best understood as the language which 'writes' computer programs. With the site, they want to open up the process to make it easier "for everyone to love and learn how to program".

Education using virtual learning environments can mean different things to a variety of people, the International E-Learning Association (IELA) recently claimed.

"Well-designed e-learning can provide effective education that allows learners to do things that they cannot do in a classroom environment," explained the IELA's president David Guralnick.