When you Ask a Question on Learn, you’re reaching out, in real-time, to your fellow CodeU Learners.

We think it’s so cool that we want you to try it now! Go ahead, and hit the Ask a Question button in the upper-right of your screen. Typically you’d be asking about a problem you’re having with your current lesson, but for this test, feel free to ask anything you want. Maybe something like “Can anyone Learn to code?” or “What is the meaning of life” or “Am I holding it right?”

Go on, we’ll wait for you =)

You may not get a response right away, but with any luck, one of your fellow Learners will see your question and either give you an answer or start a conversation with you.

Likewise, if you see a question that's been asked, dive in and respond!

Now that you have a sense for what it feels like to ask a question, it’s worth taking a moment to understand what’s going on here.

When you ask a question, it’s always in the context of the lesson you’re currently looking at. Everyone that is currently working on this track who has completed this lesson will be notified. The whole idea is that Learn is a supportive community where everyone is helping each other code.

Part of learning anything new is struggling on your own. To a large extent, the struggle is the way forward. So you should keep in mind, when working on labs on Learn, that getting something wrong and being a little bit confused is all part of the process. Don’t feel you should be reaching out every time you hit a roadblock.

However, when you’re truly stuck, when you’ve stared at your code for longer than is reasonable, or you’ve tried Googling for a solution with no luck, or a concept just completely eludes you and you need someone to walk you through it, then yes, absolutely, reach for the Ask a Question button and let the community help pull you up, help push you through the obstacle.

When you get help, it’s only natural to feel like you want to help others too. It’s part of being human.

So when other Learners ask questions, you should feel excited and proud to jump in and help them out when you’re able to. While the good karma is often incentive enough, you also personally benefit from answering questions.

When you help a fellow Learner solve a problem, you deepen your own understanding. You gain a better understanding of the art of programming. You get to connect with another human being. It’s a powerful thing.

Of course, you’ll need to find the right balance between helping others and getting into your own learning zone.

Code lots. Get help. Be helpful. Reap the rewards of the Learn community.

View Ask Questions on Learn on Learn.co and start learning to code for free.