Python is definitely what you should start with. Really easy to pick up, and doesn't have strange quirks like a lot of other languages (and looks nice).
I haven't used Codecademy in a while, but I didn't like it for similar reasons to /u/DankeEngineer. I learnt Python from Grok Learning which is primarily aimed at K-12 students, but is super great for picking up the basics and also for algorithmic thinking questions. It is $100 for an all-access subscription (or $20 a course), so it's up to you if it's worth it.
Also, I don't know much about it, but I hear R is a good language for stats.
I personally started to learn programming on Grok Learning, it teaches you Python which is a fairly easy language to start with and can also teach you HTML as well. It give some decently challenging problems but they are definitely doable with enough tries.
I support programming on at least a basic level in mandatory IT classes, simple stuff like logic and pseudo code would go a long way in making kids think critically about tasks.
Overall IT in Australian schools needs to be revisited and revised, it's a bit disappointing being in university and seeing half of my peers not know what a conditional statement is or how to use it.
On a related note if you know anyone that teaches IT or anyone that has a kid who is interested in this stuff, urge the school to put them on the NCSS coding competition.
https://groklearning.com/challenge/
It's a great way to start learning code and it's what my teachers put me into when they first realised I really enjoyed it.
I had learned Python with Grok Learning in my last year of highschool. Then I paid for the membership myself with the same school account they left open for another 2 years. This program is awesome for schools. https://groklearning.com/
I think the "grok" the OP mentions is this site. Your mention of a possible other "grok" just reinforces that /u/Wongaburra1234 should have presented more information. I did ask the OP for more information, but s/he never gave it. We are eager to help, but we do need something to work with.
Yes, and you wouldn't be hand-writing code for just one big-scale program for 3 hours, it will be spread across multiple questions.
You can definitely learn with vim if you like the old-school style but if you're new with dealing with terminals and that sort of stuff, then you should definitely stick with any modern text-editors, like VScode, Atom, Notepad++, etc. For this subject, you'll most likely be learning in Grok anyways so you could also practice from there since they have their own editor and it doesn't have auto-completion.
I learned Python by using a tool that my school provided. https://groklearning.com
It's extremely good for learning but unfortunately, most courses are paid.
Have a look and see what you think :)
Click on "Course List" underneath thebanner, and in there there's python, HTML/CSS, javascript, etc, and it takes you step by step, lets you even preactice in the demonstration fields, and then you have little assignments, like one i just did was i had to take a wikipedia page that had no html in it whatsoever, and convert it to full html, with different heading sizes, random paragraph breaks, etc, i just find they're really helpful but you vcan google for yourself, w3schools is also another good one for learning stuff like python. I just started on grok earlier and already i feel like i can code an entire basic webpage in html with maybe a little css thrown in.