Why pay to buy games on steam when there are so many free games on sourceforge.net?
Why pay for Google Apps or mail chimp or any of those million other tools when there are free alternatives?
I would guess codeschool is trying to prove to us that it is worth paying for.
When I learned Rails I paid $100 or so to Hartl and another $30 for the Obie book. That's one hour of consultant work to have people who know their stuff tell you about it.
Agreed. Online schools are fantastic, because anyone anywhere can work through them at anytime.
At the end of the day, some people need a little more interaction. There are in-person mobile programs like The Disruption Institute (http://www.disruptioninstitute.com) with teachers & mentors. They can really help if you get stuck on a tough problem you're trying to work through, need a concept explained further, etc.
They also provide freebies/discounts, like free Peepcode screencasts, discounts on Michael Hartl's screencasts, etc (varies by course). I personally feel it gives me its $25 (often $20 - you get $5 vouchers for courses you complete) value.
When you google around, you either find something too advanced or to "beginner" and it gets frustrating.
When I started learning how to code, I was learning JavaScript, cause I didn't really get the "concept" of web apps, back end and front end. I didn't even know there was a concept to "get"... "Rails? What's that?"
So really, that's what you're paying for with these online code schools, someone to show you the way.
No, just a way not the way. The confusion you point out even makes light of it: there are many ways.