Do I have to use eclipse for the java course? Can I use Gedit text editor?

Question

question about possibly using a different IDE or just using a text editor such as gedit

Answer 1

you can use any text editor but you need compile and execute your application after that

Answer 2

As Bogdan stated, you can use any text editor. The advantage to carry out the tutorial using eclipse, is that you will get a better grip on the IDE itself that could scare a beginner away otherwise.
You gradually get familiar with Java and eclipse at the same time and when your code will be long enough to be hard to debug, you will be glad to have the functionality eclipse offers, at your disposal.