using an IDE (Eclipse) while learning java

Here's an observation, I've been taking another Java class at a local college and have been using Eclipse all along as the IDE. While taking a multiple choice test last night I realized that Eclipse keeps me from making some/many mistakes and doesn't show me what isn't possible. The drawback of that is that I don't make some number of basic mistakes and learn from them. I'm thinking that it might be better for beginners to use a simple text editor rather than an IDE. Opinions on that?