Have you ever wanted to learn programming, where you get to write programs tailored to your interests? How about learning to code while also learning how to design, plan, and implement your projects? If yes, welcome to "Practical Python: Starting Your Programming Journey!" In this course, we teach you the beginnings of Python programming while assuming you are starting with no experience. By the end of this course, you will be able to write your own text adventure game, create a personalized calculator, write a poem, and so much more! This course will also introduce you to a process for planning out your programming projects and ideas on how to fix your code when it is not doing what you want.
Practical Python: Start Your Programming Journey
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Beginner level
Recommended experience
63 hours to complete
3 weeks at 21 hours a week
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace
What you'll learn
Read and write code that takes user input and manipulates different kinds of data types (strings, integers, doubles and booleans) and prints results.
Read and write code that makes decisions (conditionals), can do random behavior, and involves repetition (while loop).
Explain that programming often involves similar strategies to solve problems and provide an example.
Plan an outline for a program, translate that plan to code, step through code to check variable values, and recognize parts of an error message.
Skills you'll gain
Details to know
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Recently updated!
January 2025
Assessments
18 assignments
Taught in English
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There are 4 modules in this course
Welcome to Practical Python: Starting Your Programming Journey! This module introduces you to the major learning goals of the course, your instructors, and the VSCode programming environment, which is where you’ll complete major course coding assignments. You’ll also get started with a basic building block of Python: the print function that we will build on in Module 2.
What's included
4 videos5 readings1 assignment3 discussion prompts1 ungraded lab
Welcome to Crafting Your First Interactive Program! This module, you’ll be introduced to variables, operators, type casting, and user input. You’ll be able to gauge your knowledge of how these elements work in Python through completing practice quizzes, an interactive lab, and a cumulative graded quiz. This module also covers activities to consider when writing a program from start to finish to help you work on your first assignment that generates a poem from user input.
What's included
15 videos5 readings6 assignments1 programming assignment2 discussion prompts1 ungraded lab
In this module, you will learn about how to selectively execute or ignore code blocks and generate random numbers to make your program behave differently each time it runs. Learning these skills will help you make your program more interactive. To test your skills, you will be asked to complete practice quizzes, autograded labs, and a cumulative graded quiz.
What's included
19 videos1 reading6 assignments4 programming assignments
You will learn the basics of using loops in Python, an integral component of making useful (and larger) Python programs while minimizing your time spent coding. You’ll use your new knowledge of loops to do some string processing and identify errors that come up in your code along the way. To test your skills, you will be asked to complete practice quizzes, autograded labs, and a cumulative graded quiz. And you'll wrap with creating your own text game using everything you've learned in this course!
What's included
20 videos5 readings5 assignments7 programming assignments
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Frequently asked questions
Our Coursera course is designed to give you more than just coding skills. We dive into Computer Science (CS) in a way that helps you understand its impact on our world, how to use it for your own needs, and its broader societal impacts. We believe in the power of CS not just as a technical tool, but also as a way to shape the world around us. Considering this, not only do we guide you through the technical skills of coding, but we also go into the process of designing your own coding project and considering its potential impact. We also aimed to design assignments that allow you self-expression so that just like you all are diverse, what you code can be diverse!
Recognizing the importance of diversity in shaping the future of CS, we have taken deliberate steps to try to make this course accessible to everyone. We are aware that in the past, CS was often dominated by certain groups based on race and gender. We are committed to changing that and to move towards an inclusive environment where everyone feels welcomed and valued. Additionally, your feedback is important to us. We have a suggestion box where you can tell us how to improve the course for everyone. By offering this comprehensive approach to CS, we aim to empower all learners, regardless of their backgrounds, and help to enable a richer, more diverse understanding of computing in our daily lives.
Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:
The course may not offer an audit option. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid.
The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.