The course material (lecture videos and readings) and the assignments are clear, concise, and informative. I found these to be engaging, bite-sized means of absorbing critical concepts. All of my problems with the course are rooted in the quizzes. I found the interface clunky, as I could not quickly switch between the quiz and IDLE or copy/paste code portions to easily try them out. Additionally, Having to repeat a quiz again (and again), without any ability to view the nature of the mistakes was very frustrating. When I make a mistake, I expect to be able to review it and assess how I can improve—I do not merely want to be informed that my answer was incorrect, and instructed to repeat the entire quiz. There is not a learning moment there and I found that to be an impediment to my experience. I also feel that, while there are multiple correct answers to many coding problems, expecting multiples of correct answers to be marked was unnecessarily complicated for an introductory course. Ultimately, I think the quizzes could be eliminated and, instead, replaced with more smaller assignments. Still, I will consider taking the next course.

I am a beginner and this course should be designed for the likes of me, but having completed the course I have found many of the concepts have not sunk in yet. I don't know if it's the quality of the teaching or my circumstance - or both. So much of this course requires me to follow along and do as instructed, but if called upon to duplicate the work myself I would be lost. The instructors rush through difficult concepts and the difficulty level does not progress for a beginner like me but jumps. The time commitment is not as indicated (at least for me) with quizzes that are supposed to take minutes taking hours and assignments that are supposed to take hours taking weeks. The only saving grace of this course was the mentor Patrick Dennis. If it was not for Patrick's assistance, I would never have gotten through this course.

The instructors may be knowledgeable, but they had no knack for teaching.

Extremely Outdated

I successfully completed my programming course today!! Yay me!!

During this course, I often got interested in a part of a lecture and would experiment with things on my own. A three minute video might take me an hour to watch because I wanted to try each thing on my own, not just see it done. They would describe a problem and I would try to figure out the solution on my own before watching them do it. Sometimes I wouldn't be able to figure it out but I'd be in a better position to understand the solution when it was presented.

One other aspect I enjoyed was that if I wasn't sure about a test question, I could just use the tools and try it out. Sometimes things would work in a way that was surprising to me but I found that I learned a great deal in the process of testing. It is one of the big reasons that I like formative assessment - its effectiveness as a tool to improve learning, not just to test it after the fact.

As much as I enjoyed the course, it also made me think a lot about how I'll do my courses in the future. While I very much enjoy in-person teaching, I've looked at the course as a model for how I might change the way I do retests, allow use of notes, and opportunities for design projects. I know that this first year back in is going to be a busy one but my brain is working and planning.

I think part of this is just that as teachers, it is important for us to try things outside of our comfort zones. If we're going to try to help kids, we have to remember what it is like to have those, "what are they talking about" moments? Online lectures aren't as much fun but the ability to pause and take a sidequest was super-beneficial to me. How do I make that possible for my students?

I guess part of all this is that after spending half my life teaching in Blue Valley, I am far from having all the answers. I think having the vulnerability to model that you are still learning and still messing up gives students some room to do the same.

The ability to learn might well be our greatest gift. Let's keep using it.

What an amazing introductory course for beginners! After watching all the videos and completing the quizzes and assignments, I really feel that I have got a good foundation in the basics of Python and I'm eager to further develop my skills. Both the instructors were very good, and went through each concept step-by-step in an efficient manner. The regular quizzes were a great test of my understanding of the subject content in the particular week. Personally, the best part of the course were the three assignments, which were wonderful opportunities for the learner to put their knowledge into practice. I had tons of fun completing the assignments, especially the last one involving a word game for which we were to write a major piece of the code. Finishing the assignments and quizzes was very rewarding. Finally I would like to mention how incredibly helpful the discussion forum is. The mentors reply to your questions within hours with comprehensive answers. For absolute beginners looking for a introductory Python course, look no further!

I liked this course. Even though I am experienced programmer in different languages, I chose this course to learn Python. Although I found the Visualizer sessions boring, I completely agree it is very important to teach young or beginning programmers how the memory and data structures behave. I also liked the programming assignments as they were either funny or giving an example of real life problems that can a beginning programmer face in the future and shows him how they can solve them by programming (ant that they can!). The only recommendation I have is to include more programming assignments as people learn programming the best when really programming - answering quizzes is not the same, may work for schools and for grades, but here we are to learn to program ;-)

I retired as an engineering manager 6 months ago after 41 years in the computer hardware business. I never really did much programming and wanted to take it up when I retired. I tried some on line reference books but didnt really stay with it. I really needed more structure. This course was the answer for me. I got enough programming from the exercises, lectures, and quizzes that I can now move ahead with more self teaching as I have a grasp of the basics and have learned to use on-line references to fill in the gaps. This was my first Coursera course and I will be taking others. Big kudos to Jennifer and Paul, University of Toronto, and their team for this great class. I would sincerely recommend this course to others.

In this fine introduction to computer programming, I covered a lot of ground. The course lays out an elegantly constructed approach to the fundamentals of coding with Python 3.4. The videos and materials were filled with elucidating code examples and sensible development practices, all meticulously explained. I've never found a more approachable guide to building well-documented functions or a more useful explanation of how relationships between variables and values are managed during program execution. The quizzes challenged my preparedness to apply a solid understanding of the subject matter. I applaud presenters Paul Gries and Jennifer Campbell for the top-notch way they crafted this excellent introductory course.

I enrolled in this MOOC because I saw from one website that this was the best introductory course in Python programming. It lives up to its reputation of being the best because the topics were presented in good chronological order. The in video quizzes were challenging and the lecture quizzes forced you to think and therefore apply what you have learned. The only thing I could ask for was more programming exercises. There were only three and I felt like I could do one more. Kudos to the instructors and the team for preparing a very comprehensive introductory course in Python programming. For someone like me who wants to start a career in Data Science, I definitely recommend this MOOC.

Years ago I sat an intro to C++ course at university and really struggled, it was just too deep down the rabbit hole at the time. Now completing this course has renewed my interest in the subject.

Easy to understand videos with excellent explanations of concepts and thought processes. Relevant questions and tests to ensure the subject matter sticks. While it's still only a starting point to continue learning, I'm now a lot further down the road than I was when I started.

I would spend 30min during my lunch breaks each day at work to do the course and managed to complete around 85% of the course (excl. quiz/tests) like this so time commitment isn't excessive.

Highly recommended!

Excellent introduction to program, focused on essential data structures and concepts at programming, including how to debug. it prepares you to further go on your own in your programming journey. After not programming for +10 years, It was exactly what I was looking for: To start again from zero. I wish I had this course when freshman at university :-) In addition, excellent programming language choice: Python's syntax is simply very easy, and very friendly for newcomers. I already recommended this course to a friend of mine which wishes to introduce his kid (11yo) into programming. Last but not least, big Thanks and Kudos to Jennifer and Paul for this, you guys rock...!

I just completed the course and could not offer a stronger endorsement. I have tried several avenues to learn Python 3 and this course was perfect for me. The videos are brief, while completely explaining their topics. The textbook is a great reference against the course content (I strongly advise purchasing a copy via the instructors website) The many tests for comprehension were really appreciated, and the Weekly Quizes, Final Exams and Class Projects solidified what I had learned and where my understanding was incomplete. I venture that over half of my understanding was gained by solving the test/project questions. I am looking forward to the follow-on course.

I really enjoyed learning Python with this course. The pace was perfect - I never felt lost and rarely felt bored. There were several instances where the instructors seemed to anticipate a question that I was wondering about. No sooner did a thought occur to me than they had already explained how a certain concept is applied in a specific situation.

This might go without saying, but you must follow along in Python and experiment with each concept as it comes up. I found applying the concepts to be invaluable experience. You might try to burn through the course (it's possible to do more than one week in a single day), but try not to get ahead of yourself.

This is a great course to gain a fundamental sense of programming; it is perfect for a fresh beginner. However it is very fundamental, the load of knowledge and questions in exercises etc. are very minimal given that the focus of this course is to warm-up for a more progressive studying later on. So if one finds the study material not so challenging I would encourage such to play with python out of the course or find thoughts-provoking problems online just to make sure you have a solid foundation of understanding. After all there is no limit on learning and great problems can be solved with such easy-to-use yet powerful tool like python.

Lots to like about this course as an introductory course to programming. I have been a student of programming for 7 years, but still this course helped me relearn the familiar topics as well as introduce me to new concepts that are indigenous to python. Python makes life a lot easier when it comes to programming. About the tutors of this course, their videos were really engaging and they never presumed that the viewer knows the programming vocabulary and traversed every concept step by step leading to the unveiling of the overall lesson. Looking forward learning the second part of this course.

PS: Paul, you look a lot like Mark Hamill

I enjoyed the course and did learn a lot. Thank you to the teachers.

The material in the first few weeks was presented at a slow pace, perfect for beginners. Additionally, there was enough difficulty in the quizzes to make some questions a challenge which kept things interesting.

The only small negative to the course is that it is quite theoretical. Additional simple practice exercises would be beneficial to actually provide coding practice on each concept. However, I was able to find these kind of exercises on other websites to supplement my learning.

I will be continuing on with other Python courses on Coursera.

This is a great course for someone just getting started with programming in python. It covers the essential fundamentals for learning the language and does so in a captivating manner. There is material for reading and later review. The videos are also great because the topics of the videos are explained in a simple and easy to understand way. You feel like you a being guided by a teacher. Also the quizzes during the videos really help with reinforcing the learning by forcing you to do active learning instead of just passively watching the video and going: "I remember all that and understood everything."

10 / 10

Have started and stopped various online courses in the past, and after reading up online for recommended courses to take; chose this program and was able to get through this course within 5 weeks - thoroughly enjoyed the course, it was well paced and the assignments and quizzes were suitably challenging and felt accomplished after completing them; and appreciate the active responses on the forums to my questions. There were times where the videos could have gone slightly faster in pace, but all in all; I highly recommend the course and will be looking to continue to the Crafting Quality Code program next.

It really helps me to have a preliminary understanding of Python,and now I know how to write a simple program by myself, in the future I will continue to learn Python and hope to make a great progress in this field,even though I major in Civil Engineering, I like computer programing,so I do really appreciate the University of Toronto for their selfish share and the teachers for the hard work they have done. And I know Jordan Peterson is a psychological professor in the U of T, I have seen his public debate with a host, I really admire his rationality.Hah~~ That's all!

I loved this course! It wasn't too easy, the assignments made me cry, break my head, workout, pray a little bit. But the joy of finally getting it right is worth it all. I learnt a lot from this course and would recommend it to people just getting started. I had no experience with Python at all (just basic HTML and CSS) but just stick with it and get the textbook. Also, the discussion forums are amazing and everyone should use them. The mentors always get back in time and are helpful in the way they explain without giving away the answer. On to the next course for me!

Great class on fundamental programming. This course teaches the student programming even if one does not have a background at all in programming, let alone Python. The instructors try to drive home the process of a programmer and how important it is to understand, not only what an expression or operation does, but also why and how Python computes lines of code the way it does. The quizzes are fair and balanced and the assessments apply the week's materials effectively. Highly recommended for a beginner in Python even with some programming experience.

Very good course!

Very usefull from fundamental point of knowledge. You'll build basics of 'how to create BEAUTIFUL code'.

I've took it after having some practice in python. So I've completed it really fast. 100% wort it!

Thank you a lot! Will join the second part tomorrow.

P.S. Before entering this course I've already passed another one (Russian course on Stepik by Bioinformatics Institute) + completed additional practice excersises (pythontutor.ru).

Highly recommed to take these for further or advance practice for Russian students.

This course was amazing. The instructors did a great job of introducing new facts in a clear and very understandable way. The in-video questions were a great addition and ensured you were following the concepts they had just presented. As well, the quizzes and assignments consolidated what you had just learned - it was great to get immediate feedback on how you were doing. I knew nothing about Python before and took this course as an intro to going deeper into machine learning. This was definitely a great step.

This is the best intro python class I have ever seen. I've tried to learn python on and off for a few years and each class I took ended up moving too fast at certain points and I eventually quit. This class has the perfect balance of being challenging enough to require some thought but also being doable and achievable. I especially loved the function design recipe that is taught early on. I have not seen any course that teaches this structured approach to designing functions. That is a skill I will never forget.