Object-oriented programming (or OOP) is a model that allows you to organize data by classes and objects using attributes. It’s also one of the most popular types of programming, making it an essential skill to help you better communicate with programmers in your organization.

In this four-week course from the University of Michigan, you will expand your knowledge of OOP and learn how to write programs with objects from classes and how to write your own classes. You’ll also gain confidence as you learn to understand and modify larger object-oriented programs. This course has a highly stimulating and creative approach to OOP. This includes activities like creating an image collage as well as a model of a real-world object, such as a Magic 8-Ball. Through these activities, you’ll put your programming knowledge into practice using fun and innovative methods. This course will allow you to communicate and work alongside other learners along the journey. With this support, you’ll be able to use knowledge-sharing and teamwork to broaden your understanding and explore the possibilities of OOP together. This course is designed for learners interested in extending their knowledge of Python. It will also be helpful to those wishing to learn a textual programming language or for professionals who work and communicate with programmers but don’t use Python.

Learning how to debug is the most valuable skill to develop as you learn to program. This four-week course from the University of Michigan will help you improve your programming ability by providing you with the skills you need to understand and debug code.

What’s more, you’ll learn the crucial techniques to help minimize mistakes and problems in your code. Most modern development environments contain a debugger, which you can use to find bugs and understand what is happening in your code. However, many people still rely on print statements when they debug. This course will help you gain confidence in using debuggers, so you can spend less time seeking out and fixing bugs and focus on building exciting new programming projects. The majority of coding errors occur when the programmer doesn’t understand the code or makes mistakes with the language, resulting in bugs. In this course, you’ll gain the knowledge and skills needed to spot and solve semantic and syntax errors more easily. You’ll also streamline your coding process by learning to write and run unit tests to examine and check your code. This course is designed for those interested in developing their Python skills or communicating with other programmers in a professional setting.

There is a huge amount of raw data available on the internet with endless potential.

This four-week course from the University of Michigan will help you learn how to read data in different formats and write programs to scrape data from the internet. Once you complete this course, you’ll be empowered with the ability to use data to answer high-level and interesting questions. An essential component of data collection and analysis is the ability to store and manage the data effectively once you’ve retrieved it. You’ll learn how to use SQL to manage data in relational databases in order to create linked datasets and gain insight into the relationships and meaning that can be derived from your data. Data is a powerful tool, but its potential can only be unleashed once it is converted and represented as logical information. This process is referred to as data visualization, and it is key to understanding and analyzing data. You’ll be taught to use charts, scatter plots, graphs, and other mediums in order to transform your data into valuable information that can be used to answer interesting questions. This course is designed for learners who are interested in extending their Python knowledge, learning a textual programming language, or who would like to be able to communicate with programmers in a professional setting.